Chaos ensues following punch to head in SMU vs. Nevada
The 2024 college football season is underway on Saturday. And the Nevada Wolfpack are taking on the SMU Mustangs in Reno. It didn’t take long for things to get a bit chippy between the two squads. In the first quarter, SMU receiver Jordan Hudson and a Nevada player were seen exchanging words, and that’s when Hudson decided to slap their helmet with his hand.
Another player from Nevada immediately came to his teammate’s defense and drilled Hudson, knocking him to the ground. Which is when the scuffle between both teams started.
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Eventually things were cooled off. Hudson had to be calmed down by his teammates and coaches, including quarterback Preston Stone. Once the dust settled, officials decided to call offsetting personal foul penalties (two on Nevada) and one on SMU (Hudson). Since it’s their first personal foul, all three players will be allowed to stay on the sidelines.
The Nevada defense was giving the SMU offense all kinds of problems in the first half, forcing an interception from Preston Stone (he nearly threw two others). Kevin Jennings came in for the Mustangs and engineered some drives. Both quarterbacks were switched in and out of the game for much of the first half. With 4:00 left in the second quarter, the game was tied at 10-10.
The problems weren’t just on the offense in the first half, the SMU secondary left a Nevada receiver completely wide open deep down the field on a play. And there was also a botched snap on a punt, which gave the Wolfpack great field advantage, allowing them to punch it in for the 7-0 lead on the Mustangs.
There were also numerous penalties for SMU throughout the first half.
Nevada had over 100 rushing yards in the first half. Quarterback Brendon Lewis had over 100 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns. The Mustangs simply couldn’t find any answer to stop him. And the Wolfpack took a 17-10 lead with less than 10 seconds left in the first half.
Nevada has pretty much an entirely new coaching staff and over 50 new players on their roster. And they those changes definitely made their impact felt early in this one.