WAC / UH OPPONENTS
Nevada eligible for (Hawaii?) bowl after rout of NMSU
Associated Press
LAS CRUCES, N.M. » It felt like a quiet performance to B.J. Mitchell. It added up to a lopsided win that made the Nevada Wolf Pack bowl-eligible.
Mitchell rushed for 193 yards on 34 carries and two touchdowns and Nevada struck for three TDs at the end of the first half during a 48-24 win over New Mexico State yesterday.
"Usually when you get that many yards, there are a few big runs in there," Mitchell said. "I just stayed consistent ... 6, 7, 8, 5 yards a run. I bet I didn't have a run over 20 yards."
Nevada (6-3, 5-1) had 560 total yards, keeping the turnover-prone Aggies (0-10, 0-6) winless under first-year coach Hal Mumme.
"B.J. ran hard, but it was a quiet 193 yards," Nevada coach Chris Ault said. "He's the workhorse. The combination of him running tough and our offensive line blocking like they did, it was a great job."
Mitchell scored on a 4-yard run with 1:57 before halftime, putting the Wolf Pack ahead 17-7. Aggies running back Justine Buries fumbled on the ensuing possession, and Nevada's Jeff Rowe threw a 64-yard TD pass to Kamehameha graduate Caleb Spencer on the next play.
"We wanted to strike right away," Ault said. "We called a deep route and it could have gone to any of three receivers. That was a big play for us."
New Mexico State fumbled again, this time by quarterback Royal Gill. Defensive end Craig Bailey scooped up the ball and ran 40 yards into the end zone, making it 31-7 with 36 seconds left before halftime.
"We had three fumbles in the pocket and one of them was run back for a touchdown," Mumme said. "We gave them 21 points off turnovers. Take those 21 points off the score and you've got a pretty good ballgame. We're our own worst enemy."