REBELS' UPSET BID DERAILED: Third quarter not a charm - Sports

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Sep. 07, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

REBELS' UPSET BID DERAILED: Third quarter not a charm

No. 22 Utah gets defensive after halftime

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

UNLV Football

UTAH -- 42
UNLV -- 21

KEY: The Rebels were held to 11 yards of offense in the third quarter and outscored 21-0 in the period.

NEXT: Rebels at Arizona State, 7 p.m. Saturday

Utah defensive end Koa Misi hits UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton after a pass Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Clayton completed 19 of 30 passes for 159 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions, but the Rebels were outscored 28-7 in the second half of their 42-21 loss.
Photos by Jeffrey D. Allred/Special to the Review-Journal

UNLV tailback Frank Summers (4) celebrates one of his two touchdowns with center Joe Hawley (59) in the Rebels' 42-21 loss to Utah on Saturday.

SALT LAKE CITY -- UNLV took the Rice-Eccles Stadium field determined to show last season's result wasn't a fluke.

The Rebels did just that -- for a half.

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Then it was over.

No. 22 Utah took over in the third quarter, scoring three touchdowns to break a halftime tie and beat the Rebels 42-21 in Saturday's Mountain West Conference opener for both teams.

"I think the second half is not the kind of football we want to play," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "We reverted back to some bad, old habits. That's not our identity and not who we are, but unfortunately that's who we were in the second half."

The second half -- in which Utah outscored UNLV 28-7 -- was the type of treatment the Rebels (1-1) were used to receiving by the Utes before last year's 27-0 shocker over Utah in Las Vegas. That ended UNLV's 11-game series skid.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham talked this past week about responding to that defeat by beginning a 15-game winning streak over the Rebels. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but Utah (2-0) left little doubt it was the superior team on this night.

Not that UNLV, which plays at Arizona State this Saturday, didn't make it interesting.

The 22-point underdogs even took the opening drive 80 yards, scoring on tailback Frank Summers' 2-yard run. A 3-yard touchdown run by Summers with 5:01 left in the second quarter put UNLV ahead 14-7.

But a combination of issues changed the game, such as injuries to UNLV linebackers Starr Fuimaono and Ronnie Paulo, a tying touchdown by Utah 51.6 seconds before halftime and long punt and kickoff returns that put UNLV in poor field position in the second half.

The Utes took advantage, scoring those three touchdowns in the third quarter -- two on passes from quarterback Brian Johnson and the other on wide receiver David Reed's 15-yard reverse.

Johnson completed 15 of 24 passes for 183 yards and rushed for 80 yards on five carries. He accounted for three touchdowns passing and running.

"I think UNLV has an underrated defense," Johnson said. "They do a good job. You have to be patient, soften them up and be explosive to take advantage of their mistakes."

As Utah's offense -- which gained 225 yards rushing -- rose up, so did its defense. The Rebels as a team gained just 11 yards in the third quarter, and lost 6 rushing.

Summers tallied 82 yards on 18 carries at halftime but ended the game with just 87 yards on 23 attempts.

"It was night and day between the first half and the second half for us," Summers said. "I could tell, and I think the players could tell. No excuses. Hats off to the Utes. They played a great second half."

Sanford blamed the bad field position and loud noise from the sellout crowd as reasons for the futility in the running game.

"We didn't get off on the snap count the way you've got to get off in order to block in the run game," he said.

There were many reasons, though, why the night didn't end as well as it began for the Rebels.

"We played with them for the first half," said UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton, who was 19 of 30 for 159 yards and a touchdown. "Those key words are 'for the first half,' so that's where maybe that No. (22) in the nation comes into play.

"So if we ever want to get in a situation like that, we've got to learn how to come out in the second half and play."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. unlvrebelx wrote on September 08, 2008 12:54 PM: HawkeyeUte, act like you've been there before....sore winner! RebCam wrote on September 08, 2008 07:36 AM: HawkinmyeyecUtie, I am convinced that you never took Understanding Language Arts in Elementary school. If you could attempt to read what I said again...., I know it takes you a few times, I said that depth was as much a part of the game as any. Also, I spent much of my rant on my own teams futility and only one gripe about the overturned call. But once again, you're a moron and the cUties had no business being in the game at halftime. Bring it fool, I've got more. Virgil Sestini wrote on September 08, 2008 01:16 AM: It is time for Mike Sanford to go...i.e.,find a new coach. He, like John Robinson, can't get the job done. He is a loser, big time. He has had enough time to prove himself a reliable, winning coach...he is NOT! JD wrote on September 07, 2008 09:46 PM: GO UTES!!! HawkeyeUte wrote on September 07, 2008 08:00 PM: rebcam, keep making excuses for why they lost. Injuries are part of the game - why do you think Utah lost last year? Brian Johnson was played a half at 50% and half the D-line was out with injuries. Did you hear a single excuse from Utah? Didn't think so. Hey an empty stadium is great - you can spread out in the stands and usually hear what the coaches are saying on the sidelines. Good luck on that 2 win season you're expecting - I hope it comes against byu. Again, I do feel sorry that you have to watch that kind of football every week. Go Rebels wrote on September 07, 2008 10:04 AM: I take no satisfaction in the obvious state of the Rebel football program. I do however enjoy observing the myopia. Do they still have dirt parking lots at "51's" stadium? They only need parking for 500 cars. RebCam wrote on September 07, 2008 08:38 AM: "But a combination of issues changed the game, such as injuries to UNLV linebackers Starr Fuimaono and Ronnie Paulo(after which Ryan Worthen missed a simple sack and Johnson ran it in), a tying touchdown by Utah 51.6 seconds before halftime (only after the injuries could they move the ball, which they really didn't because they were stopped dead in their tracks on 3rd down until the officials did their usual and took over the game with that moron horsecollar penalty and the fumble in which they didn't have clear evidence yet they unwittingly overturned anyway) and long punt and kickoff returns that put UNLV in poor field position in the second half."(Not to mention the four idiots from UNLV that overran a fumble in which they could've ran back for a touchdown or at least stopped Utah's momentum) All of which occured after the injuries. Not that it should matter too much, because depth is as much a part of the game as anything. And I was suprised how vanilla the Rebels were the entire game. It doesn't make sense! Sanford's had the majority of these guys for 3 to four years and they can't run any trick plays or misdirection of any kind? That being said, Utah still had no business being in the game after the first half. And as for you Go Reb, you know you're reaching when you dig into the archives to make a point. That "Cat" I'm sure was me and you're misquoting me.... again. I said they didn't use all of their playbook so as not to give Utah study material. I thought that they should have blown them out even with your playbook given the disparity in the two teams. mike wrote on September 07, 2008 07:23 AM: I was wrong about the potential upset. Anyways, GO REBELS! Sellout wrote on September 07, 2008 07:12 AM: It is possible that the noise got to the Rebels. They only ever play in front of sellouts in other teams cribs. When they do play in front of sellouts at crappy Sam Floyds 51's Memorial Tiny Horseshoe, it is because the RJ has grossly exaggerated the 8K students who made the 20 mile trip and partied in the dirt parking lots before the beat down. Goodbye Improvement wrote on September 07, 2008 06:58 AM: Why is it that Utah and BYU at least have cycles of improvement and decline. Craptable U is all about decline. Myopics will still believe that they have improved. Remember the cat who said that they did not blow out Utah State because they were holding back so Utah could not scout them? Funny huh? Or this guy: mike wrote on August 31, 2008 02:42 PM: Cliche here, "Anything can happen in sports." We will see, I stand by my prediction. UNLV will beat Utah. Funny huh?