Nevada vs. Georgia Southern
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 - 4 p.m.
Reno, Nev. - Mackay Stadium

TV: truTV (PxP: J.B. Long; Analyst: Mike Golic Jr.; Sideline: Nabil Karim)
Radio: Wolf Pack Radio Network - KOZZ 105.7 FM; Varsity Network App
(PxP: John Ramey; Analyst: Mike Edwards)

Saturday's game will also feature the following:

• Game Sponsor: Mary's Gone Crackers
• Theme: Leukemia Awareness
  • NMDP Get in The Game
  • High School Band Day
  • Running of the Wolves
• In-Game Recognition: 1994 Big West Champion Football Team
• Color Scheme: Silver Out
• Flyover from Air National Guard
• Special Ticket Offer: Nevada branded Pickleball Paddle and ticket
• Nevada Team Recognitions:
  • Women's Basketball
  • Track and Field
• We are Nevada Fan Zone Band: Reckless eNVy
• Food Trucks
  • Northern Envy
  • Super Swirl
  • Bam Hot Dogs

RENO, Nev. - Nevada, fresh off its first win of the Jeff Choate Era, returns to Mackay Stadium this Saturday, hosting Georgia Southern. Saturday's contest against the Eagles is set for a 4 p.m. kick and will be broadcast on truTV with J.B. Long (play-by-play), Mike Golic Jr. (analyst), and Nabil Karim (Sideline Reporter) on the call.

The Wolf Pack Radio Network will call the game on KOZZ 105.7 FM in Northern Nevada, online at www.thevarsitynetwork.com and on the Varsity Network app. John Ramey (play-by-play) and Mike Edwards (analyst) will be in the booth, with the 60-minute pregame show to begin at 3 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
While Saturday's meeting will be just the third all-time, and first as FBS counterparts, for Nevada and Georgia Southern, the previous two head-to-heads were significant.

Each meeting, in 1986 and 1990, respectively, came deep into the Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs, with the 1990 meeting the I-AA championship game, won 36-13 by the Eagles in Statesboro. In the 1986 meeting, a semifinal contest, the Eagles came to Mackay Stadium and defeated the top-seeded Wolf Pack, 48-38, at Mackay Stadium.

ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern makes its second trip to Mackay Stadium, and first since the 1986 Division I-AA semifinals. The Eagles dropped their 2024 opener, 56-45, at home to Boise State this past Saturday.

HE DID SAY WE WERE GONNA RUN THE BALL
Head coach Jeff Choate has said, from his introductory press conference, that this Nevada team would run the ball--and Saturday at Troy, the Wolf Pack showed how they plan to power through an opposing defense.

The Pack ran 34 times for 214 yards in the 28-26 win, led by Savion Red's 135 yards on 11 carries, and Patrick Garwo III's 53 yards and two touchdowns on nine attempts.

It was a welcome return to a ground-and-pound attack, as the 214 rushing yards was the first time since 2021 that Nevada had eclipsed the 200-yard mark, and Red's 100-yard game was the first for a Wolf Pack running back since 2022 (QB Brendon Lewis had the Pack's only 100-yard rushing game in 2023, against UNLV).

RED, ROSS MAKE TEXAS-SIZED IMPACT
Two key performers in Nevada's win at Troy were a pair of transfers brought along from Texas with Jeff Choate in running back Savion Red and defensive lineman Kristopher Ross.

Red keyed Nevada's second-half rejuvenation with a 69-yard carry on the half's first play from scrimmage--the longest run by a Nevada running back since 2015. On the day, he finished with 135 yards on 11 carries, Nevada's first 100-yard game from a running back since 2022. On the year, he paces the Pack on the ground with 165 yards on 23 carries--a clip of 7.2 yards per attempt.

Ross has given a preview of his potential in the opening two games, already sharing a sack and making 1.5 tackles-for-loss. His constant disruption against Troy paid off on the game's pivotal play--he powered into the Trojan backfield and stripped quarterback Goose Crowder on Troy's potential game-tying 2-point conversion with 21 seconds remaining.

DEFENSE DIGGING IN WHEN IT MATTERS
The Nevada defense has elevated its tenacity and resolve in 2024, and it showed in Saturday's win at Troy. While many will point to the 2-point conversion stop with 21 seconds left to help preserve the win, it cannot be overstated how the Wolf Pack defense bent but did not break in holding Troy to two field goals after the Trojans had gotten inside the 10.

First, Nevada stopped the Trojans from a First-and-Goal from the Wolf Pack 8, forcing a 30-yard field goal. Then, holding an 11-point lead, the Pack stuffed three-straight rushing attempts from the five-yard line to hold the Trojans to a 19-yard field goal.

FINISH THE DRILL!
Through two games, Nevada's offense has been finishing what it started, going 8-for-8 on red-zone trips with seven(!) of those ending with a touchdown.

Saturday at Troy, the Wolf Pack made four trips inside the Trojan 20, and put the ball into the end zone on each one. The 87.5 (7-for-8) touchdown rate on red-zone visits for Nevada through two games is already pacing well ahead of 2023's rate of 45.7 (16-for-35).