The Sports Xchange
Sep 4, 2015

Nevada senior running back Don Jackson rushed for 124 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns to lead the Wolfpack to a season-opening 31-17 win over visiting California-Davis Aggies on Thursday night.

Nevada, of the Mountain West, never trailed after mounting a 21-3 lead against the Big Sky opponent by halftime.

The Wolfpack started strong from the start on their first drive, going 75 yards on 11 plays in 4:35 for the score. Jackson capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. He rushed for 31 yards on seven carries in the possession.

Nevada's next two possessions also resulted in touchdowns after long sustained drives that did not take much time off the clock. The Wolfpack scored on a nine-play, 80-yard drive in 4:27 and then an 11-play, 80-yard possession that lasted 4:13.

Jackson scored on a 7-yard run and quarterback Tyler Stewart completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jarred Gipson to culminate both drives. Nevada led 21-0 with 6:29 left in the first half.

The Aggies made the game interesting with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 24-10 after they converted on a fourth-and-3 at the Nevada 5. Quarterback Ben Scott, a Reno, Nev., native, completed the 5-yard touchdown pass to Ramon Vargas to culminate a 15-play, 77-yard drive that lasted 8:45.

Nevada answered on the next possession, however, after UC Davis' failed onside kick. The Wolfpack scored in only four plays starting from the Aggies' 41-yard line, capped by Stewart's 15-yard touchdown run with 5:11 left.

The Aggies capped the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run by Scott with only 2 seconds left in the game.