Clayton’s future in question after 44-14 loss to TCU

By Ryan Greene

Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Some UNLV faithful might have joked leading up to Saturday's home tilt with No. 12 TCU that given the prowess of the Horned Frogs' defense, the best thing the Rebels could hope for was to get out healthy for the season's final three games.

And sometimes, in hindsight, jokes are proven to be not all that funny.

The fact that the Rebels fell to 3-6 overall and 0-5 in Mountain West play in 44-14 blowout fashion in front of a sparse home crowd was a mere footnote when given the potential long-term implications.

In the third quarter, sophomore sensation Omar Clayton was knocked out when the helmet of a TCU defender hit the outside of the quarterback's right knee on a scramble play, forcing it to move sideways while his foot stuck in the turf. Clayton spent the rest of the game on the sidelines icing the knee, then applying a brace and watching the action on crutches.

He emerged from the UNLV locker room a couple of hours later with it heavily wrapped, covered in ice and unable to put it on the ground for more than a tap of the toe for balance.

The severity of the injury is yet to be determined, and may not be known until as late as Tuesday. He’ll undergo an MRI on Monday.

The odd part about it, though, was that the typically straight-faced Clayton was able to spin a small joke when he first approached reporters.

"At least I got to play more games this time," he said, referring to a fractured hand, which cost him the final portion of his freshman season a year ago in his third career start. "I just got tackled and I didn't feel right when I got back up. So I knew it was hurt."

Clayton also felt for the situation his backup, redshirt freshman Mike Clausen, had to face. Before Saturday night, Clausen had attempted 12 passes in five appearances this season.

"It's kind of tough," he said. "They say the hardest position in football is just being the backup quarterback. You never know when you're going in. You're always on edge whenever the first-stringer takes a big hit. I know because I was second-string last year. But I definitely feel like Mike can come in and be productive."

Up to the point in the night where Clayton's knee appeared to meet its maker, he'd already bounced back from a few tough shots. Heck, almost everyone in a red uniform had.

The Horned Frogs brought the nation's second-ranked overall defense into Las Vegas, and did nothing short of justifying that standing right from the start.

After forcing the Rebels into at three-and-out to start the game, the TCU offense soundly and efficiently rattled off a 17-play, 77-yard drive that took 7:59 off the clock. It was capped by a 1-yard pass from Andy Dalton -- who threw three touchdowns on the night -- to Justin Watts, and TCU never looked back.

The defense, which held UNLV to season lows in passing yards (67) and total offense (175) made certain of that.

"They lived up to all the press, and they did a great job," UNLV receiver Ryan Wolfe said. "Every aspect of their defense was solid and we couldn't get it done. Speed was as we expected, but I think just the intensity that they play with -- kind of the attitude that if we gained a yard, that it was a yard too much."

The TCU defense even got a little testy at times with that attitude, as the Horned Frogs were flagged for a handful of personal fouls while giving up 95 yards on 10 penalties. Five of the Rebels' 12 first downs were earned with yellow laundry.

The Rebels defense, on the other hand, did its best to make up for the short fields TCU had to work with. UNLV punter Dack Ishii struggled to adjust to punting into a stiff wind, as his nine kicks averaged just 29.4 yards.

They kept the deficit to what under normal circumstances would be a manageable 17 points at the half, with UNLV trailing 24-7. But TCU's defense presents anything but normal circumstances to work against.

"That's the best team we've played all year, hands down," UNLV receiver Casey Flair said. "That's the best defense we've played against. They're studs. Every position, every aspect, they were a very, very good football team. Are they the best team in the Mountain West? We still have three games to play, so we'll find out. But they're the best team we've played thus far, yes."

It was still just 24-7 when Clayton was put out for the night, but that seemed to suck the life right out of the Rebels.

"I would say it was (deflating). You try to fight against that, but I think it was,” UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. “I think it was a difficult team for a backup quarterback to go in against. They're a good football team. Very fast."

Clausen, who a week ago in a 42-35 loss at BYU was an unsung hero of sorts by scoring on two short touchdown runs with Clayton momentarily out of the game, was unable to get much going. He finished the night by completing three of nine pass attempts for 22 yards, and was sacked three times, including being dragged down for a 9-yard loss by Stephen Hodge on his first snap.

"It was kind of more mental errors on our part," he said. "I'm 100 percent confident in myself and I'm sure the team is, too. (I've got to) just go out there this week and try to get that chemistry going."

By all assumptions, even if Clayton's knee injury turns out to be just a sprain, there's a high likelihood Clausen will make his first career start Saturday when UNLV begins the final quarter of its 2008 schedule at home against New Mexico.

That will all be determined early this week. For perspective on a timetable, when linebacker Starr Fuimaono went down with what turned out to be a torn ACL in the season's second game at Utah, results from an MRI weren’t known until Tuesday morning.

But should Clausen start, don't expect the Rebels to alter too much in terms of offensive game planning. Clausen is just as mobile and has just as strong of an arm as Clayton, who at this point in the season has thrown for 1,893 yards, with 18 touchdown passes to just four interceptions.

He doesn't have Clayton's starting experience, but the idea of giving him some series here and there early in the season now could prove to be crucial if he is in fact handed the keys to the offense against the Lobos, who are now 4-6 following a 13-10 home loss to No. 10 Utah Saturday night.

The Horned Frogs, now 9-1 and 6-0 in league play, take part in the season's marquee Mountain West contest at Utah on Thursday night. The winner will gain an inside track to an at-large BCS berth.

"I do have confidence in Mike, a lot of confidence in Mike," Sanford said. "Obviously it shows we have confidence in him because we've played him quite a bit throughout the season, and just the nature of college football, you never know when you're gonna lose your quarterback, so you've got to have another one ready to go.

"We've played him quite a bit throughout the season. He jumped in twice in the BYU game when Omar was knocked out. And he did well, scored two touchdowns. The one thing obviously is he's left-handed. That affects some things. It doesn't change what we do on offense."