Holbrook passes New Mexico State to victory over UNR

RENO -- Chase Holbrook passed for 409 yards and three touchdowns to help New Mexico State win a shootout over UNR 48-45 on Saturday.

Holbrook also rushed for a touchdown for the Aggies (3-2 overall, 1-0 Western Athletic Conference), who controlled the ball for the final 3:51 to run out the clock in a game that saw the two teams combine for more than 1,000 yards of offense.

New Mexico State had 513 yards in total offense, and the Wolf Pack (3-3, 1-1 WAC) had 507 yards in a seesaw game that had nine lead changes and three ties.

UNR's Vai Taua rushed for 188 yards and scored four touchdowns. He took in a 16-yard screen pass from Colin Kaepernick from 14 yards to tie the score at 38 with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.

New Mexico State responded with a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Holbrook to Marcus Anderson to go ahead 45-38 with 13:38 left.

After UNR was forced to punt, Kyle Hughes kicked an 18-yard field goal to put the Aggies up 48-38.

The Wolf Pack scored on a 19-yard pass from Kaepernick to Chris Wellington with 3:51 left to pull to within three points, but UNR didn't get the ball back.

Holbrook completed 28 of 47 passes and had one interception. Kaepernick was 15 of 26 for 194 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

New Mexico State was 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions.