It happened again.
An overtime touchdown. Jubilant players flooding the field. Another dramatic ending to the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl.
After New Mexico State won in a walk-off last year, Nevada did it this year. After struggling to gain yards — let alone score points — for three-plus quarters, the Wolf Pack found a way.
An 11-yard TD pass from Ty Gangi to tight end Reagan Roberson gave Nevada an improbable 16-13 victory over Arkansas State in the fourth Arizona Bowl on Saturday at Arizona Stadium.
Wolf Pack coach Jay Norvell — who has been part of teams that played in the national championship game and the Super Bowl — called it “by far my favorite victory — not even close.”
It had to be among the strangest.
Nevada had 98 yards and six first downs through three quarters. Until Devonte Lee scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:06 remaining in regulation, the Wolf Pack had just three points.
But Nevada stuck together. The players never stopped fighting. They never lost faith.
“We believe in each other,” Norvell said. “We believe in the plan. We believe that if you continue to work, good things can happen. Our guys never quit.”
Nevada tight end Reagan Roberson, center, celebrates with his teammates after plunging in for the winning score in overtime against Arkansas State in the Arizona Bowl.
Norvell spoke at length about sacrifice, selflessness and stepping up.
He marveled at defensive end Korey Rush, who missed the final three regular-season games because of a broken foot, played with a screw in said foot Saturday and notched one of Nevada’s 10 tackles for losses.
Norvell beamed about senior safety Justin Brent, a backup pressed into duty because of personnel losses who recorded the first two interceptions of his college career.
Norvell reveled in the out-of-nowhere emergence of 5-9, 180-pound walk-on receiver Ben Putnam, who had a team-high four catches for 114 yards — his first four receptions as a Division I player.
“I didn’t even know who he was three months ago,” Norvell said of Putnam, a junior-college transfer.
Shortly after the Arizona Bowl, Norvell announced that Putnam would receive a scholarship.
Putnam made perhaps the biggest offensive play of the game before the winning touchdown.
With time running out in the fourth quarter, Arkansas State leading 7-3 and Nevada facing second-and-10 at the A-State 45-yard line, Putnam broke free on a wheel route up the left sideline. Gangi found him, and Putnam nearly scored, tumbling down at the 1-yard line.
One play later, Lee took a direct snap and plowed into the end zone. In a game it had no business leading, the Wolf Pack suddenly had surged ahead.
The Red Wolves had plenty of time to respond. They advanced to the Nevada 14-yard line. On the final play of regulation, Blake Grupe — who had missed his two previous attempts — drilled a 32-yard field goal to force overtime.
Arkansas State running back Warren Wand skips over a tackle attempt by Nevada defensive back Daniel Brown.
Nevada won the OT coin toss and elected to start on defense. Arkansas State moved the ball to the 8 before settling for Grupe’s 24-yard field goal — which was actually a better outcome than A-State’s previous four trips inside the Nevada 10.
Incredibly, the Red Wolves came away empty on four such drives spanning the second and fourth quarters. Head coach Blake Anderson, who doubles as A-State’s quarterbacks coach and play-caller, took the blame afterward.
“Honestly, I feel like I let them down,” said Anderson, whose team outgained Nevada 499-285. “I just told them that in the locker room. My job as the head coach and the offensive coordinator is to get points on the board, and we just left too many.”
Arkansas State’s struggles near the goal line began on the penultimate possession of the first half. After an incomplete pass on first-and-goal from the 8, Grupe missed a 24-yard field goal.
After forcing Nevada to punt to start the second half — another recurring theme — A-State advanced to the 3. On second-and-goal, receiver Kirk Merritt just missed getting a foot down in the back of the end zone. On fourth-and-goal, quarterback Justice Hansen rolled right and threw a backward pass to offensive lineman Lanard Bonner. Led by defensive end Dom Peterson, who had a team-high 2.5 TFLs, the Wolf Pack defense swarmed Bonner for a 1-yard loss.
After intercepting Gangi at the Nevada 39, A-State reached the 6. On third-and-3, Brent deflected a Hansen pass to teammate Jomon Dotson for an interception.
After picking off Gangi again later in the third quarter, the Red Wolves advanced to the Wolf Pack 9. On the first play of the fourth quarter, on first-and-goal, Hansen tried to rifle a ball over the middle. Brent intercepted it just beyond the goal line.
“Like coach said, it’s all about sacrifice for your team,” said Brent, a special-teams standout who began his career as an offensive player for Notre Dame. “One of our guys, Tyson Williams, went down, and I had to step up and help my team.
“I just see the way the guys fight every day, every one of our seniors, even the young guys, and I just wanted to be able to make a play for them. The rest is history.”
Tight end Jacob Drahos celebrates after the Wolf Pack knocked off Arkansas State in overtime. Nevada took its first lead with 1:06 left in regulation.
Despite their red-zone woes, the Red Wolves had the lead for most of regulation and one possession into overtime. Down 13-10 in OT, the Wolf Pack faced third-and-7 at the A-State 11. Roberson was one of three receivers bunched to the left side. After staying in briefly to throw a chip-block, the sophomore leaked into the left flat.
Gangi hit Roberson at the 9. He broke a tackle at the 6, hurdled a defender at the 2 and lunged inside the left pylon. Nevada had been 2 of 15 on third down before Roberson’s touchdown.
“I gave him a chance, and he made a great play for me,” Gangi said. “Broke a tackle and drove into the end zone. Game-winner.”
Nevada snapped Arkansas State’s four-game winning streak. The Red Wolves finished 8-5.
The Wolf Pack matched them at 8-5 and became the first team to claim two Arizona Bowl trophies, having won the inaugural game in 2015. Nevada did it with a new coaching staff and a mostly new cast of characters.
“I just have so much trust and belief in our players,” Norvell said. “As long as there’s time on the clock, we were going to believe that we could win it.”
