Neither offense inspired much confidence last fall. Nevada's passing attack ranked among the worst in the country, and the Wolf Pack finished with more turnovers (27) than touchdowns (19), the nation's worst turnover margin. San José State wasn't much better, losing its top receiver Nick Scudero — who led the country in receiving yards in 2024 — to Colorado in the portal, on top of 12 total departures. Both staffs leaned hard on the portal this offseason to patch the holes.
The last meeting wasn't close. Nevada rolled San José State 55-10 in November, and the Wolf Pack still lead the all-time series 23-12-2 with a long history of dominance at home in Reno. San José State hasn't won there since 2000, though the series had actually tightened into a run of one-score games from 2020 through 2024 before last year's blowout reset the tone.
Nevada does return one legitimate strength: defensive end Dylan LaBarbera, who piled up 87 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks a season ago and gives Choate's defense a real anchor. San José State's rebuild leans more on new offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann and a wave of transfer additions after a February staff shakeup, with Niumatalolo squarely on the hot seat entering year 3. Mountain West preseason predictions have been all over the map for both teams — SJSU has been slotted anywhere from 2nd to 9th in the conference.
Neither team snapped its 10-loss funk in a way that inspires much confidence, and both are betting on unproven arms to be the difference. Nevada gets the head start of a home crowd and a defense with a proven piece up front; San José State is banking on a portal reset paying off faster than it did a year ago. Whoever's quarterback settles in first by late October probably wins the day.