Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LIVE GAME BLOG: Rebels lose Clayton as No. 12 TCU rolls to 44-14 win

UNLV

Sam Morris

UNLV quarterback Mike Clausen trips over himself before being dropped for a loss during the second half of the game against TCU on Saturday.

Clayton Hurt, Rebels Lose

UNLV lost its fifth game in a row Saturday night, falling to No. 12 TCU 44-14 at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Rebels Fall to TCU

UNLV defensive back Deante Purvis gets up-ended after running back a kickoff during the first half. Launch slideshow »

UNLV Fan Photos

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Final, TCU wins 44-14

The Rebels lost more than a game to No. 12 TCU Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium. Sure, there is the 44-14 defeat at the hand of the Horned Frogs to swallow, but now there's the potential that UNLV may need to play for awhile without standout sophomore quarterback Omar Clayton.

Clayton was lost for the night to a right knee injury on a five-yard scramble in the third quarter, and spent the rest of the night icing his leg with a brace on it. He also hobbled around for a bit on crutches. His night was not indicative of his season which so far has been very productive. He was 5-of-13 for 45 yards, one TD and one interception. Redshirt freshman Mike Clausen stepped in to go 3-of-9 for just 22 yards. He also had a tape job on his throwing hand by the end of the night.

When Clayton exited, the life seemed to be sucked out of the UNLV sideline. But really, TCU had gained full control of the ballgame well before that fateful play.

Sophomore quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 151 yards and three completions, while the defense held UNLV to a season-low 175 total yards of offense. Of that total, 58 came on a late-game run by Channing Trotter to set up UNLV's second and final score.

For UNLV, it was the fifth straight loss of the season following a promising 3-1 start. The one glimmer of hope now is that the Rebels face three opponents to finish the season who are alongside them in the lower portion of the Mountain West standings. TCU improves to 9-1 and will head to Salt Lake City for the MWC's marquee game of the season Thursday night against No. 10 Utah.

For full postgame coverage, including stats, reactions, photos and video, stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com/rebels.

End of third quarter, TCU leads 37-7

When Omar Clayton left tonight's game with a right knee injury (he is on crutches with ice on his right knee), the air was sucked out of the UNLV sideline, and subsequently, several of the (announced) 16,121 in attendance have headed for the second night of Criss Angel Believe at the Luxor.

TCU added a 13-yard touchdown strike from Andy Dalton to Jimmy Young to put the Horned Frogs up by 30. Mike Clausen has been in Clayton's place now for two series. He's gone two-for-three for seven yards and has been sacked twice.

It's now maybe time to start looking forward. Even with Clausen in the fold rather than Clayton, which it appears will be likely for the immediate future, the Rebels could still use something here late to give them some kind of a step towards three games which are very winnable. But now, on top of licking wounds, it looks like the coaching staff will be preparing a new starting quarterback to face New Mexico next Saturday back here at the Boyd.

One more sidenote ... Casey Flair is without a catch tonight. Should that hold up, it would snap his school-record streak of consecutive games with a catch at 43.

10:41, third quarter, TCU leads 24-7

The story of the night at Sam Boyd Stadium is now no longer the fact that TCU is in prime position to put UNLV away mid-way through the third quarter. It's that the Rebels will cross the finish line without sophomore quarterback Omar Clayton.

The nation's fourth-most efficient sophomore QB scrambled on a first down play after UNLV's defense held TCU to a punt on the second half's opening drive. On his way to the turf after picking up five yards, a Horned Frog defender hit Clayton on the side of his right knee. He was on the turf for a couple minutes before being helped off the field without being able to put his right leg on the ground.

Mike Clausen came in and was sacked immediately on second-and-five, spelling doom for the drive. The Rebels punted it away, and TCU's Aaron Brown scored from 23 yards out to make it 30-7.

The update from the sideline confirmed that it is a right knee injury. Clayton on the night finished 5-of-13 for 45 yards, one TD and one interception. He also ran the ball nine times for 29 yards.

Halftime, TCU leads 24-7

TCU again struck gold with the play-action pass down around the goal line, snapping a three drive touchdown-less stretch with Andy Dalton finding Evan Frosch for a short TD pass to put TCU up 24-7 at the break. While UNLV's defense has held pretty strong, Dack Ishii's struggles to punt with the winds blowing stiff into the closed end of Sam Boyd Stadium have given the Horned Frogs short fields to work with time after time.

The Horned Frogs get the ball again out of the half, but even if UNLV did, it's hard to see the fortunes changing tonight for the Rebels. Their lone score came on a short field off of a muffed punt return, and the ground game outside of Omar Clayton's 24 yards has been non-existent. Frank SUmmers has no yards on four carries, while C.J. Cox has seven yards on two totes.

Here are some other halftime numbers of note ...

-Dalton is an efficient 12-of-22 for 114 yards on two scores. For UNLV, Clayton's had his roughest first half of the season, so far going 5-of-13 for just 45 yards, a touchdown and a pick off of a ball tipped by Jerry Hughes.

-TCU held the ball for 18:01 of a possible 30 minutes in the first half. Most of that came on their first drive of the game - a 17-play drive which munched more than eight minutes off of the clock.

-UNLV's defense has been pretty decent in cutting down on big plays allowed. TCU only has one play so far of 20-plus yards.

-Dack Ishii has punted five times for an average of just 27.2 yards. That included boots of 10 and 12 yards consecutively in the second quarter.

A bevy of tyke cheerleaders are on the field for a halftime performance, which leads you to believe that at least a third of the roughly 8,000 people in attendance tonight are their parents. The stands could look pretty bleak once play resumes.

6:35, second quarter, TCU leads 17-7

Dack Ishii followed up his 12-yard punt with a 10-yarder, but this time the effect wasn't as bad, as it came on the heels of UNLV moving the ball a little bit against the Horned Frog defense. Omar Clayton right now is the Rebels' best ballcarrying option, as he has 24 yards on eight carries, and the drive was aided by a 15-yard personal foul call against Rafael Priest, who jacked up Casey Flair after a third down play. The two have been jawing back and forth all night.

The Rebel defense responded by holding TCU touchdown-less for the third straight profession.

Here's a little atmosphere note for you: While the student section is weak in numbers, in the front row are three guys wearing paper grocery bags on their heads. One reads 'When will it end?', while a second says 'Defense wins games.' Eek.

When will it end

Defense wins games

10:24, second quarter, TCU leads 17-7

UNLV's defense held strong yet again as the unit appears to have settled down and is not intimidated by TCU's attack. The Rebels are stacking up nicely against the run, and did so a couple of times in holding the Horned Frogs to a 20-yard field goal, limiting the damage from Dack Ishii's 12-yard punt.

They're starting to get some pressure - just a little, but it's something - on Andy Dalton, as he's thrown a few bad balls as the game has progressed.

Now Omar Clayton needs to find his old faithfuls (Casey Flair and Ryan Wolfe), who have combined for one catch so far tonight.

13:23, second quarter, TCU leads 14-7

UNLV had a chance to pull even after forcing - yes - a TCU three-and-out near midfield. TCU's Anson Kelton stuck the ball down at the eight-yard line, and from there, UNLV went three-and-out, and Dack Ishii shanked a punt off the right side of his foot. It only went 12 yards and set the Horned Frogs up at the UNLV 28.

The odd thing about Ishii's short punt is that it came right after the ghastly winds died down. It just might not be UNLV's night. The offense looks uncomfortable, and the prospects of Frank Summers getting much going on the ground don't look too hot. The Rebels seem to be trying some trickery with the run game, but the TCU defensive front is just too quick off the ball to allow Summers any yardage. So far, he has three carries for -2 yards.

:44, first quarter, TCU leads 14-7

Maybe the Rebels can make it a game afterall. After the big break looked like it go to waste after the offense lost three yards on two snaps, Omar Clayton rolled right and fired a bullet to Rodelin Anthony from 15 yards out for UNLV's first points of the game.

The most notable development here, though in the last few minutes is probably the wind. It has picked up to the point where the goal posts are now literally waving, and a haze of dust is floating above the stadium. The mountains in the distance are now barely visible. The wind is blowing straight into the closed end of the stadium. If this game somehow stays close, that could prove pivotal.

3:09, first quarter, TCU leads 14-0

Omar Clayton's fourth interception of the season was his second of the 2008 campaign which came off of a tipped ball. This time, getting a mit on it was TCU standout D-end Jerry Hughes, and Robert Henson scooped it up before it hit the turf. Three plays later, TCU was in the end zone for the second time in the first quarter.

The key play was a 23-yard strike down the seam from Andy Dalton to Jimmy Young, as the Rebel defense just doesn't look like it can hang with the Horned Frogs athletically or scheme-wise.

The Rebels, though, just caught their first big break tonight. The Horned Frogs muffed the punt after the Rebel offense again went three-and-out, and were set up at the TCU 12-yard line. The celebration in the open end of the stadium was a bit premature, though. Confetti and streamers were released even though UNLV had yet to score.

5:21, first quarter, TCU leads 7-0

TCU certainly looks to be a cut above right now. Maybe two cuts above the Rebels.

After UNLV went three-and-out on the opening drive at Sam Boyd Stadium, TCU was methodical to a T. The Horned Frogs dripped more than eight minutes off the first quarter clock with a 17-play, 77-yard drive on which seven different Horned Frogs ripped off positive yardage. UNLV's defense allowed six first downs, but no big plays. Then again, TCU didn't have to take too many chances. The score came on a one-yard pass from Andy Dalton - who was 4-of-5 on the drive - to fullback Justin Watts.

Now it's up to Omar Clayton to get comfortable. On third-and-seven on the game's opening drive, he threw a pass over the middle to Ryan Wolfe which looked a bit rushed, even though no one was even close to sacking him. He might need to settle down a bit.

Pregame, Part 2

We're about eight minutes from kickoff, and the attendance tonight is by far UNLV's worst of the season so far. You know it's a bad night for the ol' numbers at the box office when the students don't show up. This is really the first time this season that's been the case.

It's too bad more people weren't here to listen to 12-year-old Ellie Smith belt out the national anthem. What a voice. Of course, the hundreds of people in the stands hardly fazed her. She also sang it for game one of the NLCS between the Dodgers and Phillies last month.

I'm just waiting to hear something like when Bob Uecker was the play-by-play man for the Cleveland Indians in Major League and announced a promotion giving free admission to anyone who was alive the last time the Indians won the pennant. It's that sparse tonight.

Pregame

Well, it looks like the Rebels will be playing tonight's home game against No. 12 TCU without standout freshman receiver Phillip Payne.

Payne, who got his dome rocked with a head-to-head shot from Andrew Rich in the fourth quarter last week at BYU, is wearing his jersey, but has no pads on and is donning a pair of track pants, mingling around with his fellow receivers. Payne did not practice this week, and coach Mike Sanford said on Wednesday that there's a possibility the Western High product suffered a concussion.

A concussion appears to be exactly what it is for the frosh, who this season is the Rebels' third-leading receiver with 27 grabs for 415 yards and a team-high seven TDs.

Payne has been UNLV's most consistent threat in the red zone this season, and it could prove to be a big blow for the Rebels, as they might need all the help they can get against the 8-1 Horned Frogs.

I had a chance to go down on the field and walk around a bit before heading up here to the press box about an hour ago, and I'll tell you, some of these TCU players, physically, appear to be on another level. You have some legitimate NFL bodies in the white uniforms tonight.

At the very least, UNLV at least shores back up a bit on defense. It looks like Ronnie Paulo will be back to manning things in the middle of the defense, and Beau Orth is in uniform and went through warmups without a hitch.

Still, this game, in my mind, comes down to one thing - How much Omar Clayton gets hit and disturbed.

If the UNLV line can keep him off his back, he's proven that he can dissect just about any secondary. But if TCU finds a way to give him the Max Hall treatment, well, then the Rebels might be glad that the attendance looks to be a bit down tonight.

That said, on with this week's three big predictions:

1) Whether Clayton stays propped up for the majority of the night or not, he will take at least two or three major shots. This TCU front is too fast and too furious to not make that happen at the very minimum. Jerry Hughes' name will be blasted over the PA system more than a couple times.

2) A sleeper for UNLV would have to be Jerriman Robinson. Logic tells you that he'd be first in line to step in for Phillip Payne. He's become a very nice option in the middle of the field and is worth keeping an eye on tonight.

3) Homefield advantage probably won't play into anything tonight. Not that TCU travels by the herds, but the fringe Rebels fan base appears to have stayed away this week. Plenty of beautiful space available in the tailgate lot, folks.

Talk to you after kickoff.

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