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Provo • Another game, another two-touchdown lead blown in the second half.
But this one was even more disappointing for the BYU Cougars than last week, because it came at home in front of 56,355 fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and in a game in which they seemingly had control.
Visiting Nevada held the Cougars to one touchdown in the second half and took a 42-35 win, handing BYU its third straight loss in a game eerily similar to last Thursday's 31-24 overtime loss at Central Florida.
"Nevada did a nice job in the second half capitalizing on our mistakes," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said.
The game turned on a dime in the fourth quarter, although Nevada had been building momentum most of the second half before finally taking the lead.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo's 25-yard touchdown run with 7:34 remaining broke a tie and gave Nevada its first lead since 3-0 early in the game. On BYU's next play from scrimmage, Christian Stewart was stripped of the football, and the Wolf Pack took over at the 20.
James Butler's 7-yard touchdown run sealed it with 5:54 remaining for the Wolf Pack (4-3), an 11-point underdog that snapped a two-game losing skid.
The Cougars' offense, stagnant most of the second half, came alive after Nevada took the 14-point lead, and Stewart's 8-yard touchdown pass to Keanu Nelson with 2:34 left made it a one-score game. The Cougars were off sides on a failed onside kick that went out of bounds, however, and Nevada ran precious time off the block before punting. BYU took over at the 10 with 1:29 remaining and no timeouts.
The Cougars moved the ball to the Nevada 38, but Stewart fumbled while scrambling and Nevada recovered at the 34 with 39 seconds left.
Ball game.
"Just trying to do a little bit too much," Mendenhall said of Stewart's fumbles.
Nevada cut into BYU's 28-13 halftime lead with a 74-yard touchdown drive on its first possession of the third quarter. To that point, the Cougars had bottled up Fajardo, but he hurt them with his legs several times on the drive and capped it with a 1-yard TD plunge.
Leading 28-20, the Cougars were driving at the end of the third quarter, just as they were last week at UCF. But Terenn Houk's fumble was returned to the BYU 48, and the Wolf Pack converted on 4th-and-2 twice and then tied it 28-28 when Richie Turner beat Michael Davis for an 18-yard touchdown pass on third down. A two-point conversion pass to Hasaan Henderson was good.
Offenses had their way in the first half, but the Cougars went cold in the final 30 minutes and Nevada stayed consistent.
Stewart had an excellent opening half, throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 32 yards in the first half, as running back Algie Brown left the game early with, what else, a sprained ankle. Top back Jamaal Williams was also held out of the game with a sprained ankle, along with linebacker Alani Fua and offensive lineman Brayden Kearsley. Safety Craig Bills missed the game with a concussion.
The Cougars finished with a whopping 601 yards of offense, to Nevada's 411, but a missed field goal on their first possession of the second half and the three second-half turnovers proved costly.
Stewart completed 39 of 63 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns, but the two fumbles will mar the performance. Fajardo was 26 of 40 for 285 yards and a TD.
Twitter: @drewjay