Ridge Corbell · Nevada Insider · College Debut · Week 8
Meet Your Insider
Send it! What's up, Wolf Pack, I'm Ridge Corbell. I ski patrol at Tahoe in the winter, I scout football on a snowboard (figuratively, mostly), and I've discovered that snowboard slang explains advanced football stats better than anything on a whiteboard. Third-down conversion rate? That's just how often you land the jump. I travel with this team and I live with this team, and every week I'll bring the players, the matchups, the history and the storylines, chill on the outside and surprisingly sharp with the math underneath. When we win, you'll hear "Sick!" and I'll mime a backflip. When we lose, I'll shrug and call it a powder day that went sideways, and then I'll dig into the film. Strap in.
The School in 60 Seconds
Nevada football was founded on Oct. 24, 1896, as the Sagebrushers. Check the calendar, friends: Saturday is the program's 130th birthday. We play at Mackay Stadium on the north end of campus. The "new" Mackay opened Oct. 1, 1966, seats 27,000, and its field sits 4,610 feet above sea level. Coach Chris Ault, running back Frank Hawkins and coach Buck Shaw are in the College Football Hall of Fame, and fullback Marion Motley is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We compete in the Mountain West. Recent years have been a climb: 8-5 in 2021, then 2-10, 2-10, 3-10 and 3-9. Every run starts at the top of the hill.
The trail so far in 2026: we opened with a 49-14 rout of Western Kentucky that was pure fresh powder. Then Montana State, an FCS power, beat us 20-7 at home, and we lost close ones at Middle Tennessee (27-20) and to Air Force (36-33). A 30-13 win at UTEP got us back on the board in league play. Last week in Fargo we led 11-0 before the special-teams avalanche. Add it up and this team is closer than its record. Two of the four losses were one-score games, and we led last week's game in the second quarter. Close is not the same as sending it, but it's the slope right before.
The Coach and the Scheme
Jeff Choate was hired Dec. 4, 2023. The 2026 Wolf Pack carve on the ground: 192.8 rushing yards a game, 37th in FBS, 1,140 yards on 218 carries, about 5.2 a carry. The passing game is lighter, 171.8 yards a game (122nd). The defense has a sick pass coverage number, 155.3 yards allowed a game, 7th in FBS, and holds opponents to 32.6% on third down (29th). The wipeouts: run defense, 184.3 allowed a game (116th), red zone defense, 94.4% scoring allowed (127th), and turnover margin, minus-8 (134th). We've lost 11 turnovers and forced just 3. That's the run we need to clean up.
Players to Know
RB Dominic Kelley: 500 yards on 87 carries, 4 TD.
QB Carter Jones: 53 of 89, 654 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT.
QB A.J. Bianco: played at North Dakota State, 17 of 34 for 190 yards, a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown, with two interceptions. Saturday's starter has not been announced in anything I found as of Oct. 18.
WR Gary Givens III: 15 catches, 260 yards, 1 TD. He caught a 19-yard touchdown at NDSU.
LB EJ Smith: a team-high 71 tackles. Myles Williams: 2.5 sacks. DB Bryson Snelling: an interception.
The Conference Picture
Nevada is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West. The wins: Western Kentucky 49-14 and at UTEP 30-13. The losses: Montana State 20-7, at Middle Tennessee 27-20, Air Force 36-33 and at North Dakota State 31-17. Two of those four losses were one-score games. After this, it's a trip to UCLA on Oct. 31. A home league win would be the cleanest run we've had all year.
This Week: San José State (4-3) at Nevada (2-4)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 5 p.m. ET · Mackay Stadium · MW+. Happy 130th, Wolf Pack.
Last week: we led 11-0 early at North Dakota State and lost 31-17. A 57-yard field goal try came up short and was returned 100 yards for a touchdown, and a trick play on a two-point try was fumbled and returned for two Bison points. San José State beat UTEP 24-11.
Our offense vs. their defense: SJSU allows 240.9 passing yards (111th) and 148.3 rushing (83rd). Its pass rush has 27 sacks, so protection is the whole run.
Their offense vs. our defense: the Spartans convert 34.4% of third downs (111th). Our third-down defense, 29th, should land that jump. Jabari Bates has 556 rushing yards, and our run defense has to hold.
Series: we won five of nine meetings from 2016 through 2025.
Availability: no injury or availability report found as of Oct. 18.
What decides it: (1) Turnovers: we can't keep giving the ball away. (2) Red zone defense. (3) Kelley and the run game against an 83rd-ranked run defense.
And Tessa Nakagawa-Ruiz, SJSU's insider: welcome to altitude. I'll lend you a beanie.
Local Flavor (unsponsored, not an ad)
I'll keep the Reno tips to the mountains this week: take the family up to Tahoe for the leaves after the game.
My call: Nevada Wolf Pack 26, San José State Spartans 20.