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March 19, 2024

UNLV Football:

Rebels’ comeback comes up short in 48-34 loss to Northern Illinois

UNLV Football

Mikayla Whitmore

UNLV receiver Devante Davis caught six passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ 48-34 loss to Northern Illinois at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014.

UNLV Rebels vs. Northern Illinois Huskies

UNLV Rebels defensive lineman Antonio Zepeda (49) & NIH linback Alex Schwab during UNLV’s game against the Northern Illinois Huskies  at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014. Launch slideshow »

There’s plenty for UNLV and its followers to dwell on if they so choose after tonight’s 48-34 loss to Northern Illinois at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Most would probably start with the Rebels’ third-down defense, which allowed the Huskies to convert on 15-of-19 attempts. That sustained many of their long, methodical scoring drives that proved too much for UNLV to overcome.

“It’s a bunch of people missing individual assignments,” sophomore linebacker Marc Philippi said.

Or one could pick apart the red-zone offense, which twice came away with no points after a missed 33-yard field goal and the interception that effectively sealed NIU’s victory.

“We can’t have mistakes like that on my part,” junior quarterback Blake Decker said.

Of course, early in the second half it didn’t look like the Rebels (1-2) would be anywhere close to even being in a position to get their hearts broken. UNLV trailed by 23 before a third-quarter explosion that eclipsed their total touchdowns in the previous 10 quarters and at the least turned this into a game.

“Our guys are really down,” UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said. “We thought we were going to win this game.”

In the third quarter alone, Decker completed 8-of-10 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, both of those to senior receiver Devante Davis. Decker finished the game with 397 passing yards, the most at UNLV since 1997, and Davis tallied his ninth career 100-yard receiving game with 150 yards on six catches.

Early in the game, Davis made a couple of catches after he was out of bounds, but it’s another near catch that will stick with him. On first and goal at the 7-yard line trailing 41-34, Decker threw a jump ball toward Davis in single coverage in the corner of the end zone.

With Davis having two one-handed catches already on the night and a 2013 season full of physical catches, it looked like a play Davis could make. A little underthrown, yes, but Davis has made those plays sometimes feel expected.

The ball was tipped just before it reached his hands, and safety Marlon Moore, running over to the play late, pinned it against his body for the Rebels’ only turnover of the night. The few fans remaining out of a sparse crowd fell silent. Moments earlier, the stadium was going crazy, or at least as crazy as an announced crowd of 14,305 can get.

“You saw it in the guys, you saw it in the stadium. … It was a great environment to be a part of,” Decker said.

The Huskies changed their defensive scheme in the second half, Decker said, going to more one-on-one coverages that challenged the Rebels to make plays down the field. Decker did just that, hitting three different targets for gains of at least 29 yards.

One of those was senior Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, who made his first start of the season after missing the first two games for a coach’s decision. He finished with a career-high 17 rushing attempts for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s good to be back out here,” Murray-Lawrence said. “When I got the end zone, I had to smell the end zone and get in there.”

Within that solid second half for UNLV, there were still backbreaking mistakes. Familiar ones, too.

You already know about the third downs. And after the tying touchdown, Nicolai Bornand sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds for the second time this season. That gave NIU good field position that it turned into a touchdown less than a minute later.

On the flip side, punter Logan Yunker drew a personal foul for roughing the kicker in the end zone that kept UNLV’s hopes alive when they were still trailing by 19. Plus, defensive end Jordan Sparkman recovered a fumble that set up a score and had several disruptive plays on the night.

Not enough, though. That’s what all the Rebels will tell you. It was good but not good enough, and that’s what matters most. Still, the Rebels putting away an awful first half to mount a rally was more than we’ve seen out of them this season.

“It was the same story over and over again with U of A and Northern Colorado, and we were hoping that story didn’t repeat itself in the second half,” Decker said.

It didn’t, which is something the Rebels can focus on if they so choose.

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

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