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RENO, Nev. — The Rebels survived the Wolf Pack's late game rally to come away with a 23-17 win, their first conference victory of the season.
The Rebels started off strong, taking a 13-0 lead into halftime behind the running Keith Whitely. He broke out for a 37-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels their only touchdown of the first half. Whitely finished the game with 16 carries for 76 yards and the touchdown. The Rebels also lost starting quarterback Black Decker near the end of the first half to an undisclosed injury.
The Wolf Pack came out in the second half strong with a field goal and a touchdown to cut the lead to 13-10.
The Rebels (2-3, 1-0) went up 20-10 after Ryan McAleenan returned a Tyler Stewart interception for a touchdown.
The Wolf Pack (2-3, 0-1) responded with a touchdown drive, highlighted by Stewart's 25-yard pass to Wyatt Demps, cutting the lead to just three. The Rebels would make another field goal to go back up six.
The Wolf Pack had just under two minutes left to score a touchdown and sneak away with the victory. The Rebel defense was stout as they held the Wolf Pack offense to just 32 yards on the final drive.
The Rebels will host conference rival San Jose State next week as the Wolf Pack will host the Lobos of New Mexico.
The Utah State Aggies (2-2, 1-0) defeated the Colorado State Rams (2-3, 0-1) 33-18.
The Mountain West Conference went 1-3 in non-conference games in Week 5.
Here are the rest of the scores from Week 5 of the Mountain West Conference:
Navy 33, Air Force (2-2, 1-0) 11
It was a tough day for the Falcons as they couldn't get much going offensively and couldn't stop quarterback Keenen Reynolds and the Midshipmen from running the ball. Reynolds ran for 183 of the 270 Midshipmen running yards.
The Falcons' only bright spot on the day was senior wide receiver Garrett Brown. Brown finished with three catches for 64 yards as well as nine carries for 45 yards. Brown led all Falcons, including quarterback Karson Roberts, for total yards with 109. Roberts finished the day 5-12 for 73 yards passing and an interception and 12 rushes for 28 yards and a touchdown.
The Falcons prepare for their second conference game as they will host Wyoming next week.
Appalachian State 31, Wyoming (0-5, 0-1) 13
It's been a tough start to the season for the Cowboys. Despite outgaining the Mountaineers in total yards (373 to 314), the Cowboys were unable to translate it to points. The Cowboys were led by running back Brian Hill, who finished with 30 carries for 208 yards and a touchdown.
The Mountaineer defense was able to stop the Cowboys just outside of field goal range on many occasions Saturday. The Cowboys were looking to score their first touchdown of the game when Latrell Gibbs intercepted Cowboy quarterback Cameron Coffman and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown.
The Cowboys were unable to stop the Mountaineers' running attack as they accumulated 249 rushing yards, led by Marcus Cox's 178.
The Cowboys will host the Falcons in Week 6 as they look for their first win of the season.
Auburn 35, San Jose State (2-3, 1-1) 21
Despite the loss, the Spartans looked good on offense, especially on the ground. The Spartans were led by running back Tyler Ervin, who finished with 27 carries for 160 yards and a touchdown.
Spartan quarterback Joe Gray played well despite throwing two interceptions. Gray finished 21-33 for 224 yards, passing to seven different receivers.
Defensively, the Spartans need to improve their run defense. Tiger running back Peyton Barber lit the Spartan defense with 147 yards and five touchdowns on 28 carries.
The Spartans will travel to Las Vegas to take on the Rebels in Week 6.
New Mexico (3-2, 1-0) 38, New Mexico State 29
The Lobos came back from a 26-14 halftime deficit and outscored the Aggies 26-3 in the second half. Quarterback Lamar Jordan didn't have a very good day throwing the ball, just 5-17 for 45 yards and an interception, but he did have an incredible day running the ball. Jordan finished the game with 16 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown.
The Lobos' run game was the story of the night. The Lobos finished the night with 401 rushing yards, led by Jordan, Teriyon Gipson (19 carries, 142 yards and a touchdown) and Jhurell Pressley (18 carries, 99 yards and a touchdown).
The Aggies were able to run on the Lobos as well. Aggies running back Larry Rose III finished with 21 carries for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
The Lobos will travel to Reno to take on the Wolf Pack next week.
Boise State (4-1, 1-0) 55, Hawaii (2-3, 0-1) 0
For the third time this season, the Warriors were shut out. The Warriors couldn't get anything going offensively as they only mustered 190 total yards on the night. Quarterback Max Wittek had a tough outing as he went 7-24 for just 66 yards and two interceptions.
The Broncos are the class leaders of the Mountain West. The Bronco offense put up 554 total yards on the Warrior defense. Quarterback Brett Rypien played very well, going 19-25 for 271 yards passing and three touchdowns. Running back standout Jeremy McNichols had another stellar game, carrying the ball 20 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
The Warriors will welcome the Aztecs to Honolulu as the Broncos will travel to Fort Collins to take on the Rams.
San Diego State (2-3, 1-0) 21, Fresno State (1-4, 0-2) 7
The Aztecs dominated the Bulldogs Saturday night. Aztec running backs Chase Price and Donnell Pumphrey had 275 rushing yards and a touchdown (Pumphrey) on 50 carries. Quarterback Maxwell Smith was efficient on limited passes. He went 5-12 for 104 yards passing and two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs' offense was almost nonexistent Saturday. The Bulldogs only mustered 89 total yards on offense. Let me repeat that, 89 total yards for the Bulldog offense. The Aztecs completely shut down the Bulldog offense, holding quarterback Zack Greenlee to just 12-25 for 77 yards passing and a touchdown.
The Aztecs will travel across the Pacific Ocean to play the Warriors in Week 6 as the Bulldogs will host the Utah State Aggies.
Nathan Harker is a sports writing intern currently enrolled at Brigham Young University majoring in broadcast journalism. Nathan can be reached at nathan.harker32@gmail.com or via Twitter @nharker3207.
