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LAS VEGAS (AP) Cody Fajardo rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown, while throwing for three additional scores, to lead Nevada to a 49-27 win over in-state rival UNLV in Saturday's Battle for the Fremont Cannon.
Trailing 17-14 at halftime, Nevada (7-5, 4-4 Mountain West) outscored the Rebels 21-3 in the third quarter en route to a 35-10 second half to pull away for the win.
In its first possession of the second half, Nevada ran the ball directly at UNLV, using rushing plays in 10 of the first 11 plays of the scoring drive before Fajardo connected with Jerico Richardson on a 12-yard pass to give the Wolf Pack a 21-17 lead. The Rebels answered by driving 46 yards on eight plays and cutting Nevada's lead to 21-20 after Jonathan Leiva booted a 23-yard field goal.
From there, Nevada dominated and scored 28 unanswered points to pull away for the decisive win. Nevada won the turnover battle, 4-1, picking off three Blake Decker passes and recovering a muffed punt. In the Wolf Pack's seven wins it had 19 turnovers, while it had just seven in five losses.
The Wolf Pack offense outgained UNLV (2-11, 1-7), 454-376, with 408 yards coming on the ground. Nevada had three rushers gain more than 100 yards, as Don Jackson rumbled for 132 yards on 22 carries and James Butler tallied 116 yards on 11 attempts.
UNLV looked as if it would prove formidable in the first half, as it brushed off an early turnover and 7-0 deficit when Decker drove the Rebels 75 yards in 10 plays and found Devante Davis for a 3-yard TD strike to tie the score, 7-7. The Rebels took the lead early in the second quarter when Decker hooked up with Devonte Boyd on a 24-yard touchdown reception, then took a 10-point lead when Leiva kicked a 44-yard field goal.
Nevada carried momentum to the locker room, scoring a touchdown with 1:31 left in the half, when Fajardo found Richy Turner on an 18-yard pass play, cutting UNLV's lead to three.
Decker finished with 21 completions on 39 attempts for 171 yards, while throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions. Shaquille Murray-Lawrence finished with 135 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown for the Rebels.
The loss brought an end to the Bobby Hauck-era. The UNLV coach turned his resignation in to UNLV's director of athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy on Friday.
Hauck, who had two years left on his contract, will receive a one-time payment of $400,000 to complete the University's financial obligations.
