Nevada running back Devonte Lee runs through the New Mexico State line on Saturday.
Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 23-12 victory over the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M. …
QUARTERBACK: C
Not much was asked of quarterbacks Shane Illingworth and Nate Cox other than to simply manage the game. Think of a 15-year-old sitting behind the wheel of their dad’s Tesla for the very first time with dear old dad sitting in the passenger’s seat barking instructions. That was Illingworth and Cox against New Mexico State, keeping at least 5 mph under the speed limit at all times, signaling every turn at least a half a block away and pulling over to the curb when another vehicle approached. The Wolf Pack seemed determined to not allow their inexperienced quarterbacks to lose the game. Most every pass attempt was short and safe, designed merely to set up the next running play. The Pack threw the ball on consecutive plays just twice the entire game. The first time, Illingworth missed a short target badly each time; the second time, Cox completed a pair of passes for a one-yard loss and for no gain. It was like watching a high school team in its first 7-on-7 passing drill of the summer. The Pack, it seems, has gone from Air Raid to Air Afraid in one off-season. Illingworth, who started and played through the first drive of the third quarter, was 7-of-12 for 51 yards. His 12- and 19-yard completions to Tyrese Mack were the longest Pack pass plays of the game. He produced two touchdowns and a field goal on his seven drives. Cox only played three complete drives and was efficient, producing two field goals. He was 7-of-11 through the air for 27 yards. But his final two drives were for 13 plays and 57 yards and 15 plays and 60 yards, putting the game away by eating up the clock and producing a pair of field goals.
RUNNING BACKS: A
Toa Taua had 19 carries for 109 yards and Devonte Lee had 13 carries for 61 yards and the only two Pack touchdowns (32 and four yards). Taua and Lee were the Pack offense in the season opener and that will likely be the case all season long when the Pack never trails by more than two points and has the lead for the final 40 minutes, as was the case in Las Cruces. The two combined for 32 carries and three catches (all by Taua), accounting for 35 of the Pack’s 68 plays. More importantly, Taua and Lee were responsible for 174 of the Pack’s 257 total yards. Taua had a huge 12-yard run on a 3rd-and-11 play late in the fourth quarter, setting up the Pack’s final field goal. It was the most important offensive play of the game. And Lee’s brilliant 32-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter changed the momentum of the game.
RECEIVERS: C
If you were wondering who was going to replace Romeo Doubs, Cole Turner, Tory Horton, Melquan Stovall, Justin Lockhart and Elijah Cooks, well, forget about it. Don’t waste your time. It’s likely not going to happen. Tyrese Mack led the Pack receivers and tight ends against New Mexico State with four catches for 40 yards. Jamaal Bell had three catches for 11 yards. The wide receivers and tight ends combined for 11 catches, 72 yards and no touchdowns. Doubs, Turner, Horton and friends would usually have double those numbers (and at least a couple touchdowns) by halftime in most games. But don’t blame Mack, Bell and friends. At least not yet. They weren’t allowed to have any fun last weekend. No less than 12 of the Pack’s 14 completions were for under 10 yards. Four were for zero or negative yards. We have returned to Chris Ault’s Frank Hawkins and Charvez Foger right, left and up the middle offenses of the 1970s and 1980s.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B
The beauty of hardly ever throwing the ball (just 23 passes on Saturday) is that you are likely not going to give up many sacks. So, yes, while we no longer have the explosiveness and the touchdowns that came with the Air Raid, we also don’t have to watch Carson Strong get pummeled to the turf three or four times a game. The Pack offensive line didn’t allow a single sack. Yes, that is similar to never crossing the street so you never get hit by a car, but it worked just the same. The front also paved the way for Taua and Lee to average 5.3 yards on their 32 combined carries and made it safe for Cox to scramble six times for 37 yards. There were a couple goofy snaps, one that seemed to take Illingworth by surprise on 3rd-and-7 from the Pack 16-yard line that resulted in a safety. But we’ll credit that to first-game confusion. Center Bryce Peterson also had the only hold on the offensive line, another benefit of hardly ever throwing the ball. So it was, for the most part, a clean, efficient performance up front, something that is crucial for a team that, for one week at least, is running a 1970s and 1980s offense.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B
Tackle Dom Peterson turned in the play of the game on defense when he buried Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia for a 4-yard loss and stole the ball with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. The Pack was up just 10-2 when Peterson gave the ball to the offense at the New Mexico State 18. Lee rumbled into the end zone five plays later from the 4-yard line for the touchdown that gave the Pack a 17-2 lead with 42 seconds left before the half. That, it turns out, was all the Pack really needed to beat a truly awful football team. Peterson, though, only had two tackles all night. Dion Washington had a pair of tackles, but also was called for a chop block. The defensive line wasn’t getting their named called often by the ESPN2 announcers, but they were getting enough push to make the Aggies’ quarterbacks throw the ball up for grabs most of the night. That works, too.
LINEBACKERS: C
It was difficult to notice the Pack linebackers in Las Cruces. No linebacker, after all, had more than three tackles (Adam Weynand), a stat we certainly did not expect, given that the Pack’s linebacker guru (head coach Ken Wilson) is back in silver and blue. Maurice Wilmer did trap New Mexico State wide receiver Jonathan Brady for a 4-yard loss on a run and Marcel Walker (who lines up as a linebacker and a defensive end) had the only quarterback hurry for the Pack. Weynand was active all game and Drue Watts had a pair of tackles, but was also called for a hold. The linebackers, we assume, must have been doing things that didn’t show up on the stat sheet because New Mexico State ran for only 3.4 yards a carry on 25 attempts.
SECONDARY: A
OK, true, the Pack’s four interceptions required only slightly more skill than finding a few quarters, a dime, the remote and a watch in the seat cushions of your grandparents’ couch. New Mexico State quarterbacks Gavin Frakes and Pavia seemed to throw every other pass up for grabs. And when they were on target, the Aggies’ wide receivers tried their best to bat the ball in the Las Cruces air into the waiting arms of a Pack defensive back. But Isaiah Essissima did pick off two passes and Tyson Williams and Bentlee Sanders did have one apiece. Sanders would have had two picks but a Pack penalty wiped one out. Essissima was also called for a pass interference. Williams, Sanders and Jaden Dedman did lead the Pack in tackles with five each and Williams also had a tackle for a loss. His interception in the end zone on New Mexico State’s final offensive play of the game was reminiscent of Mike Trout running down a ball in the gap. The secondary, we were reminded on Saturday, grew up and matured the last three or four years trying to cover Doubs, Turner and their friends in practice and is now the most talented and experienced group on the team.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Brandon Talton kicked field goals of 28, 34 and 38 yards and had two extra points to score 11 for the game. Talton, thankfully, is another present Norvell left in Wilson’s closet when he moved to Colorado State. Matt Freem averaged 42 yards on his four punts, including one 50-yarder. Freem, though, did out-kick the coverage on that 50-yarder as the Aggies’ Lawrence Dixon returned it 14 yards to midfield. But the Pack coverage teams were solid all night long on New Mexico State returns.
COACHING: A
It was boring, conservative, lifeless and unimaginative. You might even say that the Pack coaching staff performed out of fear the entire game. At times the Wolf Pack seemingly didn’t even try for a first down on third down (or first and second down), perfectly content to get a Talton field goal. But it all worked because the Pack won the game and was never in serious jeopardy of losing. You only need field goals, after all, to beat New Mexico State. That, of course, is the beauty of playing New Mexico State (and Texas State this weekend). There’s no reason to get bold and fancy and take silly chances, like throwing the ball on 3rd-and-11. The Pack has a young, inexperienced coaching staff and roster (for the most part) in roles they are still learning. Boring, conservative, lifeless and unimaginative won’t win many games but it was the perfect plan in Las Cruces.
OVERALL: A
There is no question the Wolf Pack will have to play much better than it did Saturday in order to win most of its games this season. The type of performance we saw against NMSU will likely get the Pack blown out of most of its games this season. But the Pack wasn’t playing most of its opponents — it was playing New Mexico State. The only goal on Saturday was to win the game. Don’t forget that the Pack football program was gutted (mentally and physically) just eight months ago. It then went out and hired a 58-year-old coaching lifer who had never been a head coach before. He then hired a lot of his friends, giving them new roles as coaches. The Pack needed to piece together an entirely new offense on the fly. Considering all that, it is quite an achievement for the Pack to play, for the most part, a clean, fundamental, mistake-free game in its first performance and win on the road.
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