Nov. 11, 2017
Reno, Nev.----- The San Jose State University football team started its day at Mackay Stadium forcing Nevada into a pair of 3-and-outs and scoring first on a 12-yard Tyler Nevens through the left side.
A sunny afternoon ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass along the Spartan sideline from quarterback Michael Carrillo to running back Sean Pinson.
What happened in between was nothing the Spartans (1-10, 0-6 Mountain West) could have imagined and resulted in a 59-14 Mountain West loss to Nevada (2-8, 2-4 Mountain West).
What looked like the next good play from a defense that got a boost from the return of defensive lineman Bryson Bridges for the first time in a month was an apparent interception by cornerback Jermaine Kelly. A holding penalty wiped out the Spartan takeaway and appeared to be a confidence builder for a Nevada team looking for any kind of spark.
The glimmer of hope ignited a fire under the Wolf Pack. On the next play, quarterback Ty Gangi and wide receiver Wyatt Demps hooked up on a 39-yard touchdown play to tie the score at 7-7. Demps would finish with seven receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns, but a first-quarter play on special teams would loom large in the outcome.
Gangi passed for 232 yards and three touchdowns and scored a fourth on a 1-yard run, but the day belonged to defensive back Dameon Babers, who tied a NCAA record for touchdowns scored by runback.
Babers had interception returns for touchdowns of 100 yards in the second quarter and 39 yards in the third quarter. His first touchdown of the game came when he picked up a Michael Carrizosa punt that was blocked on a heavy rush by Nevada's Demps and ran 6 yards to give the Wolf Pack a 14-7 lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the game.
A bright spot of the day was the first-half running by Tyler Nevens who matched his previous season high of 112 yards at halftime on 18 carries. The freshman running back finished with 21 rushes for 122 yards. The Spartans finished with 173 of their 302 yards of total offense on the ground.
Quarterback Montel Aaron had a rough day. He was sacked five times in the first half alone and threw three interceptions. Nevada finished with six sacks -- the most given up by San Jose State in a game this season.
By the end of the game, Josh Love also saw action briefly at quarterback for the Spartans.
San Jose State committed five turnovers while Nevada did not have any. The Wolf Pack turned those mistakes into 24 points.
San Jose State takes its final road trip of the season when it travels to Colorado State for a Saturday, November 18 game in Fort Collins. Game time is 1:30 p.m. (MT).