Malik Henry, No. 16, runs upfield during a play against Utah State. Henry is wearing a white jersey with silver pants.
Image courtesy on Nevada Athletics. Malik Henry threw for 213 yards, completing 17-38 of his passes and threw for two interceptions. The defeat at the hands of Utah State was the first loss for Henry since he took over as the starting quarterback against San Jose State.

On a cold night in Logan, Utah, Utah State defeated Nevada by 36-10.

In his second start for the Wolf Pack, walk-on quarterback Malik Henry was 17-38 and threw for 213 yards. Henry threw two interceptions on the night and did not throw a touchdown pass. After a promising game in his first start against San Jose State, Henry struggled, completing 45 percent of his passes against Utah State.

Sophomore running back Toa Taua carried the rock 20 times for 84 yards. Taua scored the first and only touchdown for the Wolf Pack late in the fourth quarter.

Romeo Doubs led the Pack on the receiving end with four receptions for 80 yards. Doubs caught the longest pass of the night for Nevada at 33 yards.

Rounding out the receiving corp, was Dominic Christian who had two catches for 42 yards and Elijah Cooks, who had four receptions for 39 yards.

Junior defensive back Berdale Robins had his first interception of the season, along with two solo tackles on the night.

Brandon Talton, who entered the game 12-12 on the year, connected on 1-2 of his field-goal attempts. The lone successful attempt came in the first quarter, when Talton connected from 23 yards out.

Talton missed his first field goal of the season, on a 51-yard try in the third quarter. The miss pushed his season total to 13-14.

Nevada started the game on offense, opening with a strong passing game that led them downfield. Henry completed three passes for 65 yards, before scrambling downfield for another 13 yards. The run set up the Wolf Pack at the Utah State one-yard line.

After a false start on Nevada tight end Reagan Roberson, Henry’s attempted pass was broken up and Nevada settled for the field goal on fourth down. Talton drilled a 23-yard field goal to give Nevada a 3-0 lead.

The Aggies responded immediately following the Nevada field goal, returning the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown. Savon Scarver returned the kick for more than 100 yards, it was the fifth touchdown on a return of his career.

After Utah State punted from the 42-yard line, Utah State’s Deven Thompkins pinned the ball deep at the one-yard line. Taua lost a yard and was stopped in the end zone, resulting in a safety and two points for Utah State.

The next scoring drive of the evening ignited when Utah State quarterback Jordan Love completed an 18-yard pass to Savon Scarver. Thich pass set up Utah State’s first field goal of the night. Utah State kicker Dominik Eberle nailed the 29-yard field goal to extend Utah State’s lead to 12-3.

An interception by the Aggies’ Shaq Bond set up the last touchdown of the half. Love and the Utah State offense converted a third-down following the interception. The first down set them up on the 13-yard line. Love completed his next pass over the middle to Caleb Repp for a 13-yard touchdown.

Just before the end of the first half, Jaylen Warren, the Utah State running back pounded down the field with 2 rushes for 40 yards leading the Aggies to the red zone. Dominik Eberle kicked a 32-yard field goal to add 3 points to the Utah State lead.

Neither team scored again until well into the fourth quarter. On Utah State’s second touchdown drive of the night, Gerald Bright single-handedly took Utah state down the field, rushing twice for 13 yards. Bright then capped off the drive with a 67-yard rushing touchdown.

On the following drive, Henry threw his second interception of the night, which gave Utah state the ball on their own 43-yard line. Jordan Love then completed a 48-yard pass to put Utah State in scoring position. Bright put the nail in the coffin with a 9-yard touchdown run to give Utah State a 36-3 lead.

Nevada continued to battle late into the fourth quarter. Henry and running back Devonte Lee led Nevada down the field. The pair connected a 13-yard pass to pick up a first down, which set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Taua. Nevada’s first touchdown of the game brought the score to 36-10, where it stayed for the rest of the game.

With the loss, Nevada falls below .500 in conference play, bringing their record to 1-2 in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack are now 4-3 on the year. 

Looking Ahead

Nevada now travels to Wyoming for a tough match-up with the Cowboys at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, WY. Wyoming is 5-2 on the season and 4-0 at home.

The Nevada offense will have to break through a tough Wyoming defense which has only allowed 19.7 points per game.

On the defensive side, the Nevada D-line will have to figure out a way to shut down Wyoming’s potent run offense which ranks 15th in the nation at 236.7 rushing yards per game. 

Blake Anderson can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports