Taua’s 263 yards leads Nevada over Fresno

Vai Taua ran for a career-best 263 yards and a late touchdown, and quarterback Colin Kaepernick had 118 yards and two scores in Nevada’s 472-yard rushing attack in a 41-28 victory over host Fresno State on Friday night.

Courtney Randall had 66 yards rushing and another touchdown for the Wolf Pack (5-4, 3-2 Wester Athletic Conference), who rarely stopped moving forward in another prodigious performance by Kaepernick and their “pistol” offense.

They finished with 600 total yards -- their third 600-yard game this season -- in Nevada’s first victory in Fresno since 1998.

Seyi Ajirotutu caught two touchdown passes from Tom Brandstater for the Bulldogs (5-4, 2-3), who lost their second straight and dropped to 1-3 at Bulldog Stadium this season with just their second loss to Nevada in the last 10 meetings. Brandstater completed 23 of 43 passes for 260 yards but had two interceptions.

A.J. Jefferson returned a kickoff 93 yards for a score in the fourth quarter to keep Fresno State close, but Kevin Grimes intercepted Brandstater’s fourth-down pass in the final minutes, and Ajirotutu fumbled at the Nevada 10 with 1:57 to play.

Lonyae Miller also rushed for a score, but Fresno State simply couldn’t stop the Wolf Pack, who got Kaepernick’s third 100-yard rushing game and Taua’s first 200-yard performance of the season.