Monday, Oct. 28, 2002 | 9:25 a.m.
SAN DIEGO -- UNLV linebacker Adam Seward, like a number of Rebel defensive players, was glad that he'd be getting an extra hour of sleep from Saturday night to Sunday.
After spending 89 plays and almost 40 minutes on the field in Saturday's 31-21 loss to San Diego State, Seward and company certainly were looking forward to the start of Daylight Savings Time.
"I'll be in bed as soon as we get home," Seward, who had a team-high 10 1/2 tackles and forced a fumble, said. "There's nothing to celebrate. They were just the better team."
Especially on third down.
The Aztecs converted 10 of their 20 third down tries to keep drives alive and keep UNLV's tiring defense on the field. Conversely, the struggling Rebel offense was just 2 of 15 on third down conversions.
"A lot of series we were getting frustrated," Seward said. "They'd keep getting first downs by an inch or a foot and keep the drive going. We can't let a team do that."
"It's pretty tough," senior cornerback Jamal Wynn said of the one-sided time of possession by the pass-happy Aztecs. "Yeah, I definitely feel a bit fatigued right now."
That was San Diego State coach Tom Craft's plan.
"Our goal was to keep them on the field (defensively)," Craft said. "They might make mistakes and get tired and unravel a little bit. That's a very good defensive football team."
But the Rebel defense made just enough mistakes to make Craft's plan work.
Wynn, who returned a J.R. Tolver fumble 81 yards for a touchdown to give UNLV a 14-10 halftime lead, was also beaten twice for touchdowns by the record-setting receiver. So was Seward in a one-on-one mismatch on a crossing route that turned into a 49-yard gain and set up freshman tailback Frederick Collins' three-yard touchdown run that gave the Aztecs a 17-14 lead early in the third quarter.
"I made a ton of mistakes personally," Seward, who was also called for a roughing the punter penalty, said.
But Seward also forced the fumble that Wynn ran back for a touchdown.
Despite the loss, UNLV players still are optimistic that they can turn things around and still maybe even play in a bowl game. They'll have to win at least three of their final four games to do that.
"We're a little frustrated now, but we know we still have bowl hopes," Seward said. "They were the better team Saturday--. They executed and we didn't. We can't keep our heads down. Sunday-- is a new week. We're playing Wyoming next, so we have to get ready for them."
Seward was then informed that the Cowboys had upset No. 22 Air Force, 34-26, to end a 17-game conference losing streak.
"Wow," Seward said. "That's this crazy Mountain West Conference I guess. Yeah, (Wyoming) hasn't been great in the past couple of years, but Air Force is an awesome football team. Everybody knows it. For Wyoming to beat them ... we'll see what happens on Saturday when we play them."
"That's a great win for Wyoming," Wynn said. "Nobody knows what is going to happen in this conference. Nobody knows."
Saturday's game will start at 4 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.
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