RENO – For the third straight season Sacramento State football opened the season on the road against a Division I-A opponent, and for the third straight season the Hornets lost convincingly.

Playing at Mackay Stadium against Nevada-Reno, the Hornets were destroyed 59-7, giving them eight straight losses dating back to last season. Sac State lost 40-7 to Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., last year and 42-12 at Texas-El Paso to open 2002.

Nevada bounced back from a 38-21 loss at Louisiana Tech five days ago with Saturday’s win. The Wolf Pack controlled the ball for over two-thirds of the game, amassing 598 yards of offense compared to only 177 yards for the Hornets.

“We were able to run the ball at times and protect at times but it just wasn’t good enough,” Sac State head coach Steve Mooshagian said. “I knew Nevada and I knew what they were capable of doing.

“This reminds me of some of the days when I was coaching here as the offensive coordinator,” said Mooshagian, who held that role in Reno during the 1996 season. “We had some days like this where we put up some big numbers.”

The game started off well for Sac State as it took the opening kickoff and had its most efficient drive of the game. The Hornets moved the ball 42 yards in eight plays, including three receptions by senior wide receiver Fred Amey for 38 total yards, but the drive ended on a missed 47-yard field goal attempt by freshman kicker Juan Gamboa.

Nevada would match the Hornets’ first drive by marching down the field only to have it end with a missed field goal. On third down and goal from the Hornets’ three-yard line, Matt Logue and Ramon Payne combined for a sack that set the Wolf Pack back nine yards and resulted in the missed kick.

It would be the Wolf Pack’s lone drive that did not end in a score.

Nevada would finish the first half with four touchdown scoring drives. Wolf Pack quarterback Jeff Rowe would throw both of his touchdown passes and run one more in during the rest of the half. Rowe would end up with 234 yards completing 20 passes on 28 attempts and two touchdowns passing and two rushing.

“My hat goes off to (Nevada),” Mooshagian said. “The quarterback was 20 of 28. We just didn’t get off the field third downs. There were some penalties in there, too, that hurt.”

Nevada also racked up 312 yards rushing as both Nevada running backs, Drew Robinson and Chance Kretschmer, topped the 100-yard mark. Sac State junior running back Tyronne Gross led the Hornets in rushing in the first half with 42 yards but was forced to sit out the second half with a slight pull of his hamstring, Mooshagian said.

Backup running back and true freshman Ryan Mole led the Hornets in rushing with 48 yards, most of which came with the game well in hand for Nevada. Mole would gain 37 yards on the Hornets’ lone scoring drive which ended with junior quarterback Brad Tredway and sophomore wide receiver Mel Cuckovich connecting on a 39-yard scoring pass.

The game was the first for senior starting quarterback Ryan Leadingham after severe arm injuries suffered in the Causeway Classic last October sidelined him for the rest of last season. Leadingham finished with only 78 yards on 9 of 17 passing.

“It took a while for the guys to get used to the speed of playing at Nevada’s level,” Leadingham said. “It’s a totally different game than we’re used to. Nevada did have a different intensity than they had against (Louisiana) Tech on Monday night.”

The Hornets will attempt to bounce back from the loss in the home opener Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. inside Hornet Stadium against Southern Utah.