New Mexico vs Nevada game
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
No. 22 New Mexico (7-1, 4-0 Mountain West) plays at Nevada (3-5, 2-2) on Friday night at Mackay Stadium.
The Lobos lead the nation in takeaways, and a win keeps their playoff push alive.
Background
New Mexico is the Lobos, a Mountain West (a US college football conference) team coached by Jason Eck, ranked No. 22 nationally at 7-1 and 4-0 in conference play. Nevada is the Wolf Pack, 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West, hosting at Mackay Stadium in Reno. The game is drawing attention because New Mexico leads the country in turnover margin (plus-17) and interceptions (17), while Nevada is last in turnover margin (minus-13), and the Lobos are chasing a College Football Playoff/Group of Six spot.
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2025New Mexico beat Nevada 24-22 in Albuquerque, with D.J. McKinney running for two touchdowns and Scottre Humphrey adding a TD run; it was the Wolf Pack's fifth straight loss.
- Sep 19, 2026New Mexico's only loss of the season, a 14-6 setback at Oklahoma.
- Nov 6, 2026No. 22 New Mexico (7-1, 4-0 MW) plays at Nevada (3-5, 2-2 MW) at Mackay Stadium in Reno, 6 p.m. local / 9 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Key terms
- takeaways
- In football, a turnover is when the team with the ball loses possession via a fumble or interception.
- College Football Playoff
- An annual single-elimination tournament determining the national champion of NCAA Division I FBS college football.
- Group of Six
- The six NCAA Division I FBS conferences outside the power conferences, also called mid-majors.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Chris Murray of Nevada Sports Net predicted New Mexico 17, Nevada 14, saying he can't pick the Wolf Pack because of New Mexico's takeaway strength.
- Analysts
- Daniel Dobish of Sportsbook Wire predicted New Mexico 24, Nevada 12 and lightly backed New Mexico -9.5.
- Bears
- Joshua Nunn of Action Network picked Nevada +10.5 (-120) to cover the spread.
- Analysts
- Andrew Pistone of College Sports Wire predicted New Mexico 26, Nevada 10, with New Mexico -10.5 as his best bet.
Still unverified
The betting line differs across sources: New Mexico by 9.5 with a total of 36.5 (Nevada Sports Net); New Mexico -9.5 with an over/under of 38.5 (Sportsbook Wire); New Mexico -10.5 with a total of 38.5 (Action Network); New Mexico -10.5 with an over/under of 39.5 (College Sports Wire).