BOWL HOPES KEPT ALIVE: Rebels clear another hurdle - Sports

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Nov. 14, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

BOWL HOPES KEPT ALIVE: Rebels clear another hurdle

Fake punt helps trip Wyoming

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

UNLV Football

UNLV -- 11
WYOMING -- 14

KEY: The Rebels gained 19 yards on a fake punt, setting up the go-ahead score.

NEXT: UNLV at San Diego State, 5 p.m. Nov. 22, CBSC (333), KWWN-AM (1100)

ON THE WEB

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UNLV running back Frank Summers (4) dives for the end zone but comes up short in the third quarter of the Rebels' win over Wyoming on Thursday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Photos by K.M. Cannon.

UNLV running back Frank Summers, center, scores a touchdown on a 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter Thursday in the Rebels' win over Wyoming. Summers gained 75 yards on 21 carries.

UNLV wide receiver Rodelin Anthony, center, surges into the end zone on a 19-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter of the Rebels' 22-14 win over Wyoming on Thursday at Sam Boyd Stadium. The TD came three plays after a UNLV interception at the Wyoming 24.

A fake punt at Brigham Young was a disaster and helped cost UNLV the game.

On Thursday, a fake punt might have saved the Rebels' season.

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Punter Dack Ishii's 19-yard pass to wide receiver Jerriman Robinson switched momentum, leading to the Rebels' go-ahead touchdown in a 22-14 victory over Wyoming that kept alive their bowl hopes.

"This is a big win for this football team, a big win for this football program," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "I thought we wanted it more."

The Rebels (5-6, 2-5 Mountain West) have won more games this season than the two previous years combined. Their 4-3 record at Sam Boyd Stadium is the school's first home winning mark since 2000.

UNLV will try to become bowl eligible when it plays at San Diego State on Nov. 22 but still will need breaks to secure the school's first postseason appearance since the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.

To make next week matter, UNLV had to beat Wyoming (4-7, 1-6), but the Rebels were sputtering offensively late in the third quarter. The Cowboys led 14-9 and had forced an apparent punt.

Then UNLV went for a fake.

The Rebels also called for a fake Oct. 25 at BYU, and the failed play led to a field goal in the Cougars' 42-35 victory.

This time, Ishii made the play work. He zipped a pass to Robinson for a first down at Wyoming's 30-yard line.

"It actually was a lot easier than BYU because the (defender) was so far off," Ishii said. "I thought I could just throw it out there."

Eight plays after the fake, tailback Frank Summers went off right tackle, broke Wyoming linebacker Ward Dobbs' tackle attempt and went into the end zone. UNLV failed on the 2-point conversion but led for good at 15-14 five seconds into the fourth quarter.

"That (fake) gave us a lot of spark," Summers said.

UNLV then seized control on the Cowboys' next drive when cornerback Geoffery Howard tipped a pass that linebacker Rusty Worthen ran down for an interception to give the Rebels the ball at the Wyoming 24-yard line. Quarterback Mike Clausen's 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Rodelin Anthony three plays later extended the UNLV lead to 22-14.

It was Clausen's second start in a row in place of Omar Clayton, who was out with an injured right knee. Clausen is 2-0, and against the Cowboys he overcame a slow start to make key plays.

He completed 16 of 30 passes for 138 yards and rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries.

"They went into a bunch of different coverages tonight, so it was me getting acquainted with that," Clausen said. "In the second quarter, I got the feel for that.

"As the game went on, it kept building and building, and I got more comfortable and more comfortable."

UNLV's defense, though, made the ultimate difference, holding Wyoming to 294 yards, the lowest by an opponent since Utah State gained 234 in 2007 season opener.

The Rebels also limited the Cowboys to 151 yards rushing, breaking a six-game 200-yard streak by opponents. Iowa State also rushed for 151 yards on Sept. 20.

Wyoming running back Devin Moore rushed for 91 yards, his lowest output since gaining 74 at New Mexico on Oct. 4.

UNLV's defense also came through when it had to most. Wyoming quarterback Chris Stutzriem looked like he had a touchdown completion to wide receiver David Leonard with 4:52 left, but Rebels safety Daryl Forte raced over to knock the pass in the air. Cornerback Quinton Pointer intercepted it in the end zone to preserve UNLV's eight-point lead.

"We just found a way to do it tonight," Forte said.

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. jd wrote on November 14, 2008 02:55 PM: Anybody catch that the first sentence of this article has the word "Brigham Young" in it. That is because Mark Anderson can't write a story without mentioning his beloved Cougars. Rebel fans should be outraged. Graney did it all last year and now Anderson continues to make everything about BYU. Congrats Rebels on a great season and improving your program. Too bad the local press doesn't support you, it's a crime! Common wrote on November 14, 2008 02:16 PM: 18,154 is how many tickets were out in cirrculation, bought and given away. 9,800 is what came into Sam Boyd last night. Still a very decent crowd for a Thursday night game in LV. Go Rebs Jerry Wayne wrote on November 14, 2008 12:43 PM: Hey Ken, I'm not backing Mitch really, but the 18K number may have been tickets sold, but was definitely not the "actual" attendance number. Cheers to the Rebels. Let's get eligible and the let the cards fall where they may. Hollywood wrote on November 14, 2008 11:09 AM: Progress... That is all I can say. If UNLV gets the win Saturday it will be huge for the program even if we do not get a bowl. One quality win? How about 5 victories, 3 more than last year and if UNLV wins Saturday they will tie the last 3 years win total. This does not happen overnight. And comments about an "iffy conference" need to stop! The Mountain West this year is as good as the Pac-10 and maybe Big-10. Without USC the Mountain West is far superior to the PAC-10 as evidenced by the 6-1 record this year. Utah, TCU, or BYU would win that conference without USC in it. Are there too many bowls? Maybe, but I like watching football and it would be a great boost to the program. And over achieving to reach 6-6, if we win at SDSU, is bowl worthy. Ken wrote on November 14, 2008 10:26 AM: Hey Mitchy, read much? The article is about UNLV staying 'Bowl Eligible' not 'Bowl worthy' as you put it. And by the way, who are you to make any judgment about a team or conference for that matter being 'Bowl Worthy'? Leave that decision up to the bowl officials to decide just who they thing is 'Worthy'..... and on another note, why not check the FACTS when spouting figures? Last nights attendance was 18,154 to be exact, but anyone with a little time and knowledge would know where to find this information....... Teddy KGB wrote on November 14, 2008 10:17 AM: A nice win for UNLV. By all accounts, this has been a successful season. Sanford has spun silver out of shiit. Not gold mind you, but silver. However, even if they finish 6-6, they aren't guaranteed a bowl game. The Mountain West isn't on any bowl committee's top 5 list, that's for sure. There are not enough bowl games to place all teams 6-6 and above, so we'll see. Nice win though! blitz killa wrote on November 14, 2008 09:52 AM: They don't necessarily need CSU to lose. The PAC 10 will be short of bowl eligible teams and will probably dump the Hawai'i bowl, and possibly one more. When that happens, extra bowl eligible teams from the MWC and WAC can get a look - the Hawai'i bowl has a WAC host so they will probably pick up a team from the MWC. jeff wrote on November 14, 2008 09:24 AM: I must admit that was the best UNLV team I can remember seeing in the 10 years of the MWC. I have seen Wyoming turn a corner with our previous victories over SDSU and Tenn. After our first drive in the second half I new we would win, because of how I've seen our team (Wyoming) play in the Glenn era. The way UNLV came back after that drive amazed me, I think UNLV deserves a bowl game. Cheers from Cheyenne RebCam wrote on November 14, 2008 09:12 AM: Well said Go Reb and also they need Colorado State to lose 1 of their last 2 games to knock them out of bowl eligibility. If UNLV and CSU both have a 6-6 record, it is likely that CSU would get the nod do to beating UNLV head to head. Dustin wrote on November 14, 2008 08:44 AM: Curious- The MWC has 4 bowls (Vegas, Poinsetta, Armed Forces, New Mexico) and currently has 4 eligible teams (Utah, TCU, BYU, Air Force) and could have 6 (CSU and UNLV). Even if Utah goes to a BCS bowl, that could be 5 teams and 4 bowls. At 6-6 the bowls cannot select UNLV as an at-large berth unless all of the 7-5 teams are taken. That might happen, but it might not. If Utah loses to BYU then UNLV probably won't get a bowl. If Utah wins then TCU or BYU might get an at-large somewhere else and UNLV should get a bowl. Read All Comments