SMU Mustangs vs Nevada Wolfpack, 8/24/2024, 5pm

SMU 29 – Nevada 24, Attendance: 20,263

Weather: Cloudy, 56; Ticket: $25 from UNR, Parking: $100

“A ‘Special’ Experience” by Tree

The University of Nevada is in Reno. Given the city’s place as a minor gambling hub, getting there is affordable for any weekend except when Burning Man opens. As that was the case for our game, we flew into Sacramento, California instead as it was a far cheaper option. The roughly two-and-a-half-hour drive over the Sierra Nevada mountain range was scenic. Lodging is similarly easy to get with all the casinos and resorts in town. We were, however, fortunate to be able to stay with some great friends who rolled out the red carpet.

Apparently, my U.S. geography is not as strong as I thought it was. I had no idea Reno was so close to some beautiful mountains, making for great outdoor activities like hiking and skiing. If you are more inclined to enjoy more sedentary activities, the casinos can provide plenty of that from shows to rolling the bones. It immediately upgrades Nevada as a game weekend destination over other smaller schools that don’t offer such diversity.

We found the fans in our lot to be friendly and generous like those in the stands, offering food and a chance to warm ourselves at their fire pits. Thankfully, security looked away at the appearance of numerous open flames. They were probably hoping to avoid a run at the local ERs for frostbite treatment. In short, tailgating in Nevada is possible for visiting fans. It will be up to you whether you pony up the big bucks for the security of a guaranteed spot or roll the dice on the free lot.

Nevada plays in Mackay Stadium. There are more picturesque stadiums, but the mountain views from the stadium are still impressive. It is a small stadium that seats about thirty thousand. It is not a particularly unique design except for having a track surrounding the field. To improve the sight lines for endzone fans, the track runs under bleachers at each end. For football games, there is limited visual impact. However, I bet a track meet at Mackay would be interesting, especially when the 4×100 relays comes shooting out from under the stands. There is one video scoreboard that is more than adequate. The concessions are average fare – pretzels, hotdogs (which did not impress my nephew) and thankfully – hot chocolate. Unfortunately, they did not offer a souvenir cup. We sat on the visitors’ side which catches all the afternoon sun. Normally, this is a bad thing, but when that bright yellow ball finally made an appearance at our game, it was more welcome than a toilet seat cover at an airport restroom. Speaking of restroom facilities, those were good as well, even if they were mostly free standing. It was their accessibility to those in the upper deck that was a pleasant surprise.

We paid $25 for seats at the bottom of the upper deck on the 50-yard line. The seats, while bleachers, were great. You can bring your own stadium seat if you like. I did not see anyone renting them which is a bit of a miss by the Wolfpack AD. In any case, given the stadium size, any seat is a good one. Lower-level seats did have seatbacks. The game atmosphere was reasonably strong considering the early weather conditions. The student body was well in attendance and got louder as the game went on. There was not much fall off in the fourth quarter, which may or may not have been influenced by the $1,000 4th quarter student raffle for those in attendance.

The Wolfpack band was large and sounded good. They have a tradition of the tuba’s going into the stands to fire up fans, but I don’t recall seeing that at our game. Likewise, every time Nevada scores, a canon is supposed to go off. I heard it the first time, but I do not recall it going off after that despite a couple more touchdowns being scored. They have some coordinated cheers, but again, the presence of said cheers was not noticeable. Nor did I see them making their trademark wolf hand gesture. (To be honest, the N.C. State wolfpack do the same thing.) We found the Wolfpack faithful surrounding us to be polite and friendly.

The Nevada program is a long way from their golden years when Colin Kaepernick was their quarterback. However, with the hiring of their new coach, Jeff Choate, they were excited for the season and the game despite being a 26.5-point underdog. They were right to be optimistic. Right from the start, the Wolfpack played aggressive and opportunistic football. They ended the first SMU drive with an interception and then capitalized on a botched punt attempt to get the first touchdown of the game. The Mustangs were up to the task, tying the game up early in the second quarter. The trends for the game became clear as the teams traded more scores. SMU moved the ball via the air, aided by a weak Wolfpack pass rush. Even if this game were two-hand touch, Nevada would never have had a sack. Luckily, their quarterback, Brendon Lewis, had a nice mix of rushing and passing to keep them in the game. In fact, at halftime it was 17-10 Wolfpack.

As Nevada kept the pressure on, they stretched their lead to 24 -13 punctuated with a long eight-minute drive in the third quarter. The pivotal play came early in the fourth quarter as Nevada drove steadily to the SMU 29. With a 3rd and ten, Wolfpack fans had to be thinking at worst they would be getting a field goal and a healthy two touchdown lead. Unfortunately, a costly 15-yard tripping penalty ended the drive. Still, a great punt put the ball at the SMU two-yard line. The Mustangs had a long way to go and not much time to get there. However, a nice mix of run and pass splash plays resulted in a quick two-minute touchdown drive. SMU added the two-point conversion, and it was 24 – 21. The momentum shift was visible both on the Wolfpack sideline and in the stands. The massive upset was starting to slip away for Nevada. A botched fair catch on the ensuing kickoff gave the Wolfpack the ball on their own one-yard line. It took the fired-up SMU defense all of two plays to secure the safety.

Nevada now had a tenuous one-point lead, and the SMU comeback was nearly complete. The ensuing free kick gave the Mustangs the ball at the 50-yard line, it appeared the game was over. The Wolfpack defense rose to the occasion and forced a punt. Deep in their own end, Nevada went four and out, but a great punt still allowed them to flip the field. However, starting from the 17-yard line didn’t seem to bother SMU’s stud wide receiver, R.J. Maryland or the rest of the Mustangs. Maryland had already had a big night as the Wolfpack struggled to cover him the whole game. He had two big catches on the drive, the last one a 34-yard bomb where he ran right by the Wolfpack DB. It was 29-24 and figuratively and literally over for the Wolfpack as they went out with a whimper with a three and out on their last drive. Nonetheless, the game itself was very exciting with only the ending leaving us feeling flat. The future does look bright for Nevada.

We had a great time in Reno – surprisingly. Part of that is attributed to our host, but the surroundings of the University and the city in general are, dare I say, impressive. This was not something I was expecting. What I know of Reno comes primarily from the television show “Reno 911”. In my mind, this was a check the box trip, nothing more than that. Reno, however, offers a lot of possible boxes to check – outdoor activities, gambling, shows and good weather (usually). Aside from some of the worst tailgating weather we have ever seen, all the other weekend experiences were lots of fun. I am not sure the program is strong enough to guarantee that you will get as good a game as we got to see, but the stadium is serviceable, and the tickets are cheap. It isn’t a top tier destination for college football, but it should not be avoided. In fact, I would recommend adding a day to the weekend to enjoy the town. Just remember to pack layers. Lots of layers.