Las Vegas Bowl notebook: ‘Right’ Jason plays, shines for Rebels

Steve Guiremand and Brian Hilderbrand

Friday, Dec. 22, 2000 | 9:37 a.m.

Jason Thomas' day ended on a high note Thursday night when the sophomore transfer from USC was named UNLV's team MVP after a 31-14 victory over Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium.

But for a few anxious moments on Thursday morning, there was some question whether Thomas might even be able to play.

A reporter from USA Today called the Sun sports department around 8 a.m. saying he heard from three different sources that Thomas "had been arrested on drunk and disorderly conduct and theft charges" on Wednesday night.

Turned out to be a hoax.

But another UNLV quarterback, Jason Vaughan, was suspended from the game because MGM Grand security officers were summoned to his room for a disturbance on Wednesday morning.

Vaughan was suspended for the Las Vegas Bowl early Thursday because he broke a team rule which prohibits having alcohol in his hotel room.

The incident was captured by the ESPN2 cameras and replayed several times. It appeared Sandlin elbowed Thomas as he went by and the UNLV quarterback then spit at the junior guard as he trotted back to the field. Thomas was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his action.

"He was coming off the sideline and I was bracing myself and he spit in my face," Sandlin said. "I guess that just shows the class of that team.

"I just braced myself -- I wasn't just going to stand there and get hit like a fool. It wasn't anything unnecessary or the refs would have called it. ... That's the lowest thing you can do to somebody, I believe."

Thomas said he apologized to Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt for the incident but couldn't find Sandlin afterward.

"I just made a stupid play," Thomas said. "I'm young and I'm going to make mistakes. I let my emotions take control over me.

"I was out of bounds and a guy chucked me and I did something I shouldn't have done. ... It was very immature of me and I admit it."

"I knew it was broken because it was bent sideways," Palepoi, who finished with four tackles, said. "They kind of popped it back in. It hurts, but the win makes it a lot less than painful."

He also picked up the 115th victory of his college coaching career. That tied him with Pat Dye for 11th place in Division I history for the most victories after 14 seasons.

UNLV finished the season with an 8-5 record -- the most wins by a Rebels football team since the 1984 squad went 11-2. It also marked the first time the Rebels have played 13 games in a season since 1984.

Thursday night's 17-point loss to the Rebels was the second largest for the Razorbacks in a bowl game, second only to the 42-8 whipping at the hands of Oklahoma in the 1987 Orange Bowl.

Turner's 126 yards marked his fourth 100-yard game of his career. He had at least two catches in all 24 games in his two-year UNLV career.