RENO, Nev. – Cody Fajardo threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and two more scores – the last one with 1:45 left in the game – to help Nevada come from behind Saturday to beat Air Force 45-42.
Aaron Bradley caught 15 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, and Brandon Wimberly had a career-high 15 receptions for 134 yards and a score for the Wolf Pack (3-2, 2-0 Mountain West), who trailed 42-30 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Nevada cornerback Charles Garrett’s interception at the Wolf Pack 25 sealed the victory with 30 seconds left in the game.
Karson Roberts ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score, and Broam Hart added 88 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Falcons (1-4, 0-4), who lost their fourth in a row.
Air Force went ahead 42-30 when Sam Gigliano made a 22-yard diving catch in the end zone with 7:44 left in the game.
But Fajardo answered with a 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Bradley to pull within 42-37 with 5:56 remaining.
Consecutive illegal substitution penalties helped force Air Force to punt, but when Nevada’s Joseph Huber fumbled at the Wolf Pack 31, his teammate Randy Uzoma recovered and ran 21 yards to midfield With 3:50 left, Fajardo passed 30 yards to Bradley, ran 9 yards and passed 8 to Wimberly before scoring on a 2-yard keeper. Jackson rushed for the 2-point conversion to put Nevada on top for good 45-42 with 1:45 left.
It was the 45th consecutive game that Wimberly has caught a pass, the longest active streak in the nation.
Fajardo completed his first 12 pass attempts and capped a 96-yard scoring drive on Nevada’s second possession with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Wimberly for a 7-0 lead.
Roberts got loose on a keeper around the right for a 60-yard run to the 6, and Jon Lee scored from there on the next play for a 7-7 tie.
Fajardo threw his incompletion on the next series, was kicked in his bad right knee and left the game. Backup Tyler Stewart was intercepted on the next play at midfield by Christian Spears, who returned it 21 yards to Nevada’s 22 before Anthony LaCoste opened the second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run to put Air Force ahead 14-7.
Brent Zuzo’s 26-yard field goal made it 14-10, but Sam Gagliano took a pitch left and raced 70 yards to the 2 to set up Hart’s 1-yard score for a 21-10 Air Force lead at 7:55.
But Fajardo, who returned in the second quarter, led Nevada on an 80-yard scoring drive capped by an 18-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Turner 2 minutes before the half to make it 21-17.
Roberts, a sophomore who began the season as the third-string quarterback but got the start because Jaleel Awini was suspended from the team indefinitely during the week, capped a 75-yard scoring drive to open the second half with a 9-yard touchdown run to give Air Force a 28-17 lead.
But Fajardo completed three passes to Wimberly for 36 yards on the next series then ran 19 yards on a naked bootleg around the left side to the end zone to cut the lead to 28-24 at 6:28 in the third quarter.
Hart rambled 27 yards to open the next series, and Roberts carried six times for 40 yards on the drive, including an 11-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons up 35-24 with 1:41 left in the third.
Nevada answered with Don Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown run to cut it to 35-30 early in the fourth quarter. Wimberly caught a short pass in the flat on a 2-point try, Justin DeCoud dragged him down just short of the goal line, setting the stage for the late drama.
