Utah State QB Bryson Barnes has led an excellent offense this season. He’s thrown for 1,808 yards, rushed for 367 and has a total of 21 touchdowns. He can do it all, but that’s partly because he …
After another bye week, Nevada gears up for another road game this afternoon against Utah State. The Aggies sit at an even .500 at 4-4 and 2-2 in conference play as they continue their push for a bowl game. Nevada is still eying its first conference win in two years and is out of bowl contention, sitting at 1-7.
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Nevada (1-7)(0-4) @ Utah State (4-4)(2-2)
Location: Maverik Stadium
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4:30 p.m. PST
Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Betting line: Utah State favored by 9.5 points. The total of 52.5
History: Nevada is 19-8 all-time. Utah State won the last matchup in 2023 41-24, which was also played in Utah.
Keys to the game
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Bully a weak offensive line
Utah State QB Bryson Barnes has led an excellent offense this season. He’s thrown for 1,808 yards, rushed for 367 and has a total of 21 touchdowns. He can do it all, but that’s partly because he almost has to. His offensive line has given up a conference high of 28 sacks, ranking near the top 10 in the country in that category.
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Nevada’s defensive line, and honestly, defense in general, has played above expectations. The line has been led by Dylan LaBarbera and Jonathan Maldonado, who have combined for 9.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. Barnes will hurt you with his arm if given too much time, but an uncontrolled pass rush will allow him to escape and create new windows.
Collapsing the pocket and forcing Barnes to improvise early will give Nevada the best shot at slowing down one of the best offenses in the conference, especially at home as the Aggies average 38.8 points on their home turf.
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Let Herschel Turner have a revenge game
One of the most fun and generic storylines for any sport is when a player returns to play against one of their former teams. Running back Herschel Turner returns to Logan to face his former team. Last year, as a freshman at Utah State, Turner rushed for 405 yards and four touchdowns.
Nevada will need that kind of boost from someone like Turner. The Pack’s rush attack has been abysmal this season and even worse as of late. In the last four games, Nevada’s run game has averaged 86.3 yards. It’ll have a favorable chance against a Utah State defense that allows 185.8 rush yards per game.
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Only four games left, so steal a game somewhere
Since the start of 2021, Nevada has lost 25 of 27 Mountain West games, including the last 15 in a row. Overall, the Wolf Pack has dropped 38 of its last 46 contests. Head coach Jeff Choate is still winless in conference play with Nevada.
Utah State has won all four of its home games this season with a strong offense. Road games are always going to be tougher than normal, especially against a conference opponent. But Nevada has four games left and needs something to go its way to take it into 2026. Whether that’s stealing a win today in Logan or in the next three games, something has to give.
Prediction
I think this is the game Nevada breaks through. Utah State’s offense is tough, but so is Nevada’s defense. Nevada’s offense hasn’t been great, but neither has Utah State’s defense. Someone told me that Choate will never lose a press conference, and I can say that’s true. I can also say that every loss makes him that much hungrier to break this losing streak. He has that vision, and I see it happening today against the Aggies.
Give me a 27-24 win for Nevada. It may be crazy, but at 1-7, what is there to lose?
Source: Utah News