Top of the Pack - Week 9

Passing Offense 

Nevada boasts the 3rd-ranked passing offense in the nation with 376.3 yards per game, 26 passing-touchdowns, and 3,387 passing yards. 

The Pack is 7th in the nation in completion percentage (70.2), completing 302 of 430 pass attempts. 

The Wolf Pack is 18th in the nation in scoring offense with 36.4 points per game. 

QB Carson Strong leads the charge with the 4th-most passing yards in the FBS (3,197) and the 4th-most passing yards per game (355.2 - leads MWC). Strong is tied for 7th in the nation with 25 passing-touchdowns, joining Jake Haener (25; Fresno State) atop of the conference. 

Strong is 10th in the nation in completion percentage (70.5), completing 289 of 410 pass attempts. He is 12th nationally in points responsible for (152), 2nd in the Mountain West Conference (1st; J. Haener - 170).

Against San Jose State, Strong connected with WR Melquan Stovall for a 43-yard strike on a 3rd down and 10 to keep the drive alive. Strong followed with a 19 yard completion to WR Justin Lockhart and a 20-yard touchdown to WR Romeo Doubs giving the Wolf Pack a 24-17 lead with 5:26 left to play in the fourth quarter.

Strong’s TD pass to Doubs was the 63rd of his career at Nevada, which tied him for 4th all-time in program history with Fred Gatlin (63; 1989-92). Strong recorded 314 yards on 36-54 passing to give him 8,390 yards for his career, which places him 5th all-time after surpassing Chris Vargas (8,130) and Fred Gatlin (8,312) on Saturday night. Strong has now thrown for 3,197 yards this season after entering the day 5th in the nation in passing yards.

Standout Pass Catchers 

TE Cole Turner is 11th in the nation in receiving touchdowns with 8. A mark that is tied for second in the conference with Isaiah Neyor (8; Wyoming) and Deven Thompkins (8; Utah State). The eight touchdowns by Turner lead all tight ends nationally. 

WR Romeo Doubs posted 78 receiving yards and one touchdown against San Jose State to lead all wide-outs. Doubs has 2,939 receiving yards for his career which is 8th all-time, and in the last game, he surpassed Tony Logan (1985-88; 2,922) to climb up the top-10 in career receiving yards. Doubs leads the Pack with 726 receiving yards this season. 

WR Melquan Stovall had the longest reception of the game against San Jose State, a 43-yard grab. Stovall has recorded 956-career receiving yards and is third on the team with 535 yards this season. 

Turnover Towel 

The Pack defense led by LB Daiyan Henley and DB Berdale Robins returned two turnovers for touchdowns. It marked the second straight game that the Pack has scored two touchdowns on defense. DB Tyson Williams recorded his second interception in the last two games. It was the second straight game that Henley and Williams created turnovers.

Henley opened the scoring for the Pack with 8:27 left in the 1st quarter as DB Jordan Lee’s hit caused a fumble and Henley picked it up and ran 56 yards into the end zone to give the Pack a 7-0 lead. Henley entered the game leading linebackers nationally in interceptions with four.

Robins intercepted SJSU’s QB Nick Nash and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown with 11:55 left in the third quarter to put the Pack up 14-7. It was the first time this season that the first 14 points were scored by the defense for the Wolf Pack. It was the first interception return for a touchdown of Robins’ career and the longest scoring play for the defense this season.

Big Kicks

PK Brandon Talton kicked a game-winning 45-yard field goal, with three seconds left in the 4th quarter, lifting the Pack to a 27-24 win over San Jose State. Talton also kicked a 51-yard field goal to mark his second-longest of the season and third-longest of his career. 

Last week, Talton was named a Lou Groza Award Semifinalist and earned Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. 

Talton has kicked 55 field goals in his career and is third all-time at Nevada (2nd; Tony Zendejas, 70).