Mikey Keene threw two touchdown passes to Jaelen Gill and No. 25 Fresno State continued its best start in 10 years by posting a 27-9 victory over Nevada on Saturday night in the Mountain West opener for both schools at Fresno, Calif.
Malik Sherrod had a 72-yard touchdown run as part of a 123-yard performance for the Bulldogs, who are 5-0 for the first time since the high-powered 2013 squad featuring Derek Carr and Davante Adams won their first 10 games.
Keene completed 26 of 34 passes for 269 yards and two interceptions for Fresno State. Gill had eight receptions for 126 yards as the Bulldogs won their 14th consecutive game, the second-longest active streak behind top-ranked Georgia (22).
The streak is also the second longest in Fresno State history behind a 17-game stretch in 1988-89.
Nevada (0-5) lost its 15th straight game, the longest active skid among FBS programs.
The Wolf Pack used two quarterbacks. Brendon Lewis was 10-of-21 passing for 70 yards and two interceptions, while AJ Bianco completed 9 of 14 attempts for 97 yards, including a late touchdown pass to Spencer Curtis.
Emany Johnson recorded two interceptions for Nevada, which was outgained 410-220.
The Wolf Pack chewed up 9:18 on the game’s first possession but the 18-play drive eventually stalled and they had to punt.
Fresno State answered with a six-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. Gill lined up in the backfield and caught a short pass in the left flat from Keene and broke loose down the sideline for a 65-yard scoring play.
The Bulldogs’ second touchdown came after Sherrod appeared to be stopped after a 5-yard gain to his own 33-yard line. But Sherrod was on the back of a Nevada defender and never hit the ground. He got up and raced for the 72-yard touchdown run with 4:15 left in the first half.
Dylan Lynch kicked field goals of 48 and 40 yards in the third quarter to increase Fresno State’s advantage to 20-0.
Keene connected with Gill on a 12-yard scoring pass to make it a 27-point margin with 12:37 left in the game.
Fresno State’s Carlton Johnson later picked off his fourth pass of the season to snuff out a Nevada drive. The Bulldogs took over at their 2 and Elijah Gilliam was dropped in the end zone by multiple Wolf Pack defenders for a safety with 8:22 left in the game.
Bianco tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to Curtis with 11 seconds remaining.
–Field Level Media