Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

UNLV football:

Blog: Rebels get destroyed in the 2nd half, lose 47-14 at Houston

TDECU Stadium

Associated Press

TDECU Stadium, the new football stadium for the NCAA college football Houston Cougars, is shown Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in Houston.

Updated Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 | 8:38 p.m.

Houston 47, UNLV 14

Game over

Houston turned a six-point halftime lead into a 33-point blowout over the Rebels, who piled up more penalty yards than they had on either the ground or the air tonight in TDECU Stadium.

There were injuries, too, including a serious one to UNLV junior safety Peni Vea. A report on ESPN3 that Vea was conscious and moving all of his limbs was about the only bright spot in a dreadful performance.

Blake Decker was 12-of-28 for 113 yards with two interceptions, and Nick Sherry tossed another pick when he came in for relief in the fourth quarter. Devante Davis caught only one pass for no gain and was injured on the play, bringing a premature end to a disappointing homecoming for him.

Put simply, there were no bright spots. UNLV was in the game through no work of its own and got pasted in the second half when Houston decided to stop messing around. Next week the Rebels travel to San Diego State, which is looking like one of the few somewhat competent teams in this bad Mountain West.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from tonight's game.

The Rebel Room

Rebels in For Long Road Trip

Las Vegas Sun sports writers Case Keefer and Taylor Bern discuss takeaway's from UNLV's loss to Northern Illinois, what's in store the next few weeks and color Miami Heat jerseys they will buy if Khem Birch makes the roster.

HOUSTON — The game that wasn’t supposed to happen is about to kickoff. For those who don’t remember, tonight’s UNLV game at Houston was scheduled during the Academic Progress Rate ban, a time when the Rebels prioritized a $400,000 payday over adding another hurdle to qualifying for a bowl game.

The way the Rebels (1-2) have played this season, that might not be a concern — although we all must remember that Mountain West play is about to begin, and with that comes many winnable games. Tonight’s kickoff is at 5:06 Las Vegas time at the new TDECU Stadium. The game will stream on ESPN3.

This is the last nonconference game for the Rebels until their November trip to BYU, and it offers them an opportunity, albeit a long shot, to get back to .500.

Looking at UNLV’s schedule before the season, 1-3 seemed like the worst they could do through this first stretch of games. The Rebels have notched at least one win, although it was in incredibly unimpressive fashion against Northern Colorado, and in the two losses UNLV’s defense has allowed a combined 1,403 yards. That doesn’t inspire much confidence coming into Houston as 21-point underdogs against a team that traditionally piles up the points.

The Cougars’ debut at their new $120 million, 40,000-seat stadium was ruined when Texas-San Antonio came in and won by 20. Houston bounced back with a shutout against Grambling, but after losing at BYU, the Cougars return still looking for their first Division I victory at their new home before heading into a bye week.

Houston quarterback John O’Korn is playing well but not great. He’s averaging 237 passing yards per game and completing 55 percent of his attempts with four touchdowns and four interceptions. The Rebels’ bigger concern might be the ground game, where the Cougars’ top two rushers are averaging at least 6.9 yards per carry, although in limited reps.

If O’Korn gets going through the air, the lanes will open up for the Cougars to carve up UNLV’s defense. And UNLV’s plan for stopping O’Korn will be mostly reliant on getting pressure with a four-man rush, at least if last week was any indication.

UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said part of the reason Northern Illinois was so good at converting third downs was that the Rebels’ front line didn’t bring down quarterback Drew Hare. Hauck was hesitant, he said, because he didn’t want to get beat with the run. Reading into that a bit, I think it’s also because he wants as many bodies as possible in coverage to help a secondary that gets beat often.

That will be one of the main challenges again today. Houston will probably start by trying to throw all over the Rebels, and if they don’t get some stops early, it could be a very long evening.

Bern’s prediction: I hope Devante Davis is able to have a good game in his hometown, and I think he’ll get plenty of opportunities to do so because the Rebels are going to be chasing points the whole way. Houston 40, UNLV 17

Season: ATS 1-2, O/U 1-2

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

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