San Diego State football crumbled against Nevada in Week 11. How costly will this loss be for the Aztecs as they get closer to the end of the regular season?
As one of a dwindling number of one-loss teams throughout the country, San Diego State had a real shot to make noise in Week 11 and play their way into the discussion for one of the spots in the selection committee’s Top 25 rankings for the College Football Playoff. Instead, Rocky Long’s team tumbled to a 17-13 loss at home against Nevada to see their dreams go up in flames.
The Mountain West is still on the table, as the Aztecs enjoy a one-game lead in the MWC West division standings despite suffering their second conference loss of the year against the Wolf Pack. But it is going to be hard to convince the College Football Playoff selection committee to give them a boost ahead of a stable of strong AAC programs, Boise State, or even one-loss Sun Belt leader Appalachian State (especially after they downed South Carolina in Week 11).
The Aztecs found themselves in a dangerous defensive slugfest at home, as Nevada went into the locker room at halftime tied 3-3 and liking their chances of pulling off an upset to throw the MWC West into chaos. The longer the game ground down with Nevada keeping things close, the better the chances of the upset by the Wolf Pack.
It really started to feel that way in the fourth quarter, when Nevada took their first lead of the game on a touchdown with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Devonte Lee plunged over the goal line to put the visitors ahead 17-10. The momentum shift felt palpable and deflating for the home crowd, as San Diego State struggled to find a response.
Nevada managed just 29 rushing yards on 28 carries — and won.
Wolf Pack quarterback Carson Strong was 19-of-26, but threw for just 147 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Nevada still won. While Ryan Agnew threw for 196 yards on 18-of-35 passing, he tossed an interception but no touchdown pass.
What San Diego State was unable to do was match even the meager production of the Wolf Pack on a tough defense-dominated evening at SDCCU Stadium. Chance Bell led the way on the ground with 40 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, singlehandedly outpacing the Wolf Pack backfield. Chase Jasmin also topped the Nevada run game, going for 34 yards on nine carries.
Nevada finished with only 226 total yards of offense and went just 2-of-12 on third downs, and every measure points toward a big loss by the visitors.
Yet Jay Norvell’s team overcame all those obstacles they largely threw into their own way. San Diego State finds themselves sitting on two losses now, and Nevada is now bowl eligible and continuing to make waves in the MWC West race. If Nevada runs the table and the Aztecs lose just once more, it opens the door for the Wolf Pack to get into the conference championship game ahead of San Diego State.
Could this game actually prove so costly? Only time will tell as we dive deeper into the last few weeks in this 150th anniversary season of college football.