Rebels still hold out hopes for a bowl

the numbers

Monday, Nov. 11, 2002 | 10:28 a.m.

Next up

What: Air Force at UNLV

When: Saturday, noon

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium

TV: KFBT, Ch. 6

Radio: KBAD 920-AM

Line: Air Force by 7

First Quarter: Utah 7-0

The Man: Wide receiver Paris Jackson caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brett Elliott, beating corner Ruschard Dodd-Masters on a fade in the left corner of the end zone.

Turning Point: On 4th-and-9 on the Rebel 35-yard line, UNLV long snapper Joe Eddleman hit his leg with a snap to punter Gary Cook, who picked up the loose ball and was tackled for a five-yard loss. That set the stage for Elliott's touchdown pass to Jackson.

Game within the game: Special teams, which have had a nasty habit of breaking down in key games, commit two major errors in the quarter.

Second Quarter: Utah 21-0

The Man: Elliott throws two more touchdown passes to give him three in the half. He completes 12 of 18 passes for 134 yards.

Turning Point: With 1:48 to go in the half, Ute free safety Antwoine Sanders intercepts a Jason Thomas pass and returns it 25 yards to the Rebel 33, setting up a 13-yard TD pass from Elliott to Devin Houston that extends Utah's lead to 21-0.

Game within the game: Rebels don't get any break from the officials. Replays show that Jackson grabbed cornerback Jamal Wynn's jersey while helping to get free to catch a 30-yard touchdown pass from Elliott. Elliott also appeared to have lost a fumble just two plays before the Utes' third touchdown.

Third Quarter: Utah 28-7

The Man: Tailback Brandon Warfield broke loose for a 61-yard touchdown run for what would prove to be Utah's final touchdown of the game.

Turning Point: After UNLV cut the lead to 21-7 on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jason Thomas to Michael Johnson, Utah extended its lead back to 21 points on the 61-yard run by Warfield.

Game within the game: Both teams have special teams blunders as Cook gets off a three-yard punt after another poor center snap while Rebel defensive end Leon Moore blocks a 46-yard field goal try by Utah's Bryan Borreson.

Fourth Quarter: Utah 28-17

The Man: Earvin Johnson catches a seven-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to cut Utah's lead to 11, 28-17, with 8:03 remaining.

Turning Point: Thanks to a holding penalty on the ensuring kickoff after Johnson's touchdown grab, Utah starts its next possession on its own 10-yard line. But on the first play on the drive, tailback J.R. Peroulis breaks free for a 35-yard run to get the Utes out of the hole.

Game within the game: Utah coach Ron McBride orders Elliott to take two knees to run out the clock despite the fact the Utes had a second-and-goal at the Rebel three-yard line with a minute to go. Those who bet the Utes minus 11 points obviously would agree with the booing Utah fans.

Compiled by Steve Guiremand

SALT LAKE CITY -- As they exited their locker room and boarded their buses outside the south end zone of Rice-Eccles Stadium, UNLV's football players found themselves a few first downs away from the many large headstones of Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Cynics would suggest it would probably be the perfect place for the burial of the Rebels' bowl hopes following a 28-17 loss to Utah here on Saturday night.

However, UNLV players weren't quite ready to toss in the towel on their postseason dreams.

"The bottom line is the season isn't over yet," linebacker Adam Seward said. "Two years ago when I was a redshirt freshman we had to win three in a row to get to a bowl. Now we have to get two in a row."

Thanks to Saturday's loss to the Utes (3-6, 1-4), UNLV must win its final two games of the season -- Saturday against Air Force (7-3, 3-2) at Sam Boyd Stadium and Nov. 30 at Colorado State (8-2, 4-0) -- to get the required six wins for a bowl berth.

"We've got to go two-for-two," quarterback Jason Thomas said. "It's like the playoffs. They want playoffs in college (football). Well, we've got it. We've got to win to advance (to a bowl game). And that's the way it is.

"Coach (John Robinson) said at the beginning of the season that it was going to come down to a game at Colorado State. And that's coming true."

First, though, the Rebels have to try to stop an Air Force squad that was ranked as high as 15th in the nation just a month ago. UNLV has had success against the Falcons option attack the last two years, scoring a 34-10 victory over Fisher DeBerry's squad last year in Colorado Springs and 34-13 two years ago on national TV at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"We've got to look at it one game at a time," linebacker Tyrone Tucker said. "We can't afford to look ahead. Hopefully we can win two and go to a bowl game ... (but) we've got to make Air Force our bowl game and go from there."

"Our goal is to focus on Air Force and beat them," Seward said. "Then we have a bye week. Like Coach Robinson said at the beginning of the year, it's all going to come down to Colorado State on a cold Saturday evening. So far that still holds true if we can beat Air Force.

"We definitely have a chance," said Seward, who had a game-high 16 tackles against the Utes. "We're disappointed about losing to Utah and it's going to hurt tonight and (Sunday), but come Monday we've got to come back and get ready for a good Air Force team."

But Terrell started and played every snap against a very physical Utah defense.

"It was tough," Terrell said. "I definitely wasn't 100 percent. I made a lot of mistakes out there. I didn't play a good game. There's no excuses ... hurt or not hurt. We just didn't play a good game."

Said Robinson: "Tony Terrell had a very bad ankle and he played every play. I'm very proud of that."

Parker caught up with a couple of his old Spartan teammates, Rebel wide receiver Toby Smeltzer and safety Ross Dalton, after the game.

"It feels great to beat UNLV again," Parker said.

Parker said the Utes' game plan was to blitz Rebel quarterback Jason Thomas early and often.

"We were trying to," said Parker, who finished with five tackles and a sack. "That was the plan for the whole game. But (Thomas) got loose a couple of times. He's big, man. He's tough to hold on to and bring down."

Saturday's game starts at noon at Sam Boyd Stadium and will be the final home game for UNLV's senior players.