Luke Duncan clearly stepped right into the middle of the Nevada Wolf Pack’s muddy quarterback picture on Saturday.

The UCLA transfer had his best day as a member of the Wolf Pack, completing 18-of-29 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns in a convincing 28-13 victory over the San Jose State Spartans at Mackay Stadium. Duncan, Nevada’s third different starting quarterback over the last three games, had not seen extended playing time in over a month, when he was a disappointing 7-of-16 passing for 51 yards and two interceptions on Sept. 12 against Montana State.

“I told him this week, ‘You want to rise up and get redemption?'” Nevada coach Jeff Choate told Nevada Sports Net. “‘This is your opportunity.”

The Wolf Pack (3-4, 2-2), No. 6 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, outgained San Jose State, 324-204, had more first downs (19-9) and controlled the ball for over 38 minutes with Duncan operating the offense.

“That first drive (72 yards on 16 plays, ending in a 4-yard scoring pass to Marshaun Brown), we had some third-and-long situations, and he operated those things flawlessly,” Choate said.

Duncan, to be sure, had a lot of help in beating the Spartans.

The Wolf Pack defense controlled the game and took all the pressure off Duncan, stopping San Jose State on 13-of-14 third-down plays. Bishop Manogue graduate Brown also caught a touchdown pass and threw one, 32 yards to running back Herschel Turner in the fourth quarter for a 21-3 lead.

The 6-foot-6 Duncan, buried on the bench before Saturday, is now a serious candidate, along with Carter Jones and A.J. Bianco, to start on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against his former UCLA teammates.

“It was a total team effort,” said Choate of Nevada’s 12th victory in a row at Mackay Stadium over the Spartans since 2002.

NO. 1 LOBOS EDGE NDSU

No. 1 New Mexico (6-1, 3-0) outlasted No. 2 North Dakota State (6-2, 3-2), 21-16, in front of 34,794 in Albuquerque. Lobo safety Austin Brawley returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory.

“Our defense was awesome,” New Mexico coach Jason Eck told golobos.com. “They really came up huge.”

The Lobos held North Dakota State to just 53 yards rushing on 28 carries. Linebackers Mercury Swaim (11 tackles, 2.5 for a loss), Gavin Sell (five tackles for a loss) and Ray James (11 tackles, a sack and an interception) keyed the New Mexico defense.

“Our guys wanted to prove that they are the best defense in this conference,” Eck said.

The crowd of 34,794, the biggest of the season in Albuquerque, witnessed what might be a preview of this year’s Mountain West championship game.

“That was an incredible crowd,” Eck said. “Lobo Nation really showed up and they saw a heck of a ballgame. Whatever they paid for those tickets, they got their money’s worth. Now we just need to make that a habit.”

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

No. 3 Wyoming (5-3, 4-1) also stayed in the running for a spot in the league championship game with an impressive 28-14 win over No. 5 Air Force (5-2, 3-2) in Laramie, Wyo. Air Force, which never punted, lost despite controlling the ball for nearly 38 minutes, rushing for 304 yards, piling up more first downs (23-13) and outgaining the Cowboys, 387-301. The Falcons, though, lost three fumbles.

Wyoming quarterback Tyler Hughes also outplayed three Air Force quarterbacks (Howard Fisher, Evan Medders, Josh Johnson). Hughes was 10-of-17 for 113 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 146 yards on 12 carries, scoring on a 68-yard touchdown run on the game’s second play.

“Tyler was outstanding,” Wyoming coach Jay Sawvel told gowyo.com. “What happens for Tyler is that no play is ever over. He’s a special talent, a great leader.”

The Cowboys, winners of three in a row, now have the most league wins (four) in the Mountain West this season. They were 2-6 in the Mountain West just last year and 2-5 in 2024.

“We have a really happy football team now,” Sawvel said. “We have a football team that played its hearts out.”

No. 8 Hawaii (2-6, 1-4) earned its first Mountain West win by trouncing No. 10 Northern Illinois, 56-21, in front of just 7,650 in DeKalb, Ill. Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado was 22-of-32 for 323 yards and three touchdowns as the Rainbow Warriors held the ball for nearly 38 minutes. Running back DeVon Rice had 71 yards and three touchdowns on a dozen carries.

Hawaii outgained the Huskies, 504-266, and scored 42 of the final 49 points in the game. Northern Illinois is still winless (0-7, 0-3) in its first season in the Mountain West.

“That was our worst game to date,” NIU first-year head coach Rob Harley told NIU Athletics. “We had a great week of practice and a great week of prep. We have every reason to believe this was going to be when we were going to be consistent and play together. And that’s just not what we got.”

No. 4 UNLV (4-3, 2-1), which hosts Northern Illinois on Saturday, had a bye this past weekend, as did No. 9 UTEP (1-6, 0-3). UTEP, which has lost five in a row, will be at North Dakota State on Saturday.

THE RANKINGS

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West football rankings for the week of Oct. 26:

1. NEW MEXICO (6-1, 3-0): This week: at San Jose State, Saturday.

2. NORTH DAKOTA STATE (6-2, 3-2): This week: UTEP, Saturday.

3. WYOMING (5-3, 4-1): This week: Bye.

4. UNLV (4-3, 2-1): This week: Northern Illinois, Saturday.

5. AIR FORCE (5-2, 3-2): This week: Connecticut, Saturday.

6. NEVADA (3-4, 2-2): This week: at UCLA, Saturday.

7. SAN JOSE STATE (4-4, 2-2): This week: New Mexico, Saturday.

8. HAWAII (2-6, 1-4): This week: Bye.

9. UTEP (1-6, 0-3): This week: at North Dakota State, Saturday.

10. NORTHERN ILLINOIS (0-7, 0-3): This week: at UNLV, Saturday.