Nevada awards scholarship to freshman kicker Brandon Talton after hitting game-winning 56-yard field goal in upset over Purdue
- Nevada pulled off an upset win over Purdue on Friday, scoring 20 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Boilermakers.
- The hero of the game was freshman kicker Brandon Talton, who hit a 56-yard field goal as the clock expired to give the Wolfpack the win.
- After the game, Talton was awarded the game ball and given a full scholarship by head coach Jay Norvell.
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The Nevada Wolfpack pulled off an incredible comeback against the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday night thanks to freshman kicker Brandon Talton.
The Wolfpack entered the game as 11-point underdogs at home, and at halftime trailed Purdue 24-7, but would mount a comeback in the second half to bring the game within reach.
With just seconds remaining in the game, Nevada lined up for the potential winning field goal from a daunting 56 yards out. Talton, playing in his first ever collegiate game, crushed it.
Talton hadn't even known if he'd won the starting kicker job until Friday morning. As a walk-on, he was in an ongoing competition with the other kickers on the roster before being informed just hours before the game that he would be making his debut under the lights.
By the end of the night, he had sent the home crowd into hysterics, kicked the third-longest field goal in school history, and helped the Wolfpack to just its second win ever against a Big Ten opponent, per ESPN.
If you thought Talton's night couldn't get better from there, you'd be wrong. As the Nevada locker room celebrated its comeback victory, head coach Jay Norvell gave Talton the game ball, and announced taht the walk-on would be getting a full scholarship.
Talton and his Nevada teammates will face another huge test next week when they travel to Oregon to play a Ducks team ranked 11th in the nation. If they can keep things close enough, they now know they have a kicker that can hit one when it counts.
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