UNLV-TCU notebook: Clayton injury the latest of Rebels’ health woes

By Ryan Greene

Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 | 12:38 a.m.

While Omar Clayton's knee injury was the only fresh addition to the UNLV infirmary list Saturday night, that 'list' has been a concern all year for the Rebels.

UNLV was already without two starters for Saturday night's 44-14 home loss to No. 12 TCU. Freshman receiver Phillip Payne (concussion) and defensive end Thor Pili (ankle) were both gameday decisions. Payne never put pads on during warmups, while Pili tried to make it a go, but was ultimately ruled out.

The Rebels were also without freshman safety Beau Orth, who went through warmups but ultimately missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. A second safety -- former quarterback Travis Dixon -- missed his third straight game with a nerve issue in his shoulder.

"We expect all those guys to be back next week," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said of everyone other than Clayton.

Dixon's injury may be the most intriguing, considering the Rebels' potential lack of depth at the quarterback spot should Clayton be out for even as little as just next Saturday's game at New Mexico.

Dixon, who started nine games a year ago behind center as a freshman, is unlikely to move back into the quarterback depth chart, since the nerve issue -- an injury suffered on Oct. 4 at Colorado State -- is in his throwing arm. That means the Rebels' lone backup quarterback would be senior Dack Ishii, who despite Saturday's struggles, has entrenched himself as the team's No. 1 punter.

Ishii, whose lone throw this year was last week at BYU on a fake punt attempt, was 6-of-11 for 59 yards and an interception last year in two appearances.

The need for speed

It was hard not to notice the difference speed made when TCU's defense was on the field against UNLV's offense Saturday night.

The Rebels tried to add a couple of tricky wrinkles to get the ground game going early on, but were pretty much stunted. Of UNLV's 108 yards rushing on the night, 58 of it came on a fourth quarter Channing Trotter jaunt.

Even the play in which Clayton was hurt, the space to work with closed up unbelievably fast. Against a slower defense, what was a painful 5-yard gain could have gone for 10 or more yards.

"I would say that without a question (it did)," Sanford said when asked if the speed made a big difference. "Earlier in the year we knew going into the season, going into our recruiting year, and that has been magnified as the season has gone on that we need to recruit more speed. We are doing that, that is a big thing for us."

UNLV on the defensive side of the ball, of course, got speedy additions this past week with verbal commitments from junior college cornerbacks Mike Grant and Warren Ziegler.

Speed on the defensive side of the ball for the Horned Frogs was a big reason why UNLV senior back Frank Summers was held to an uncharacteristic 9 yards on just six carries.

"(Linebacker Robert Henson) stood out in my mind," Summers said. "He might be the best linebacker we've played thus far."

While Summers also added that he thought Utah's run defense was a bit tougher, he noted Henson's incredible ability to move from sideline to sideline in minimal time. Henson finished with four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception.

Hard to ignore it

Dack Ishii has been one of the more inspiring stories this season for the Rebels, as the third-string quarterback has found a home as the team's punter, showing a knack this year for consistency and placing kicks inside opponents' 20-yard line.

Consider Saturday night a blip on the radar, even though the short fields TCU worked with turned out to be a major storyline in the first half. He had back-to-back punts that went a combined 22 yards into a fierce wind which blew for much of the night into the stadium's closed end.

"That was a huge part of the game, the short field," Sanford said. "It wasn't like they had a ton of big plays. Their longest run was 24 (yards), their longest pass was 23. It was a huge field position game, and that wind. In spite of what it looked like, we've worked on playing in wind because we know what this conference is like and what it can be like in Las Vegas with the wind. Unfortunately, we were poor punting into the wind today. Very poor."

A familiar, yet somewhat forgotten, feeling

UNLV senior receiver Casey Flair has taken great pride this season in how close UNLV has played opponents, taking just about every game into the fourth quarter with a chance to win it.

Saturday, however, brought back some painful memories of years passed.

"This one hurts," he said. "Me and Ryan (Wolfe) were actually talking in the locker room. It's been a long time -- and when I say a long time, I mean a long time -- since I've felt what I felt on that sideline right around the fourth quarter. We haven't had a game like that in a long time or a game like this. It hurt."

Respect for the streak

The UNLV coaching staff showed great respect for Flair's streak of consecutive games with a reception late in Saturday's contest. His streak -- now at 44 games and the second-longest active one in the nation -- was kept intact with a 15-yard pass play over the middle on the Rebels' final possession of the game.

The call was for Flair to line up in the slot and run a simple underneath route for a short grab. It took two tries, but the streak stayed alive.

"I was very appreciative," he said "But it would have been nice if it would have come in a win. That's what I was worried about. Was it nice to continue that streak? Yeah. But now we're all about working on next week and getting ready for New Mexico."

Added Sanford: "We just wanted to involve Casey in the game. Casey's a huge part of our team, a leader of our team, and we wanted to involve him in the drive. Part of that was throwing the football to him."

Next up

The Rebels next welcome New Mexico to town for the second leg of a three-game home swing. The Lobos fought to the last second, but ultimately dropped their sixth game of the season -- and third in their last four outings -- to No. 10 Utah Saturday night in Albuquerque.

The Lobos feature the Mountain West's second-leading rusher in Rodney Ferguson, who after Saturday has 912 yards on the season.

This and that

Saturday night's announced attendance at Sam Boyd Stadium was 16,121 ... The Rebels are one of two MWC teams still without a conference win, joining San Diego State at 0-5. The Aztecs lost at Wyoming earlier on Saturday, 35-10. That was the Cowboys' first league victory of the season ... TCU's Jerry Hughes recorded two sacks, bumping his nation-leading total to 14 ... Channing Trotter's 58-yard fourth-quarter run was the Rebels' longest offensive play from scrimmage this season ... Jason Beauchamp, the MWC's leading tackler this season, moved into triple-digit territory in stops for the first time in his career with 11 tackles Saturday night. He now has 101 takedowns this year ... The Rebels' first quarter recovery of a muffed punt was the team's first takeaway since the Oct. 4 contest at Colorado State ... Scoring-wise, it was a night of firsts for UNLV. Rodelin Anthony's first quarter touchdown reception was his first of the season and the sixth of his UNLV career. Meanwhile, David Peeples' fourth quarter one-yard touchdown plunge came on his second carry of the year. His first carry had come two snaps earlier.