Blog: UNLV’s season ends in disappointment with blowout loss to UNR

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 4:03 p.m.

The boos started near the end of the third quarter.

The only surprise was that they didn’t come sooner. UNLV gave its red-clad faithful nothing to cheer about Saturday afternoon in the game they care more about than any other.

UNR traveled 450 miles south and trampled UNLV 45-10 to conclude both teams’ seasons. Sam Boyd’s blue-covered east stands were far more jovial, as the Northern Nevada fans witnessed the Fremont Cannon rolled back their way after a one-year hiatus.

UNLV once again failed to hold onto the heaviest rivalry trophy in college football for more than a year, something it hasn’t achieved since 2003-2004. UNR has won 10 of the 12 meetings since.

This was one of the worst showings of the whole span for the Rebels considering they came in as a 9.5-point favorite. UNLV never looked like the superior team, getting outgained 511-303, including surrendering 247 rushing yards to UNR.

Wolf Pack sophomore quarterback Ty Gangi finished with 292 total yards — 193 passing and 99 rushing — and two touchdowns. Junior running back James Butler picked up 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries.

Butler and Gangi had each scored a touchdown before UNLV picked up a first down, putting UNR up 17-0 on the first play of the second half.

For as helpless as UNLV looked on defense, it was even worse on offense. Junior quarterback Kurt Palandech completed only nine of 22 passes for 121 yards.

The Rebels were decent on the ground, gaining a total of 182 yards on 34 carries, but they fell into such a hole that it didn’t matter.

UNLV finished the season 4-8 overall and 3-5 in Mountain West Conference play. UNR went 5-7 overall and 3-5 in league.

Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage, and read below for the live updates from the game.

If the entire perception of UNLV’s football season is going to come down to one game, it’s probably for the best that it’s the Fremont Cannon game.

The annual rivalry meeting with UNR is the only result some fans care about anyway, even without the added significance of this year’s Silver State showdown, which kicks off at 1 p.m. this afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.

If the Rebels prevail, there’s concrete proof of improvement under second-year coach Tony Sanchez.

UNLV will have improved its record from 3-9 to 5-7, and finished 4-4 in the Mountain West Conference. That would mark only the second time in the past 15 years that the Rebels finished with a .500 record or better in league play.

But if the Wolf Pack paint the 545-pound cannon blue for the 10th time in the past 12 years, then it’s the same ol’ Rebels.

UNLV has a chance to break out of the pattern of inferiority that’s plagued it over the past decade against its in-state rival. The Rebels could keep the cannon red for back-to-back years for the first time since 2004, which capped a record five-year winning streak in the series for them.

The second win of that run, in 2001, was the last time the point spread favored UNLV by more than a touchdown over UNR before today. The Rebels lay 9.5 points today, a sure sign of how far the Wolf Pack has fallen this year.

UNLV quarterback Kurt Palandech, the Rebels’ third starter of the year, has credited the improvements he’s made this year to more studying and a better understanding of defenses. It’s uncertain if that will matter this afternoon because evidence is scant that UNR even plays defense.

The Wolf Pack give up 6.8 yards per play, ranking in the nation’s bottom five. They’re particularly egregious against the run, ranking second-to-last in the country in surrendering 6.3 yards per rush attempt.

Running the ball is what UNLV does best. Each of the Rebels’ top two running backs, sophomore Lexington Thomas and freshman Charles Williams, average more than 5 yards per carry.

Thomas has missed the past two games with injury, but Sanchez said he would play against the Wolf Pack.

UNLV’s rush defense is much better this year — the Rebels have given up 4.5 yards per rushing attempt — but UNR is capable of testing it. Junior James Butler paces the Wolf Pack’s offense, and has five games with at least 100 rushing yards this season.

They’ve been more efficient since turning to sophomore quarterback Ty Gangi, who made his fourth start in a 38-37 upset victory over Utah State last week.

UNR has reasons for optimism, but this is a game UNLV should win. That’s not something that’s been said much over the past decade.

If UNLV wins, it will go into the offseason on a high and potentially poised for a breakthrough next season — something else that hasn’t been said much recently.

Prediction: UNLV 38, Nevada 26

Follow along for a live blog of UNLV vs. UNR all afternoon.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.