Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Rebels football:

Blog: Rebels drop to 1-5 after 33-10 loss at San Jose State

UNLV football at San Jose State

Ben Margot / AP

UNLV’s Devonte Boyd (83) makes a reception past San Jose State’s Akeem King (25) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, in San Jose, Calif.

Updated Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 | 8:22 p.m.

San Jose State 33, UNLV 10

Game over

Another ugly game has come to an end and UNLV is now 1-5 on the season after losing 33-10 at San Jose State. The Rebels gave up 542 yards while gaining only 221 and were never in the game in the second half.

UNLV changed quarterbacks at halftime, going to Nick Sherry over the possibly-injured Blake Decker. It didn't matter. Both guys were awful and the Rebels are now 0-2 in the league with homecoming against Fresno State on tap Friday night.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' loss.

The Rebel Room

What Would You Do?

Las Vegas Sun sports writers Ray Brewer, Case Keefer and Taylor Bern play armchair quarterback on UNLV's in-game situations and the future at quarterback.

One of the only stadiums to attract a smaller average attendance than Sam Boyd Stadium is the site of today’s UNLV-San Jose State matchup. Two teams on three-game losing streaks will kick it off at 5:02 p.m. on ESPNews, and one will leave Spartan Stadium feeling at least a little more optimistic about its 2014 prospects.

It’s the first time the Rebels (1-4, 0-1) have traveled here since 1996, when both teams were in the Western Athletic Conference. The Spartans (1-3, 0-1) come in after statistically dominating UNR in an 11-point loss.

That game is a big reason San Jose State has been bet up to a 10-point favorite. The Spartans have had statistical oddities on defense in each of the past two games — only one pass completion allowed against Minnesota, no third downs converted by UNR — and no victories to show for it. Decrease the competition and it makes sense that those performances would translate into a win.

Enter UNLV. Neither team is in a good position right now, but as Friday night’s games further proved, anything can happen in the Mountain West.

Although it’s not a shock for a four-point favorite to win by 11, I picked San Diego State to upset Fresno State. And Utah State, with the help of a broken leg for BYU quarterback Taysom Hill, went to Provo as a 21-point underdog and won by 15.

It’s a weird league, and more importantly it’s one filled with mediocrity. That means there will be a lot of opportunities week to week. This is a big one, for both UNLV and San Jose State.

If it plays to form, the Spartans’ secondary and front seven will get after the ball, turn the Rebels over a couple of times and win their Homecoming game handily. But this league rarely plays out exactly like you expect.

Bern’s prediction: I might have said this already, but I’m completely in the mode that I have to see UNLV win before I believe it can happen. San Jose State 27, UNLV 10

Season: ATS 3-2, O/U 3-2

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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