NEVADA PLAYS LIKE A FAVORITE, BEATS BOISE

Carson Strong threw for 263 yards and a touchdown, Toa Taua rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns and visiting Nevada defeated Boise State 41-31 on Saturday.

Nevada (4-1, 1-0), the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference’s West division, snapped a six-game losing streak to the Broncos, dating back to 2010. Nevada last won in Boise in 1997.

While Nevada coach Jay Norvell was all smiles after the game, he didn’t seem surprised at the result. He

Nevada 41, Boise State 31

was more ecstatic about the way his team won rather than breaking a long losing streak.

“This is the first game this season where we’ve really complemented each other,” Norvell said. “When the defense made a big play, the offense scored, and vice versa. That’s the style of football we like to play — physical and hard, fearless. That’s what we want, and now we want to build on that.”

Boise State (2-3, 1-1) is off to its slowest start since 2001 when it also started 2-3 before finishing the season 8-4. It’s also the first time since 2015 the Broncos have lost consecutive home games.

“We all know what the standard is here, and that’s not it,” Boise State coach Andy Avalos said.

Trailing 21-20 at halftime, Nevada’s defense needed just one play to flip the game at the start of the third quarter.

Tristan Nichols forced a fumble with a blindside hit on Boise State quarterback Hank Bachmeier. Five plays later, Taua rumbled into the end zone from 12 yards out. After adding the two-point conversion, Nevada took a 28-21 lead and never looked back.

Air Force 38, New Mexico 10: Brad Roberts rolled to 142 yards and scored twice as Air Force scored on its first four possessions to build a big early lead before coasting over host New Mexico.

The Falcons (4-1, 1-1 MW) defense contributed four takeaways and four sacks.

Air Force limited the Lobos (2-3, 0-1) to 189 yards, 143 of those compiled in the second half after the Falcons already had increased their lead to 31-0 early in the third quarter.

USTA 24, UNLV 17: Frank Harris threw two touchdown passes and host UTSA (5-0) posted its fifth straight win.

Cameron Friel completed 25 of 37 passes for 307 yards and had a touchdown pass and two interceptions for UNLV (0-5). Steve Jenkins had five receptions for 114 yards and caught a 63-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

No. 13 BYU 34, Utah State 20: Tyler Allgeier ran for a career-high 208 yards and three touchdowns to help BYU (5-0) beat Utah State (3-2) late Friday for the second straight time.