LIVE GAME BLOG: UNLV’s fate decided late yet again, Rebels fall to BYU, 42-35

By Ryan Greene

Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008 | 2:11 p.m.

Final, BYU wins 42-35

PROVO, Utah -- BYU's first sack on Omar Clayton came at the most opportune time, as Matt Putnam's stop for a 12-yard loss with seven seconds to play helped stunt UNLV's last-gasp attempt at a game-tying touchdown. A play later, Clayton was picked off by Andrew Rich on a lob to the end zone and UNLV dropped its fourth straight, 42-35, in Provo.

It marked the third straight game in which UNLV's fate came down to the game's final drive.

BYU scored the game-winning touchdown with under two minutes to play on a six-yard pass from Max Hall to Dennis Pitta and tacked on a two-point conversion. UNLV got as close as the BYU 13-yard line thanks to six Omar Clayton completions, but yet again, the last umph just wasn't there.

Clayton finished the day 26-of-40 for 323 yards and a score. BYU's Max Hall was 24-of-30 for 245 yards and four TDs.

The Rebels, now 3-5, begin a three-game home stretch next week with TCU at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com/rebels for full postgame coverage.

1:46, fourth quarter, BYU leads 42-35

PROVO, Utah -- And it's ANOTHER familiar situation. Just like last week, UNLV has the ball with under two minutes to play and needs to get points. Only this time, it's not a field goal. The Rebels, now trailing 42-35, need a touchdown, and nothing short of it.

Max Hall went 7-of-7 on BYU's scoring drive, finding Dennis Pitta for a six-yard score - his fourth TD pass of the game, and then Harvey Unga for the two-point conversion.

Here's a chance for Omar Clayton to redeem himself for last week.

6:49, fourth quarter, UNLV leads 35-34

PROVO, Utah -- Well, how's this for a familiar situation?

Three weeks ago at Colorado State, UNLV scored to go up 28-27 with 6:36 left to go and it put everything on the UNLV defense's shoulders. And here we are again, as Omar Clayton threw his first TD pass of the game - a 15-yard strike to Ryan Wolfe - and a Kyle Watson extra point put the Rebels ahead 35-34 ... with 6:49 to play.

This time, though, the defense has a little bit more momentum on its side, and the life in this stadium has taken a big hit. Most of that happened after the score, while David Tafuna was down for awhile with an apparent lower body injury.

Now we see how much this team has grown in a span of three weeks. The Rebels have a one-point lead and the potential of a bowl game - still flickering - is one the line.

Clayton, by the way, is now 20-of-30 for 256 yards and a score.

8:36, fourth quarter, BYU leads 34-28

PROVO, Utah -- UNLV's drive following the game's first field goal ended in the weirdest of weird ways. While running a fake punt from right around their own 40, Dack Ishii - the punter who is also the third-string quarterback - and threw a broken-up pass towards the right sideline. The odd thing about it was that not only did BYU obviously know what was coming, but Ishii essentially lined up in the shotgun formation to throw the pass, rather than in punt formation.

You've got to wonder if that was a miscommunication or just a bad call. It will surely be asked about after the game.

But give UNLV's defense some credit for holding BYU to another field goal. After Daryl Forte dropped an INT shot over the middle on first-and-15, UNLV held on two straight plays. First, Jason Beauchamp made a huge hit on Harvey Unga on a draw, and then Hall threw a short pass to the flat to set up Mitch Paynes 39-yard score.

The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and UNLV's offense trotted back onto the field to start at their own 40. Phillip Payne then on the first play caught a 22-yard pass, and was immediately hit head-to-head by Andrew Rich - the second time today BYU has done so. It got Mike Sanford livid, but Payne held onto the ball and UNLV is threatening.

14:11, fourth quarter, BYU leads 31-28

PROVO, Utah -- It was another non-call that the BYU faithful were less than pleased with, but it ended up as a solid defensive play by UNLV corner Quinton Pointer and a key hold for the Rebels as a whole.

The game's first non-touchdown addition to the scoreboard came via a 25-yard Mitch Payne field goal, to put BYU up 31-28 in the early moments of the fourth quarter. On the final frame's first two plays, UNLV stuffed a screen pass to Harvey Unga short of the first down marker, and then Pointer jumped Michael Reed on a slant route on third-and-four, forcing BYU to take the three-point attempt.

Michael Johnson took the ensuing kickoff out of the end zone from a few yards deep and was blown up near the 15, and that's where UNLV will begin its quest to grab its first lead of the game.

Omar Clayton is back in yet again for the Rebels, and you have to wonder if adrenaline is simply keeping any effects from two vicious hits from setting in. So far on the drive it's been C.J. Cox, whose third and fourth carries of the game got UNLV 11 yards and a first down.

End of third quarter, game tied 28-28

PROVO, Utah -- Omar Clayton took another decent lick after completing a first down pass over the middle to Casey Flair on UNLV's ensuing drive, and it would mean another trip to the sideline for the Rebels' surging sophomore QB. But the drive kept going after a timeout without a hitch behind Mike Clausen.

Clausen threw a 22-yard wheel pass to Frank Summers which set the Rebels up at the BYU 12. Four plays later - right after an eight-yard pass to Flair on third-and-seven - Clausen registered his second touchdown run of the game to tie this thing up yet again, 28-28.

Third downs have certainly been a strength for the Rebels, as they're now 8-of-10, while Flair's caught passes for a couple of those. He has seven grabs for 93 yards today.

This will actually be a game as we head to the fourth quarter, even though BYU is currently driving and is inside the UNLV 20.

7:52, third quarter, BYU leads 28-21

PROVO, Utah -- The Rebels continued to chip away at the BYU defense with their short passing game to start the first half, but for the first time today, a drive in the middle of the field just simply stalled out. BYU took over inside its own 25-yard line, and grabbed the early second-half momentum.

Instead of Harvey Unga, it was Fui Vakapuna this time, who before catching a one-yard TD pass from Max Hall set the Cougs up in the red zone on a slashing 33-yard run aided by some incredible downfield blocking.

UNLV is again playing from behind, but the bright spot is the fact that BYU continues to not take many chances on defense. They're really not blitzing much, and you'd have to figure UNLV will get to the end zone probably a couple more times today. And, yet again, the question remains: Can the defense offer some more consistent help?

Halftime, game tied 21-21

PROVO, Utah -- The Rebel defense held yet again at the end of the first half, got the ball back via punt at the eight-yard line and Sanford & Co. opted to stay on the ground and go to the half with a 21-21 lead. Not a bad play at all. There's no point in screwing with this momentum, especially when you get the ball back out of the half. After starting the game 8-of-8, BYU QB Max Hall completed only two of his next seven pass attempts. Omar Clayton came back and looks just fine. The defense is getting stronger, especially in pass coverage.

UNLV has to feel pretty fresh in the locker room right now, no question. A score on the opening drive and they have an opportunity to play from ahead for the first time today, which could be big. There's no question that this BYU team is a little emotionally drained still after the TCU loss. The crowd's been into it, but they've only taken a couple shots downfield, and the run game is a bit spotty.

No matter what happens from here on out, UNLV can take some pride in the first 30 minutes of this one.

Now, some first half numbers of note ...

-Omar Clayton is 11-of-13 for 159 yards, including a 2-of-2 mark for 43 yards after missing a series-and-a-half due to the late hit from Iona Pritchard.

-Frank Summers has two TD runs, but just 19 yards on nine carries. Michael Johnson's found more space than anyone on the ground, running the speed sweep time twice and then taking a direct snap for his third carry. He has 25 yards.

-Casey Flair's four catches for 69 yards helped him become UNLV's all-time receptions king. His 187 grabs moved him past Damon Williams.

-UNLV actually out-gained BYU in total offense in the first half, 218-207.

-Special teams have helped BYU big-time. Aside from the blocked punt which set up the Cougars' third score, Austin Collie's 75-yard kickoff return to start things off was equally huge. Without those two plays, who knows what the situation is right now.

-C.J. Cox who had 62 yards on 13 carries a week ago, had just two carries in the first half for four yards. I'm calling him as a sleeper in the second half. He's got to be in the mix more if UNLV wants to be more consistent on the ground. Michael Johnson's success has sort of masked Cox's absence so far.

Talk to you again in a bit.

4:51, first quarter, game tied 21-21

PROVO, Utah -- Omar Clayton came back out and it was pretty much unknown how foggy he'd be about 20 minutes after a vicious late hit from Iona Pritchard.

The answer? He looked pretty solid. He's now 11-for-13 of 159 yards.

After a pair of wide receiver sweeps with Ryan Wolfe and Michael Johnson picked up 17 yards, he threw a pass on the button over the middle to Wolfe, who stretched it to a 38-yard gain. Then, a 24-yard pass to the one-yard line to Casey Flair (who on the play became UNLV's all-time leading receiver) set up Frank Summers' second short-yardage TD of the game.

The Rebels successfully made up for yet another special teams snafu and are again right in the thick of this thing.

Another couple of encouraging signs? BYU returned the ensuing kick to just the 18-yard line, and then Quinton Pointer jarred a ball loose with a big hit over the middle on Austin Collie. But BYU is again driving near midfield with under four minutes to go before the break. Things time out well for UNLV should the defense be able to hold, as the Rebels get the ball out of the half.

7:18, second quarter, BYU leads 21-14

PROVO, Utah -- The UNLV defense stopped BYU on not one, but two third down tries (thanks to a penalty in-between), to help give that unit finally something to hoot and holler about when running off the field.

But the emotion was short-lived. Mike Clausen led the UNLV offense back onto the field after a punt stuck the Rebels inside their own one-yard line. Three plays later, the Rebs were punting from their own four. And a minute or so later, Harvey Unga rushed around the edge for a three-yard score.

The Dack Ishii punt attempt was blocked and recovered around the 25-yard line by BYU, and a facemask call on UNLV gave the Cougars even less ground to cover en route to pay dirt.

As for Omar Clayton, he was walking around and looking OK on the sideline, and he even put his helmet on before the last possession. And now, on the heels of that third BYU score, he's coming back. We'll see how foggy things are for the sophomore slinger.

13:18, second quarter, game tied 14-14

PROVO, Utah -- The most recent of eight - yes, eight - penalties called so far on BYU helped propel UNLV to its second score of the game, but has put Omar Clayton's status in question.

While rolling out on a third-and-eight, Clayton was jacked on a late hit by Iona Pritchard. He got the throw to Casey Flair, who tied the school record for career receptions on the play, and picked up 19 yards. But Clayton was on the ground for a minute and was helped to the sideline, where he's right now being evaluated.

Mike Clausen came in in relief and ultimately scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard sneak.

The good news by observation alone is that Clayton is walking around on the sideline and looks lively. Based on the way UNLV's defense has played so far, if he's coming back in for sure, it might be in just a moment or two.

End of first quarter, BYU leads 14-7

PROVO, Utah -- Late in BYU's last drive, the Cougars tried to get a quick snap off on a third-and-one. The Rebels stuffed it, as they've done much of the day so far on runs up the middle, but the Cougars were called for illegal procedure. Third-and-six.

That was honestly probably not the worst thing in the world for BYU, who is throwing the ball all over UNLV right now. Max Hall has yet to throw an incompletion, and he finished the Cougs' second drive of the game with a 20-yard strike to O'Neal Chambers on the left side of the end zone. Chambers out-leapt Quinton Pointer for a nice grab.

But UNLV's offense came right back with 23 yards on three plays to end the first quarter. Clayton & Co. are moving the ball, as we thought they would. But Hall seems to have found his comfort zone with quick hits over the middle to Austin Collie. If UNLV is going to stay competitive today, it looks like they'll have no choice to do so in shootout fashion.

6:33, first quarter, game tied 7-7

PROVO, Utah -- Omar Clayton orchestrated a 13-play, 62-yard drive which was capped by a tough six-yard Frank Summers TD run, and that pulled UNLV even with BYU, 7-7.

Maybe more important than anything else on the drive, though, was the fact that it sucked 5:46 off the clock. The less time BYU's offense is on the field, the better for UNLV.

Also key was the fact that UNLV converted three third-down tries, including a third-and-six inside the red zone on the heels of a Cougar timeout.

But BYU is again driving, and until the Rebel defense can make a stand of some sort, the offense will not get to rest all that much.

On a sidenote: I've never heard a stadium that boos at any call against its team more than this one. That aforementioned third-and-six was converted with a 12-yard pass to Phillip Payne, who made his first grab of the day with a defender draped all over him. But, of course, BYU did nothing wrong. How dare those refs ...

12:15, first quarter, BYU leads 7-0

PROVO, Utah -- You can't really blame the defense entirely for BYU's first score of the game, as an Austin Collie 75-yard kick return to start the game set the Cougars up at the UNLV 25-yard line. Max Hall was three-for-three out of the spread formation, including an eight-yard TD strike to Andrew George over the middle.

A positive for the defense was that Harvey Unga was held to three yards on two carries. Then again, the Cougars didn't try to run around the edges, which is what has killed UNLV so far this season.

The place has filled in almost completely, and this will without question be the biggest crowd UNLV plays in front of this season.

Pregame

PROVO, Utah -- There's plenty of things BYU fans could opt to do with their 'Quest for Perfection' T-shirts right about now. Of course, as you know, perfection is no longer happening. TCU made sure of that in 32-7 fashion last week in Fort Worth.

They could make good dust rags, towels following a car wash or diapers for your young kids in a pinch.

But while walking up to LaVell Edwards Stadium today, I spotted three of them right off the bat after hopping out of the car. They were being used as - gasp - clothing.

We'll see whether those three folks represent the majority today here as UNLV gets set to take on BYU on a crisp fall afternoon nestled right up to the mountains. It's truly gorgeous here today.

I'm still convinced there's going to be an emotional hangover in the stands today. From what I've heard, this town had more than a lot invested in the idea of this team making its way to, say, the Fiesta Bowl. Now that that dream's dead, how doe the masses respond? More importantly, how does the team respond? A buddy of mine who covers BYU just passed by in the press box and in our conversation I asked what kind of a read he got on this team in the past week. He said it's pretty inconclusive.

Now, on with this week's three big predictions ...

1) I don't think that the Frank Summers-C.J. Cox mix of a week ago was just a one-time deal. The Rebels were very effective on the ground in mixing power and speed. That could play in huge today, as I'd have to imaging a goal of the UNLV offense will be to keep the BYU offense off the field ... as well as the Rebel defense.

2) UNLV will force at least one turnover today. Well, I mean, by law of averages, they have to do so again at some point, right? Remember, the Rebels' last interception was on Sept. 13.

3) BYU wins 37-28. I've said all week this game will be closer than many expect. I'm sticking by that. I just don't see this BYU team being the kind that will be chomping at the bit to attack someone on the heels of what happened last Thursday down in Texas. This town is so friendly, I just don't sense any anger like that being possible. Maybe that's just me.

Talk to you after kickoff.