RENO, Nev. (AP) Reserve running back Luke Lippincott ran for 144 yards on 25 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead Nevada to a 42-0 win over Utah State Saturday.
The sophomore set a career high in yards and carries in place of starter Robert Hubbard, who did not return to the game after scoring on the Wolf Pack’s first drive.
Nevada (7-3, 4-2 WAC) managed 342 yards of total offense while holding the Aggies (1-9, 1-5) to just 207 yards on a cold, rainy and sometimes snowy day.
Nevada got off to a quick start when Dwayne Sanders returned the game’s opening kickoff 82 yards to the Utah State 7. Three plays later, quarterback Jeff Rowe connected with Hubbard, who then shook a tackle for a 4-yard touchdown that gave Nevada a 7-0 lead with 13:40 left in the first quarter.
The Aggies answered the score with a 73-yard drive, but the Wolf Pack stuffed three consecutive Utah State runs from the 1, including on fourth down, to hold the Aggies scoreless.
Nevada added to its lead with an 81-yard drive, punctuated with Lippincott’s 5-yard touchdown run that gave the Pack a 14-0 lead with 3:20 before halftime.
On the Wolf Pack’s first possession of the second half, Rowe connected with Marko Mitchell for 53 yards to Utah State’s 1. Lippincott punched it in a play later, giving the Pack a 21-0 lead with 9:45 left in the third quarter.
Rowe, who completed 12-of-19 passes for 140 yards, scored on a pair of third-quarter touchdown runs, and freshman back Mike Kanellis added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth.
The game was the first shutout for Nevada since 1998.
