Nevada (2-3, 1-1 MW) at North Dakota State (5-1, 2-1 MW)
Saturday, October 17, 2026 - 4 p.m. PT
Fargo, N.D. - Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome

TV: CBS Sports Network (PxP: Chris Lewis; Analyst: Doug Pederson)
Radio: KOZZ 105.7 FM / The Varsity Network (PxP: John Ramey; Analyst: Mike Edwards)

RENO, Nev. - Nevada looks to make it two wins in a row this Saturday as it travels to Fargo for its first meeting with North Dakota State. The game at the Fargodome will kick off at 4 p.m. PT and air on CBS Sports Network with Chris Lewis (play-by-play) and Doug Pederson (analyst) on the call.

The radio broadcast of the game will be available 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 on the call, with the 60-minute pregame show to begin at 3 p.m. PT.

LAST TIME OUT
Nevada ended a three-game slide and got back into the win column with a 30-13 victory at UTEP Saturday night. The win brought the Wolf Pack up to 2-3 overall and evened its Mountain West record at 1-1.

The Wolf Pack ground attack rolled up yardage almost at will, gaining 5.4 yards a clip to the tune of 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Nevada's two-pronged battering ram of Herschel Turner Jr. and Dominic Kelley pounded the UTEP defense, with Turner going for a career-high 192 yards on 19 carries (10.1 yards per carry) including a career-long 72-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Kelley just missing his second 100-yard game of the season finishing at 99 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown.

Nevada's defense built the foundation for the win by imposing its will on the Miners from the start. UTEP managed just a single first down and was held to minus-7 rushing yards in the first half as Nevada took a 13-7 halftime lead. The Miners' only score of the first half came on a short field after recovering a Nevada fumble at the Wolf Pack 13-yard line. Joshua Scott led the Pack with eight tackles including 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a shared sack and a pass breakup. Overall, the Wolf Pack defense made nine tackles-for-loss paced by two apiece from Dylan LaBarbera and Aiden Walker while linebacker EJ Smith added a sack. For the game, the Miners were held to 79 rushing yards and despite gaining 211 yards of offense 75 of those came on a touchdown drive with under three minutes to go with the game already out of reach.

SERIES HISTORY 
Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between Nevada and North Dakota State.

Wolf Pack head coach Jeff Choate faced the Bison twice as head coach at Montana State. Choate's Bobcats fell in each FCS playoff meeting in 2018 and 2019, both coming at the Fargodome.

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE
North Dakota State (5-1, 1-1 MW) suffered a rare defeat last weekend, having its 5-0 start to the campaign blemished with a 13-7 loss at UNLV. The Bison, in its first season in the Mountain West and at the FBS level, had rolled through its first five games before dropping the tight defensive battle to the Rebels.

The Bison offense is averaging 29.2 points per game and rolls up an average of 364.8 yards per game. Quarterback Nathan Hayes has completed 63.0 percent of his passes for 1,119 yards and eight touchdowns, those touchdown tosses spread out among six different receivers. Jackson Williams is Hayes' top target pulling in 23 passes for 374 yards and a score, while Mekhi Collins and Chris Kiel each have a pair of scoring grabs. On the ground, DJ Scott leads the Bison with 306 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while Miles Mitchell (305 yards, three touchdowns) and Hayes (155 yards, three touchdowns) contribute the rest of the scoring production. 

Defensively, the Bison boast one of FBS' top defenses, allowing just 10.3 points per game. Donovan Woolen leads the Bison with 44 tackles including an interception, 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles-for-loss. Kelton McCaslin leads the Bison pressure with team-best figures of 4.0 sacks and 5.0 tackles-for-loss as nine different players have at least shared a sack. The Bison defense has also done well to turn the ball over to its offense, making nine interceptions led by two from Marion Moore and recovering three fumbles for a total of 12 takeaways.

AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Through Week 6 of the campaign Nevada holds some impressive spots in the FBS rankings.

The Wolf Pack ground attack ranks 28th in the nation and second in the Mountain West with 212.2 yards per game. The Pack's 5.41 yards per attempt also tops the conference.

Both the Wolf Pack passing defense and red-zone efficiency lead the Mountain West and rank 14th in the nation. The defense's stingy pass defense allows just 157.0 yards per game while the offense's red-zone efficiency is at 94.7 percent with 18 scores (touchdowns and field goals) over 19 trips.

Individually, linebacker EJ Smith ranks second in the country in both tackles (59) and tackles per game (11.8) while kicker Joe McFadden is one of just seven kickers in the country to remain perfect on field-goal attempts with a minimum of nine tries.

HERSCHEL TURNER JR. NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Running back Herschel Turner Jr. was named Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week Monday morning, following his career day in Saturday's 30-13 win at UTEP.

After posting his first-career 100-yard rushing game and a career-high 111 yards against Air Force September 26, Turner outdid himself Saturday. The third-year running back carried 19 times for 192 yards including a 72-yard touchdown in the third quarter which put Nevada up 23-7 and served as the knockout blow to Miner comeback hopes. Earlier in the contest, Turner ripped off a 49-yard run into UTEP territory leading to Joe McFadden's second field goal with just over a minute left in the first half which gave the Wolf Pack a 13-7 halftime edge.

For the game, the Wolf Pack rushed for 274 yards and Turner came up just eight yards shy of being the Pack's first 200-yard rusher since 2017. Through Week 6, Turner leads the Mountain West with 7.3 yards per carry and is fourth in rushing yards at 426.