Strong, Taua lead Nevada past Boise State, 41-31
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Carson Strong threw for 263 yards and a touchdown, Toa Taua rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Nevada defeated Boise State 41-31 on Saturday.
Nevada (4-1, 1-0), the pre-season favorite to win the Mountain West Conference’s West division, snapped a six-game losing streak to the Broncos, dating back to 2010. Nevada last won in Boise in 1997.
Boise State (2-3, 1-1) is off to its slowest start since 2001 when it also started 2-3 before finishing the season 8-4. It’s also the first time since 2015 the Broncos have lost consecutive home games.
Trailing 21-20 at halftime, Nevada’s defense needed just one play to flip the game at the start of the third quarter.
Tristan Nichols forced a fumble with a blindside hit on Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier. Five plays later, Toa rumbled into the end zone from 12 yards out. After adding the two-point conversion, Nevada took a 28-21 lead and never looked back.
Taua, who was held to 16 yards on six carries in Nevada’s previous game against Kansas State, rebounded with his best game of the season as the Wolfpack dominated Boise State in the trenches.
Bachmeier passed for 388 yards and four touchdowns, but his two turnovers— one interception and one fumble — proved to be costly.
THE TAKEAWAY
Nevada: While the Wolf Pack have plenty of challenges ahead, they kept themselves squarely in the race for the west division title and a spot in the conference championship game. The combination of Strong and Taua should give Nevada a chance in the rest of its matchups this season.
Boise State: The Broncos don’t have the margin of error that they’ve had in the past due to a combination of the Mountain West teams catching up with them talent wise and also being in a transition season with a new coach. In all three losses this season, the Broncos held the lead in the first half only to collapse. If Boise State has any hopes of salvaging its season, it needs more consistent play on both sides of the ball.
UP NEXT
Nevada hosts New Mexico State on Saturday.
Boise State travels to BYU on Saturday.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
