UNLV gets stomped by the Horned Frogs

UNLV Rebels 2009 ... Head Coach: Mike Sanford

2009 Preview
CFN Prediction: 5-7
2009 Record: 3-6

9/5 Sacramento St W 38-3
9/12 Oregon St L 23-21
9/19 Hawaii W 34-33
9/26 at Wyoming L 30-27
10/3 at Nevada L 31-29
10/10 BYU L 59-21
10/17 Utah L 35-15
10/24 at New Mexico W 34-17
10/31 at TCU L 41-0
11/7 Colorado State
11/14 at Air Force
11/21 OPEN DATE
11/28 San Diego State

2008 Schedule
CFN Prediction: 3-9
2008 Record: 5-7

8/30 Utah State W 27-17
9/6 at Utah L 42-21
9/13 at Ariz St W 23-20 OT
9/20 Iowa State W 34-31 OT
9/27 Nevada L 49-27
10/4 at Colorado State L 41-28
10/11 OPEN DATE
10/18 Air Force L 29-28
10/25 at BYU L 42-35
11/1 TCU L 44-14
11/8 New Mexico W 27-20
11/13 Wyoming W 22-14
11/22 at San Diego St L 42-21

UNLV Rebels

Oct. 31
at TCU 41 … UNLV 0
TCU held UNLV to just 160 yards of total offense and seven first downs while the offense rolled at will with Andy Dalton connecting with Antoine Hicks for a 75-yard touchdown and with Jeremy Kerley from 14 yards out on the way to a 27-0 lead after three quarters. Ed Wesley caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth and ran for a 59-yarder in the second. UNLV was never close with just 42 passing yards.
Player of the Game: TCU QB Andy Dalton completed 12-of-21 passes for 178 yards and three scores, and he ran eight times for 53 yards.
TCU: Passing: Andy Dalton, 12-21, 178 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Edward Wesley, 7-86, 1 TD, Receiving: Jeremy Kerley, 5-43, 1 TD
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 8-21, 38 yds
Rushing: Mike Clausen, 7-65, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 5-25 
What It All Means: TCU is stomping on everyone right now, so there’s no reason to get too upset about an ugly loss on the road. But the Rebels have to quickly rebound and beat a dying Colorado State team to show that there’s still life in the program. Yeah, it’s TCU, but to only complete 9-of-23 passes for 42 yards shows that the offense simply isn’t improving, and the talent level just isn’t there compared to the top teams in the Mountain West.

Oct. 24
UNLV 34 … at New Mexico 17
UNLV got two Omar Clayton touchdown passes and a Mike Clausen four-yard touchdown run on the way to an easy road win. New Mexico was coached by defensive backs coach George Barlow, with head coach Mike Locksley suspended for a game, and his team pulled within seven in the fourth on the second of two Donovan Porterie touchdown passes, but UNLV closed out with ten unanswered points. The Rebels held on to the ball for 36:57.
Player of the Game: UNLV WR Ryan Wolfe caught 11 passes for 118 yards and a score.
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 20-30, 204 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 13-65, 1 TD, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 11-118, 1 TD
New Mexico: Passing: Donovan Porterie, 20-30, 219 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Kasey Carrier, 6-29, Receiving: Victor James, 4-57 
What It All Means: While beating New Mexico hardly changes around the season, it was a needed slide-stopper after an ugly four game stretch. Omar Clayton and the midrange passing game were able to move the ball well to keep control of the clock, but it still took too long to put away a miserable team. Is there any chance of beating TCU on the road next and truly turning around the year? The pass protection has been fine, but the defense has to come up with its best game of the year. Clayton will have to be perfect.

Oct. 17
at Utah 35 …. UNLV 15
Utah scored 21 straight points in the second quarter with Terrance Cain running and throwing for short scores, and Robert Johnson returning an interception 64 yards for a touchdown. UNLV tried to rally back in the third quarter with the third of Kyle Watson’s three field goals and a two-yard Phillip Payne touchdown catch, but Eddie Wide put it away with a 37-yard touchdown dash. Utah committed ten penalties for 110 yards and lost two fumbles.
Player of the Game: Utah RB Eddie Wide ran 17 times for 111 yards and a score
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 23-44, 223 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 13-46, Receiving: Phillip Payne, 7-57, 1 TD
Utah: Passing: Terrance Cain, 17-24, 174 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Eddie Wide, 17-111, 1 TD, Receiving: Jereme Brooks, 6-49
What It All Means: The ugly march to the finish goes on. UNLV went from being a competitive team that lost to Oregon State by two and Wyoming by three, and now the wheels have fallen completely off. It starts with the defense that’s getting little production from the line and isn’t coming up with a key stop, but the offense isn’t helping the cause. The Rebels matched Utah’s 327 yards of total offense, but they were down do big early that they had to scramble. As bad as things have been, they can be worse if the Rebels lose to a miserable New Mexico team. 
Oct. 10
BYU 59 … at UNLV 21
BYU played like a Mountain West title contender with an early 17-0 lead helped by two of Harvey Unga’s three rushing touchdowns, but UNLV’s Deante Purvis returns a kickoff 94 yards after the second one. Unga answered with a 52-yard scoring dash, and the game never got close again. The Rebels came out firing with Michael Johnson taking a pass 75 yards for a third quarter score, but BYU scored 21 straight points on three Max Hall field goals to put the game away. BYU cranked out 611 yards of total offense.
Player of the Game: BYU RB Harvey Unga ran 20 times for 149 yards and three scores
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 20-32, 253 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Mike Clausen, 5-17, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe 8-69
BYU: Passing: Max Hall, 21-27, 320 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Harvey Unga, 20-149, 3 TD, Receiving: Manase Tonga, 5-62 
What It All Means: Now the problem is that the team is going to start have to answer the questions about Mike Sanford’s job. Losing to BYU isn’t an issue, but getting blown away two weeks in a row, losing to Nevada and BYU by a combined score of 122 to 49, is. The offense hasn’t been too bad, but the defense has been miserable and is putting the team behind the eight-ball from the start. The linebackers are getting ripped apart and aren’t stopping anyone from running past the second level. Up next is Utah. Eddie Wide has to be licking his chops.

Oct. 3
at Nevada 63 … UNLV 28
Nevada rolled for 773 yards of total offense with 559 on the ground. The onslaught started early with Luke Lippincott and Mike Ball running for scores, but UNLV fought back and tied it at 21 going into the locker room on Channing Trotter’s second touchdown run of the half. It was all Nevada the rest of the way with 42 second half points as Ball ran for scores from 32, four and 89 yards out, finishing with five touchdowns, but he was hardly the only Wolf Pack runner to roll. QB Colin Kaepernick ran for 173 yards and Luke Lippincott ran for 170.
Player of the Game: Nevada RB Mike Ball ran 15 times for 184 yards and five scores.
UNLV: Passing: Mike Clausen, 26-50, 276 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: C.J. Cox, 2-19, 1 TD, Receiving: Phillip Payne, 10-112
Nevada: Passing: Colin Kaepernick, 15-18, 208 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Mike Ball, 15-184, 5 TD, Receiving: Brandon Wimberly, 5-71 
What It All Means: Not having QB Omar Clayton was a problem, but Mike Clausen wasn’t bad … and Clayton doesn’t play defense. This was a disastrous performance by the Rebel D as Nevada did whatever it wanted to going up and down the field at will. All is not lost, even though it seems like it. UNLV is still 2-3 and can turn things around in a big hurry with big games against BYU and Utah at home. But if the Rebels lose those two, back up the truck.

Sept. 26
at Wyoming 30 … UNLV 27
Austyn Carta-Samuels connected with Travis Burkhalter from 15 yards out and Ian Watts connected on a 28-yard field goal as Wyoming came back to give head coach Dave Christensen his first win. Carta-Samuels threw three touchdown passes with a 34-yarder to David Leonard and a 19-yarder to Brandon Stewart. UNLV got an 18-yard touchdown catch from Ryan Wolfe and an 18-yard scoring run from Channing Trotter.
Player of the Game: Wyoming QB Austyn Carta-Samuels completed 24-of-37 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran 12 times for 34 yards
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 26-43, 260 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 17-90, 1 TD, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 8-96, 1 TD
Wyoming: Passing: Austyn Carta-Samuels, 24-37, 234 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Alvester Alexander, 12-42, Receiving: David Leonard, 6-89, 1 TD 
What It All Means: Devastating. Simply devastating. If UNLV has a new head coach next year, if the team doesn’t get to a bowl game, this will likely be the reason why. A good Mountain West team can’t give away a game against Wyoming, and the offense can’t turn the ball over four times against a team starting a freshman quarterback. The schedule only gets harder with BYU and Utah coming up after a date at Nevada, and to win those games, the offense has to be far sharper and the defensive front has to be more disruptive.

Sept. 19
at UNLV 34 … Hawaii 33
Omar Clayton connected with Phillip Payne for a 15-yard score with 36 seconds to play and the defense hung on with a batted down Hail Mary for a tough UNLV win. Greg Alexander threw for 477 yards and three touchdowns, including a 23-yarder and a 54-yarder To Greg Salas, but UNLV was able to keep up the pace with some big plays of its own. Jerriman Robinson caught a 42-yard touchdown pass and Payne caught an eight-yard scoring pass in the see-saw battle that saw 965 yards of total offense and 817 passing yards.
Player of the Game: In a losing cause, Hawaii QB Greg Alexander completed 31-of-48 passes for 477 yards and three touchdowns with an interception
Hawaii: Passing: Greg Alexander, 31-48, 477 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Greg Alexander, 9-17, Receiving: Kealoha Pilares, 13-146
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 28-43, 340 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 15-68, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 9-130
What It All Means: Hawaii’s offense is clicking, so there’s no need to worry too much about the 471 yards the secondary gave up. The positive is the way the Rebel offense was able to keep up the pace. The running game wasn’t awful, while Omar Clayton bombed way with 340 yards and three touchdowns to hang with the Warriors punch for punch. Up next is a trip to Wyoming, and if the Rebels can come up with some early scores, the

Sept. 12
Oregon State 23 ... at UNLV 21
Oregon State got a 33-yard field goal from Justin Kahut with seven seconds to play to pull out the win. The Beavers needed to come back after UNLV came up with a good fourth quarter rally with Mike Clausen connecting with Rodelin Anthony from 13 yards out, his second scoring grab of the day, and Phillip Payne from ten yards away for a 21-20 lead with just over four minutes to play. Oregon State was carried by Jacquizz Rodgers, who ran for a two-yard score and accounted for 231 yards of offense.
Player of the Game: Oregon State RB Jacquizz Rodgers ran 26 times for 166 yards and a touchdown, and he caught ten passes for 65 yards.
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 18-26, 170 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 11-35, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 9-91
Oregon State: Passing: Sean Canfield, 25-31, 198 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Jacquizz Rodgers, 26-166, 1 TD, Receiving: Jacquizz Rodgers, 10-65
What It All Means: UNLV knows it can go on if Omar Clayton goes down. After a strong performance that kept the team in the game, he went down with a knee injury and Mike Clausen was forced in off the bench. The veteran backup connected on 6-of-9 passes and rallied the Rebels to a fourth quarter lead, and now he needs to be given more of a shot at playing time. Clayton is expected to be fine, but there can be more of a passing element with Clausen when needed. Now the running game has to show up after gaining just 82 yards.

Sept. 5
at UNLV 38 .... Sacramento State 3
Channing Trotter ran for three one-yard scores and Rodelin Anthony made a 55-yard touchdown catch in the easy win. The Hornets only came up with a 44-yard Chris Diniz field goal and was held to 228 yards total.
Player of the Game: UNLV RB Channing Trotter ran 16 times for 102 yards and three touchdowns.
UNLV: Passing: Omar Clayton, 13-17, 213 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Channing Trotter, 16-102, 3 TD, Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 5-67
Sacramento State: Passing: Jason Smith, 8-17, 85 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Terrance Dailey, 19-101, Receiving: Evander Wilkins, 3-23
What It All Means: UNLV wanted to find a new running back to rely on, and it got one in Channing Trotter, a small, powerful back who did a great job of getting small and getting into the end zone around the goal line. He tore off big runs, Omar Clayton and the passing game were sharp, and the Rebels got the ease win to build up some confidence for the date with Oregon State. The team played like it was experienced and ready to have a good year, and now the program can jump to another level with a win over the Beavers.