RENO, Nev. — Nevada's coaches and players watched Fresno State nearly knock off top-ranked USC on television last week so they understood why nobody gave them much of a chance to upset the 16th-ranked Bulldogs.

They ended up claiming one of the biggest wins in school history last night as Robert Hubbard ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns and Jeff Rowe hit Nichiren Flowers with a 12-yard scoring pass with 1:29 remaining to hold on for a 38-35 victory.

The win snapped Fresno State's 12-game winning streak in the Western Athletic Conference while earning the Wolf Pack at least a share of the WAC title and its first bowl appearance since 1997.

"People were telling us we didn't have a chance," Hubbard said. "The only people that believed were the people in the locker room and the coaches."

Fresno State's Paul Pinegar threw a 3-yard TD pass to Matt Rivera and then a 2-point pass to Joe Fernandez to make it 38-35 with 31 seconds left, but Nevada's Anthony Pudewell recovered an onside kick to secure the victory in a crazy finish played without the stadium clock the final 6 minutes.

"That's one of the greatest efforts by a team I've ever been associated with," said Nevada coach Chris Ault, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. "Our kids played as hard as they possibly could, gave it everything they had."

Nevada (8-3, 7-1) got a pair of turnovers in the final 7 minutes to overcome 17 straight points in the second half by Fresno State (8-3, 6-1).