Nevada hopes to keep momentum going at Utah State

Nevada is getting more Love this week, the kind it hopes to defeat.

After facing San Jose State quarterback Josh Love, one of the top passers in the Mountain West Conference last Saturday, the Wolf Pack next gets to face Jordan Love, the Utah State QB, who also ranks near the top of the Mountain West stats.

Nevada (4-2, 1-1) plays at Logan, Utah with kickoff scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Utah State is 3-2, 2-0 and coming off a bye week.

The Wolf Pack beat San Jose State, 41-38, on Saturday, thanks to a last-second 40-yard field goal by freshman Brandon Talton.

More:Nevada 41, San Jose State 38: Pack wins on another Talton walk-off kick

For the third time this season, Talton was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week.

Talton was 2-of-2 in the game, also knocking down a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter. He had 11 points in the game as was also perfect on PAT attempts, going 5-of-5.

Nevada sophomore running back Toa Taua became the first Nevada back to eclipse 100 yards on the ground this season, finishing with 160 rushing yards on a career-high 34 carries. He collected his third rushing TD of the season and ninth of his career, and recorded a season-high 27-yard rush in the game.

Nevada coach Jay Norvell said Taua has not been healthy all season.

Junior QB Malik Henry earned his first FBS start. His first pass attempt went for 55 yards to junior WR Elijah Cooks.

Henry finished 22-of-37 for 352 yards and one touchdown pass. Henry is the Pack’s first 300-yard passer since Ty Gangi threw for 314 against SJSU last November.

Norvell said Henry managed the game well.

"He played with poise," Norvell said. "He moved the offense. The thing I was most proud of  was how he handled himself after the turnovers."

He said Henry took a few shots and handled them well.

Norvell said Devonte Lee is back and fully healthy after suffering a knee injury last season. He scored twice against San Jose State and rushed for 34 yards.

Norvell said Lee is hard to tackle.

"He's a load. He's a big strong runner. I like that combination of those two guys (Lee and Taua) running downhill and we'll continue to roll with that," Norvell said.

Lee said he and Taua are like peanut butter and jelly.

"You can't have one without the other," Lee said. "We like to keep the one-two-punch going. We just complement each other."

Lee said he is the peanut butter and Taua is the jelly.

Norvell also credited the Pack offensive line, known as 'The Union," with having a solid game against San Jose State.

Norvell said Jordan Love is a tremendous quarterback for Utah State.

"Maybe the best in our league," he said. "Really experienced. He's played a lot of football, he knows what he wants to do with the football."

Norvell said he is happy to be 4-2, despite Nevada not having played its best football.

"We've learned a lot of lessons. Our kids learned a lot of lessons the last couple of weeks," Norvell said. 

One change he has made this week is the Wolf Pack is practicing at night, instead of the early mornings, to get ready for the 7:15 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

Utah State is 16-4 (.800) all-time against teams from the West Division of the Mountain West, which is the best record in the conference. Overall, USU has a 4-0 record against Hawai’i, UNLV and San José State, a 2-1 record against Fresno State, a 1-1 record against Nevada and a 1-2 mark against San Diego State dating back to 2013 when the MW split into two divisions.

Utah State lost, 42-6 at fifth-ranked LSU two weekends ago. USU began the year with a 38-35 loss at Wake Forest, followed by a 62-7 home win against Stony Brook, a 23-17 MW road win at San Diego State and a 34-24 MW home win against Colorado State.

Offensively, USU is led by junior QB Jordan Love, who is 120-of-192 (.625) passing for 1,337 yards (267.4 ypg) with six touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Junior RB Jaylen Warren leads the team in rushing with 335 yards on 50 carries (6.7 ypc/83.8 ypg) with four touchdowns, and senior graduate transfer WR Siaosi Mariner has a team-best 24 receptions for 350 yards (14.6 ypr/70.0 ypg) and two touchdowns.

Defensively, junior LB David Woodward leads the team with 71 tackles, which includes 4.5 tackles for loss, while junior S Troy Lefeged Jr. has 37 tackles, which includes 3.0 tackles for loss.

During its current nine-game home winning streak, Utah State has outscored its opponents 491-159 (54.6-17.7).

Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Jim Krajewski covers high school and youth sports for the Reno Gazette Journal. Follow him on Twitter @RGJPreps. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.