Just like last year, Nevada looks bad on paper. Could Boise State be surprised?

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Boise State fans kind of dismissed the notion last week that UNLV was a good “rival” for the Broncos, with one of the main arguments being the Rebels’ poor record in the series, with no wins since the 1970s.

But for Bronco Nation, and really for the team, games against the Mountain West’s other Silver State team, the Nevada Wolf Pack, can carry plenty of animosity. Just last season, there was talk of “hard feelings” and a pretty terse handshake between the coaches after the game.

The two sides know that familiarity can breed contempt, and they’ve played 46 games since their first meeting, which came in 1971. Many of those games have been thrillers and even wrecked seasons.

Way back in 1990, Nevada beat Boise State 59-52 in triple overtime in the Division I-AA semifinals. A lot has changed since then, with the Broncos winning 16 of the past 18 meetings, and Nevada falling on hard times.

One of those losses is a game the program will never forget, though: 34-31 in overtime in Reno in 2010, when BSU was the No. 3 team in the country. That cost Boise State an undefeated season, as Kellen Moore & Co. went 12-1.

The Wolf Pack have a more recent win: 41-31 on The Blue in 2021. That was the last season that saw Nevada have a winning record (8-5). Since then they’ve gone 7-30 overall and 2-21 in the conference.

And this season has not started any better. The Pack (1-6, 0-3) sport a victory over FCS program Sacramento State, and that’s it. That 20-17 win came courtesy of a last-minute touchdown.

So it’s hard to imagine Nevada will turn things around Friday night in Reno when it hosts Boise State (5-2, 3-0).

“It’s their homecoming game, it’s gonna be a good atmosphere,” head coach Spencer Danielson said.

The numbers behind Nevada’s poor record aren’t very pretty. The team, coached by former Boise State assistant Jeff Choate, has the Mountain West’s worst offense and averages 15.6 points per game, ranking 131st out of 134 FBS teams. The Wolf Pack’s 302 yards per game ranks 126th nationally, and they’ve not scored more than 22 points in game.

The defense is giving up 28 points per game and ranks worse against the run than the pass, giving up 155.3 yards per game on the ground, 85th in the nation.

The Broncos have the No. 1 offense in the conference and are averaging 205.6 yards rushing per game.

Could Nevada cause Boise State any trouble?

The Broncos enter as three-touchdown favorites, but all Danielson has to do is bring up last year, when they were 24-point favorites against a Wolf Pack team that had not won a game in over a month — and escaped with a 28-21 victory at Albertsons Stadium. Nevada scored a late TD in that one to cause a nervy final two minutes.

Danielson said he thinks the Pack are starting to turn a corner. Nevada turned to freshman quarterback Carter Jones three weeks ago, and he’s helped produce season-high passing yards in his past two games against San Diego State (194) and New Mexico (202), the latter being a close 24-22 loss.

“He gets the ball up real quick, smart decisions,” Danielson said Wednesday. “You can really see them offensively early on in the season, kind of finding their way. They found their way now, and we’re going to get obviously different things to attack us, but they really found out a lot about themselves.”

One fun quirk the Wolf Pack have leaned into is having its original starting QB, Chubba Purdy, line up as a tight end. The 6-foot-1 senior has made three receptions for 28 yards in his past two games.

“They’re giving (Purdy) the ball. He’s out there getting screenings. He’s out there playing receiver,” Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said. “I’m sure they got a lot of tricks in there … that they can do with both those quarterbacks on the field.”

Nevada knows all about being a big underdog and getting close to an upset. In Jones’ first start, the team was a two-touchdown underdog against Fresno State (5-2, 2-1) but lost just 20-17 after falling behind early.

“Short week, we’ve got our hands full, and we’ve got to put our heads down and make sure we get to work,” Danielson said.

Boise State at Nevada

When: 8 p.m. Mountain time Friday

Where: Mackay Stadium (30,000, turf)

TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Robert Turbin)

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 5-2, 3-0 Mountain West; Nevada 1-6, 0-3

Series: Boise State leads the series 32-14

Betting line: Boise State by 21.5

Weather: 66 degrees, partly cloudy, 7% chance of rain