Colorado State Rams @ UNLV Rebels Football Recap

UNLV 38, Colorado State 35

The Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels haven’t had much to cheer about on the gridiron this season, but after showing a considerable amount of resilience against a conference opponent, the sons of Sin City took a big step toward gaining a new degree of respectability in the Mountain West region. A team that lost by 25 points to a lower-division team one month ago has done a lot of hard work on the practice field, and the proof of that effort was found at Sam Boyd Stadium on the final weekend of October.

UNLV punched last in a wild fourth quarter to claim its second victory of the year, as the Rebels downed Colorado State in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Dionza Bradford turned in a strong performance with 122 rushing yards to lead UNLV to the win.

This is such an uplifting breakthrough for UNLV because the Rebels and coach Bobby Hauck had hit rock bottom just one month earlier. On Sept. 24, Vegas was not just vexed, but thoroughly embarrassed, in a 41-16 loss at home to Southern Utah, a Football Championship Subdivision team. The abysmal no-show represented the low point of Hauck’s brief tenure as UNLV’s coach after a wildly successful stint as the boss of the Montana Grizzlies, an annual FCS powerhouse. Hauck was either going to lose his team or win his players’ trust. This win over Colorado State shows that Hauck is capturing the hearts and minds of his recruits.

The game started excitingly enough, as Colorado State’s Shaquil Barrett intercepted Sean Reilly and returned it 52-yards for a touchdown. But the Rebels answered immediately when Deante Purvis returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a UNLV score.

UNLV carried a 24-20 lead into the fourth quarter, and struck first in five plays—all Bradford rushes, who ran 58 yards to get UNLV a 31-20 lead. But Colorado State would answer, with Pete Thomas passing for 33 yards and scrambling 12 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion from Chris Nwoke made it 31-28. After forcing the UNLV in to a three-and-out, the Rams fumbled the punt return and UNLV had a 21-yard field to put the game away. But the Rebels did nothing with the ball, and on a 34-yard field goal attempt, Nolan Kohorst broke through the line, blocked the kick, and returned it 61 yards to the UNLV four-yard line. Nwoke scored on the next play to give Colorado State a 35-31 lead.

But after forcing UNLV into two-straight four-down possessions, the Rams softened up and quarterback Caleb Herring, inserted after Reilly’s first-quarter interception, went to work. Herring moved the Rebels to CSU’s 34-yard line before tearing off a 29-yard scramble, then finishing the final five yards on the next play. UNLV went 68 yards in 2:39 to claim the 38-35 victory.

Herring finished 9-13 through the air for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Colorado State outgained UNLV 480-361 but committed three turnovers. Nwoke tallied 156 yards on 23 carries for the loss. UNLV moved to 2-5 with the win, trying to reclaim what was a disastrous beginning of the season—a project that will have to wait a week as the Rebels host Boise State (7-0) next week. Colorado State falls to 3-5, a serious hit to its bowl hopes, and byes next week before hosting San Diego State.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer