The College Football Blog: 2012 Mountain West Game of the Year

Mountain West Game of the Year

Week 8: San Diego State at Nevada (39-38, OT)

Highlights: San Diego State was 4-3 going into the game and the Aztecs were 6.5-point underdogs. Nevada was 6-1. 

On the final play of San Diego State’s second possession, QB Ryan Katz was sacked by Jeremiah Green and injured his ankle. With SD State punting, Katz came off the field and he would not return. 

Nevada got a FG late in the 1^st quarter to take a 3-0 lead into the 2^nd. The Aztecs countered with a pair of FG’s to go up 6-3. 

With less than 3 minutes remaining in the half, Nevada went for it on 4^th and 16 from the San Diego State 30. QB Cody Fajardo made it 15 yards before going down 1 yard shy of the 1^st down marker. SD State took over but they went 3-and-out. Nevada then drove 56 yards for a score to take a 10-6 lead to the half.

On their second possession of the 3^rd quarter, the Wolf Pack marched 80 yards for a TD to make the score 17-6. The Aztecs responded with a 62-yard scoring drive. On 4^th and 2 from the 8, Walter Kazee picked up 5 yards to the 3. On the next play, Kazee scored. San Diego State converted the 2-point try to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 3:39 on the clock in the 3^rd. But Nevada went on a 75-yard drive for a TD to make it a 10-point game heading into the 4^th. 

Early in the 4^th, backup QB Adam Dingwell hit Dominique Sandifer on a 19-yard TD that brought SD State back within 3. Once again Nevada answered, with Stefphon Jefferson rushing for a TD that made it 31-21 in the middle of the 4^th. San Diego State stayed in the game, going 75 yards for a touchdown to get back within 3 points with 3:45 on the clock. 

Nevada then drove from their own 28 to the San Diego State 40 before stalling, but they forced the Aztecs to use all 3 timeouts and they still managed to eat up a considerable amount of clock. After Nevada’s punt went into the end zone for a touchback, SD State took over at the 20 with only 50 seconds to play. Dingwell completed 3 passes and drew a defensive pass interference to get the Aztecs within FG range. Chance Marden hit a 35-yarder to tie it up at 31-31 and send the game into OT. 

Nevada was on offense first in overtime and they had no trouble scoring, with Fajardo hitting Brandon Wimberley for a TD that made it 38-31. On SD State’s possession, Dingwell hit Gavin Escobar on a 21-yard TD strike to bring the Aztecs within an extra point of extending overtime. But San Diego State decided to go for the win. Dingwell hit Rob Andrews in the corner of the end zone for the 2-point conversion, giving San Diego State a 39-38 victory.