UNLV-New Mexico: By the numbers

By Ryan Greene (contact)

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 | 2:28 a.m.

What did it take for UNLV to snap a four-game skid and 20-game road losing streak in Mountain West Conference games?

Well, the stat sheet tells the story of the Rebels' 34-17 victory over winless New Mexico on Saturday night in Albuquerque.

In a nutshell, UNLV erased some of the unsightly numbers which littered recent box scores — turnovers, poor red zone efficiency, etc. — and replaced them with more pleasing digits.

Here's a look at some of what went right for the 3-5 Rebels.

0: UNLV went without a turnover, which has been a seemingly elusive achievement for the Rebels in recent weeks. But this time, they came out of the gates running on all cylinders on offense and never really got sloppy. In the effort, junior quarterback Omar Clayton looked like the Clayton of old, completing 20 of 30 passes for 204 yards and two touchdown passes. But his zero interceptions might have meant more to him than anything behind the win. UNLV also had 44 rushing attempts as a team without a fumble.

68: The Rebels' run defense, which showed moderate improvement in last weekend's loss to Utah on the heels of two embarrassing showings against UNR and BYU, was as stingy as it's been all season. By cutting off the Lobos' ability to move the ball on the ground — which, in all honesty, wasn't that great to start with — the Rebels put the game in senior quarterback Donovan Porterie's hands, and even a couple of nice second half touchdown drives couldn't do the trick. New Mexico compiled just 68 yards on 25 attempts, which comes out to an average of 2.7 yards per attempt. A lot of it had to do with push up front from the defensive line and suddenly healthy linebacking corps, which combined to register seven tackles for loss and four sacks.

11: Senior receiver Ryan Wolfe, who despite catching a ton of passes has been kept from being a difference-maker for much of this season, had his best game of the 2009 campaign. His 11 catches for 118 yards and a first half touchdown looked great, but his career numbers were the focus when all was said and done. On his fourth catch of the night — a six-yard reception in the second quarter — he surpassed San Diego State's J.R. Tolver as the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading pass-catcher. Tolver's record of 263 had stood since 2002. Wolfe is now at 270 and counting. Wolfe is averaging 7.6 receptions per game as a senior, which means he has a legitimate shot at 300 career grabs with four games still to go.

5: Aside from turnovers, scoring consistently in the red zone has been UNLV's toughest hurdle to clear in 2009. The Rebels were tied with Ohio State as the nation's most efficient red zone offense in 2008, scoring 95 percent of the time they got inside an opponent's 20-yard line. On Saturday, UNLV was 5-of-6, with its lone unsuccessful trip coming late in the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Mike Clausen took a knee to run out the final seconds of the game clock. Of those five trips, three of them resulted in touchdowns, including Clausen's four-yard run in the fourth quarter which put the game out of reach once and for all.

9: When senior linebacker/defensive end Jason Beauchamp is at full health, UNLV's defense is more consistent in its rush off the edge. Playing in his first game this season at 100 percent after recovering from right ankle and left knee injuries, Beauchamp made all nine of his tackles count. Three came behind the line of scrimmage and two were sacks, giving him a career high 5.5 sacks on the season. He also had a forced fumble in the effort.

Ryan Greene can be reached at ryan.greene@lasvegassun.com or 702-948-7844.