Arizona sophomore Nick Wilson likes running against Nevada.

Wilson, who ran for 171 yards against the Wolf Pack last season, rushed 21 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns Saturday night as the 22nd-ranked Wildcats beat Nevada 44-20 on Saturday at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nev.

"Boy, he ran well," said Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.

"He made a couple of runs when there wasn't much there. He made some when there was really good blocking up front, but he made some when there wasn't much there. And that was a big key. He's a really good football player and a great competitor."

Wilson, who also caught two passes for 30 yards, was shut down early in the fourth quarter as Arizona (2-0) began to empty its bench.

Nevada (1-1) hurt itself with nine penalties for 105 yards, including one that negated a touchdown in the first half. Coach Brian Polian was hit with two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

He said he apologized after the game to his team and Rodriguez.

"The bottom line is we didn't play good enough to win," Polian said. "It's really just a blip in a bigger picture, and the bigger picture is we stunk."

Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon was efficient, completing 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions, but Wilson did the bulk of the work as the Wildcats built their lead.

Arizona led 21-13 at halftime and then pulled away. Wilson's 6-yard scoring run gave Arizona a 34-13 lead with 3:56 to go in the third quarter.

The Wildcats defense was solid, despite being without injured All-America linebacker Scooby Wright. At one point late in the first half, a banged-up defense was essentially down to its fifth option at middle linebacker.

"I said it's a good lesson," Rodriguez said.

"You never know what's going to happen with injuries. Our 'Mike' linebacker situation was getting pretty dire. We had guys playing at that position that had hardly practiced there. Our staff was just holding on, but they held on pretty well."

Wolf Pack quarterback Tyler Stewart didn't hit much big in the passing game, completing 18 of 32 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. He had one pass intercepted.

Only three of the Pack's 15 drives covered more than 25 yards. Running back Don Jackson had 24 carries for 91 yards.

"If we get hit in the mouth, we have to get back up and stay in the fight," Jackson said.

Arizona backup quarterback Jarrard Randall took over for Solomon early in the fourth quarter. He ran 57 yards up the middle for a touchdown and a 41-13 lead with 13:34 to go.

The Wildcats rushed for 301 yards.

"Offensively, we were OK," Rodriguez said.

"We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, but we made some big plays when we had to. We were able to run it when they knew we were going to run it, which was key."

Arizona took advantage of a bad Nevada punt snap after the first possession of the game, taking over at the Wolf Pack 16. Two plays later, Solomon hit receiver Johnny Jackson with a 9-yard touchdown pass.

The Wildcats also scored on their second possession, a 77-yard drive capped by a 3-yard rush by Wilson.

From there, Nevada gained momentum. The Wolf Pack, often feeding Jackson in the Pistol offense, had scoring drives of 11 and 14 plays, the latter ending on a 5-yard pass from Stewart to receiver Jerico Richardson to make it 14-10 with 9:14 left in the second quarter.

Nevada twice stopped Arizona on fourth-and-1 in the first half -- at the Wolf Pack 33 and then the 7 -- but the Wildcats eventually punched through for a 3-yard by Wilson to go up 21-10 with 3:56 left before halftime.

Nevada, after recovering a Wilson fumble at the Arizona 49 with 59 seconds left, closed the half with a 41-yard field goal from Brent Zuzo on the final play to make it 21-13.

NOTES: Arizona senior LB Haden Gregory, the replacement for injured All-American Scooby Wright, suffered an apparent knee injury in the first quarter. He was replaced by redshirt freshman walk-on Tre Tyler, who also left in the first half with an injury. ... Wright stayed in Tucson to rehab after surgery on a meniscus injury that is expected to keep him out another two to three weeks. ... This was the third meeting between Arizona and Nevada in the past four seasons, including in the 2012 New Mexico Bowl. The Wildcats won the previous two meetings by a total of eight points. ... Nevada held a "White-out" at Mackay Stadium, and the Wolf Pack wore its white uniforms at home.