After throwing five interceptions last week against Air Force, Boise State quarterback Grant Hedrick redeemed himself on Saturday by throwing for 346 yards and two touchdowns as the Broncos held off Nevada to win 51-46.
Boise's Jay Ajayi added 152 yards on the ground and three scores in the Broncos' first road win this season in Mountain West Conference play.
Hedrick did throw a pick six and dropped a fumble onto the turf, but responded overall after his forgettable performance last week in Boise State's loss to Air Force in Colorado Springs.
The night in Reno belonged to the scoreboard operator in what turned out to be a shootout. However, as stellar as both offenses were, each defense also had a hand in the outcome.
Just before halftime, trailing 21-16, Boise State scored two touchdowns off consecutive Nevada turnovers. First, Tyler Gray returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 23-21 edge.
Moments later the Wolf Pack's quarterback Cody Fajardo threw the ball away again. Three plays later, Hedrick punched it in from two yards out to give his team a 30-21 lead at intermission. On the night, Fajardo threw four picks, all of which turned into BSU touchdowns.
After trading scores in the third frame, Nevada intercepted a Hedrick offering and early in the fourth quarter and took it to the house to cut into Boise's lead. Nevada later added a field goal to trim the Broncos’ lead to 5.
Boise would ultimately seal the deal with big plays from its banged up secondary. The Broncos forced Nevada into a fourth and long with just over a minute remaining, and Fajardo's pass was tipped and fell harmlessly to the turf.
Hedrick took a knee and the game was over. Boise's win marked the fourth in a row over the Wolf Pack.
For the game the Broncos racked up 570 total yards, while Nevada tallied 462 on the night.
Boise State moves to 4-2 (2-1) while Nevada drops to 3-2 (1-1).