Photo courtesy of John Byrne /Nevada Athletics
Nevada running back Don Jackson (6) races down the field as Air Force players chase him down on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Falcons Stadium. Jackson ran for 121 yards and three scores in the losing effort.
The “football is a game of inches” mantra proved to be more than a cliche during Nevada and Air Force’s dogfight on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The mantra manifested itself when Air Force barely recovered its own fumble in overtime, before punching it in for a score three plays later.
It was evident minutes later when Cody Fajardo’s pass to Richy Tuner sailed too high — inches, really — on fourth down to end the game and the Wolf Pack’s hopes of four consecutive wins.
“Every time we come up here, it’s a battle,” said Nevada defensive end Brock Hekking. “I don’t want to say the weather was a factor, but for a few guys, I’m sure they were cold. It’s just the attention to details and probably a handful of plays that changed the game.”
The temperature during the 11 a.m. kickoff was 31 degrees with a wind chill of 15 as Air Force clung to a seven-point lead most of the game. Nevada tied the game on five separate occasions but couldn’t complete a comeback like fans have become accustomed to this season.
“It’s hard to play from behind on a team that runs the ball so much like Air Force does,” said Fajardo who, surprisingly, played his first career game in snow.
The Falcons chewed up 342 yards on the ground to stymie the Wolf Pack, who countered with 223 of its own rushing yards.
However, the difference may have been the passing game, particularly the Falcons’ Kale Pearson. The senior matched his career-high in touchdown passes with three and routinely converted on third downs.
“That team should not beat us throwing the ball,” said Nevada head coach Brian Polian. “We let them off the hook with the penalties and letting them complete balls on third-and-10.”
The Wolf Pack had its chances to win the game, too. During the fourth quarter and trailing by three points with a minute and 13 seconds on the clock, Nevada drove down to the Falcons’ five-yard line before stalling on the five-play and 43-yard drive — settling for an overtime-sending 22-yard field goal.
“I’m too disappointed about the loss because I feel it was self-inflicted,” Polian said. “Too many mistakes. We could have won that game.”
The Wolf Pack won the ensuing coin toss and deferred the ball. Taking all of four plays to score a touchdown, the Falcons put the pressure back on Nevada to send the game into a second overtime.
On fourth-and-seven, Fajardo’s pass sailed over the head of Turner to send the Wolf Pack to 6-4 (3-3 Mountain West).
“They brought more than we could protect (on the last play),” Fajardo said. “I kind of rushed the throw just to get it out. I didn’t even see where it went. I saw on the video board after that it was a little high. Obviously I want the throw back.”
The defeat, compounded with San Diego State losing to Boise State the same day, creates a logjam atop the MWC’s West division. The Wolf Pack, Aztecs and Fresno State all remain tied for first place with Hawaii and San Jose State a mere game behind.
“Anytime you lose a tough game, it’s easy to spiral downward,” Fajardo said. “I think we have good senior leadership to step up and say, ‘Hey, we still have a lot to play for.’”
Nevada still runs the table with wins in its last two games, being enough to earn a place in the Mountain West Championship game. Fresno State visits Mackay Stadium on Saturday in a game the Bulldogs’ head coach Tim DeRuyter is calling his team’s “Super Bowl.”
Fresno State is coming off of a timely bye week as injuries begin to mount for the Wolf Pack — including wide receiver Hasaan Henderson, who has been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown. Henderson left the Air Force game in a stretcher after a big hit.
Eric Uribe can be reached at euribe@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @Uribe_Eric.