Boise, ID – Nevada Wolf Pack finished a very different 2020 football season with huge Famous Idaho Potato Bowl victory over the Tulane Green Waves 38-27 and 7-2 record.
Nevada on their opening drive set the tone for the game bullying Tulane with a punishing ground game. Even thou it didn’t produce points it was a wake-up call for the Green Waves.
The game first turnover was an interception that set up game first score giving the Wolfpack the ball 1st and goal from the 11-yard line.
”We needed to score early to put pressure on them,” Nevada coach Jay Norvell said. ”And I’m really happy and satisfied with what our guys did. We talked about playing our best football game and a lot of ways we did that.”
In the 2nd quarter Nevada receiver Justin Lockhart #17 kicked off a 20-point quarter with a 23-yard touchdown. Lockhart touchdown was a fade route where he high balled the catch using every inch of his 6’2 frame.
The Wildcat formation was a great addition to the gameplan, Toa Taua on 4th & 1 from midfield broke off a 50-yard run to stretch the lead to 26-7 with 6 mins left in the half.
Nevada finished the game with 480 total yards offense with 209 yards on the ground that delivered two 100-yard rusher. Toa Taua #35 rushed 20 times for 102 yards with a touchdown and Devonte Lee #2 finished with 105 yards on 18 carries.
Carson Strong #12 threw 5 touchdowns with 271 yards for the Wolfpack to balance off their attack.
”Last game out still stings us little bit because we felt like we had a good enough team to win a championship,” said Strong, who garnered MVP honors with a Potato Bowl record-tying five touchdown passes. ”But at least you can go home with a smile on your face now.”
Tulane offensive performance started slow but did have 365 yards in total offense. The slow start and three interceptions were too much to overcome for a victory.
”Our margin for error is very slim,” Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. ”We’ve got to do the little things every game in order to win. We didn’t do that the whole ballgame and didn’t execute today.”
The Wolf Pack will have this game to thrust them into next season and poised to make a run for the Mountain West Title for 2021.
