PROVO – The Cougars tried to prevent another loss on their record against Nevada, but the Wolfpack did not stop fighting. Nevada scored 29 unanswered points in the second half, leaving the Cougars with their third straight loss on Saturday night in LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Cougars led 28-13 going into halftime. Junior wide receiver Mitch Mathews shined as he grabbed a career high 16 catches, 182 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter. BYU senior quarterback Christian Stewart had career highs in completions at 39 and passed for 408 yards while adding four touchdowns.
But, the Cougar defense could not hold back a strong Wolfpack offense in the second half. After the Nevada defense forced a Cougar fumble, the Wolfpack capitalized on an 11-play, 48-yard drive that ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass to Richy Turner, Hasaan Henderson adding a two-point conversion to tie the game at 28. Just four minutes later, Nevada quarterback Cody Fajardo ran a 25-yard touchdown to put Nevada up 35-28 with 7:34 left in the game.
The Wolfpack lengthened their lead after a Cougar turnover, freshman runningback James Butler adding Nevada’s last touchdown of the night, 42-28.
BYU created a strong drive for 75 yards in 15 plays that allowed Stewart to find senior wide receiver Keanu Nelson for a touchdown, bringing BYU within seven of the Wolfpack. The Cougars had a chance to tie it up, Stewart attempting a run on the last drive, but fumbled the ball back into the hands of the Wolfpack.
The Cougars next game is on the road to take on the Boise State Broncos in Idaho on Friday, October 24th. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. MDT.
