Nevada steamrolled Portland State, 72-19, on Friday night at Mackay Stadium to open the 2018 football season with a win. Here's three quick takes:

1. So much offense: Once it got going, the Wolf Pack offense looked sharp. Nevada finished with 72 points (the defense got six of those on an interception return, and the special teams got a punt-return touchdown), 636 total yards and scored touchdowns on six straight drives at one point.

Yes, it was an FCS team, and, yes, the Portland State defense looked tired in the second half. But give the Nevada offense credit for taking advantage of its opportunities. The ball got spread around, too, with nine players rushing at least once and eight receivers catching at least one pass.

2. The defense took over: The 72 points will get most of the attention, but Nevada's defense turned the game around after the Wolf Pack fell into a 9-0 hole in the first quarter.

And forget all those flashy touchdowns, the play of the game came on defense. Daniel Brown's first-quarter interception return for a touchdown sparked a strangely lifeless Nevada team and got the crowd into the game. It was also the Wolf Pack's first points of the game.

3. The start they wanted: Nevada began last year 0-5 in Jay Norvell's first season as head coach. That streak included an inexplicable loss to Big Sky visitor Idaho Stare, which led by as many as 23 points before a Wolf Pack comeback fell short.

But the feeling is completely different a year later. Nevada is 1-0, put up basketball-like numbers on offense, and has a game next week at Vanderbilt that it feels it can win.