GAME 9
UNLV (3-5, 1-3 MOUNTAIN WEST)
vs.
AIR FORCE (5-3, 1-3 MWC)
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 13, 1999
KICKOFF: 11:00 am PST
SITE: Falcon Stadium (52,480/Grass), Colorado Springs, CO
TV: None
RADIO: ESPN 920 AM (Tony Cordasco & Hunkie Cooper)
UNLV (3-5) 1999 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Result/TimeS. 2 at North Texas W, 26-3S. 11 at Baylor W, 27-24S. 18 IOWA STATE L, 24-0S. 25 UTAH L, 52-14O. 2 at Nevada, Reno L, 26-12O. 9 at Wyoming W, 35-32O. 16 OPENO. 23 BYU (HC) L, 29-0O. 30 at New Mexico L, 27-6N. 6 OPENN. 13 at Air Force 11 am PSTN. 20 SAN DIEGO STATE 1 pm PSTN. 27 COLORADO STATE 1 pm PST
AIR FORCE (5-3) 1999 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Result/TimeS. 4 VILLANOVA W, 37-13S. 18 at Wash. St. W, 31-21S. 25 WYOMING L, 10-7O. 2 at San Diego St. W, 23-22O. 9 vs. Navy W, 19-14O. 14 UTAH L, 21-15O. 30 at BYU L, 27-20N. 6 ARMY W, 28-0N. 13 UNLV 12 pm MSTN. 18 at Colorado St. 6 pm MSTN. 27 at New Mexico 1 pm MST
UNLV QUICK FACTSLocation: Las Vegas, NV 89154Founded: 1957Enrollment: 21,000Nickname: Rebels (Not Runnin')Colors: Scarlet & GrayPresident: Dr. Carol C. HarterDir. of Athletics: Charles CavagnaroConference: Mountain WestStadium: Sam Boyd StadiumCapacity/Surface: 36,800/Natural GrassRecord in Stadium: 107-67-3 (28th season)UNLV All-Time Record: 178-171-4 (32nd season)All-Time vs. MWC Teams: 18-27-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 3-5 (1st year)Record Overall: 107-40-4 (13th season)Offense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (3-5) takes its final road trip of the year by heading to Air Force (5-3) in a Mountain West Conference matchup ... UNLV is coming off its second and final bye week of the fall ... Last time out, the Rebels were downed 27-6 at New Mexico on Oct. 30 ... The Falcons are coming off a 28-0 whitewash of Army, a win that earned Air Force the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the third straight season ... UNLV looks to earn a fourth victory in a single season for the first time since 1994 ... A Rebel victory would give the team as many wins as the last three campaigns combined ... UNLV looks for its fourth road victory of 1999, which would be the most for the school since going 5-1 away from Las Vegas in 1984.
SERIES NOTES
Air Force leads the all-time series 3-1, including three straight ... Air Force is the only service academy team UNLV has ever faced ... The Falcons are one of only four teams that the Rebels have faced in each of the last four years (MWC foes Wyoming and Colorado State and in-state rival Nevada, Reno are the others) ... The Rebels took a 24-21 decision over AFA in the teams' first meeting on Nov. 21, 1981, in the then-named Silver Bowl. The Rebels closed out that season 5-6 behind Sam King's 26-40 passing for 311 yards in what would be Head Coach Tony Knap's final home appearance ... Fifteen years later, the Falcons evened the series by spoiling UNLV's WAC debut with a resounding 65-17 win at Sam Boyd Stadium ... In UNLV's only trip to Falcon Stadium in 1997, the Rebels took a 14-3 halftime lead and nearly pulled off the upset before being nipped 25-24 in what would have been the school's first-ever (and turns out -- only) WAC road win ... Last season, AFA thumped UNLV 52-10 and the 42-point deficit tied for the eighth worst defeat in program history ... UNLV has compiled a 6-6-1 record vs. teams from the state of Colorado (1-3 vs. AFA, 3-3-1 vs. Colorado State, 1-0 vs. Northern Colorado and 1-0 vs. Southern Colorado).
TAKING THE HIGH ROAD
After entering 1999 with a school-record 26-game road losing streak that dated back to mid-1994, UNLV has posted a stunning 3-2 record away from Sam Boyd Stadium. The three road wins included a Mountain West victory (35-32 at Wyoming) that also snapped a school-record 16-game losing streak at conference opponents. The three road wins are the most for UNLV since 1990. Only twice has the program earned more than three road victories in one season: four in 1979 and five in 1984.
SERIES RECORD: AFA leads 3-1 LAST MEETING: 1998 (AFA 52-10)UNLV at AFA RECORD: 0-1AFA at UNLV RECORD: 2-1UNLV's BIGGEST WIN: 3 (24-21 in 1981)AFA's BIGGEST WIN: 48 (65-17 in 1996)
SERIES SCORES:DATE SITE RESULT11-21-81 Las Vegas UNLV, 24-219-7-96 Las Vegas AFA, 65-179-13-97 Colo. Springs AFA, 25-249-12-98 Las Vegas AFA, 52-10
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
LAS VEGAS -- (Sept. 12, 1998)
AIR FORCE 52, UNLV 10
Air Force (2-0) outgained host UNLV (0-2) in rushing by 389 yards as the Falcons ran to an easy 52-10 win to open conference play for both schools. Playing in front of a crowd of 20,279, the Rebels fell to 21-10 all-time in home openers and 0-3 in WAC lid-lifters. After a hard-fought first quarter that saw AFA take a 7-3 lead, the visitors scored 31 straight points as 11 players rushed the ball at least once, including quarterback Blane Morgan, who ran for three scores. The game marked the debut of redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Hayward, who came off the bench to throw his first collegiate touchdown pass to Carlos Baker for UNLV's only second-half score. Baker paced the Rebels, who finished with minus-six yards rushing as a team, with 114 yards on six catches as the senior moved into fourth place on the school's career list with 146.
TACKLE (RECORD) ELIGIBLE
Senior linebacker Jerrad Pierucci continues to move up the UNLV career tackles chart. Despite missing most of the UNM game with a concussion, he moved up two spots into eighth place with 230 career tackles. The younger brother of former Rebel offensive lineman Jerald Pierucci (1995-98), Jerrad, who also missed all of the Wyoming game, needs five more takedowns to tie Rodney Mazion in seventh place with 235.
K.T. DUTY
Sophomore defender Kevin Thomas has quickly become one of the Mountain West Conference's top cornerbacks. The native of Sacramento, CA, leads the squad with three interceptions, has two defensive scores this fall and is threatening to shatter the school record for pass breakups in one season. Thomas' career-high five breakups vs. BYU and then two more at UNM give him 16 on the year -- just two away from Anthony Blue's school-record 18 set in 1984. Thomas, who is seventh on the team with 35 total tackles, also has two scores this fall. Following his 49-yard interception return for a TD at UNT, he waited until the final play for an encore in game two. His 100-yard fumble return was only the third in NCAA history and the first to win a game.
ON THE OFFENSIVE...
Expected to make his first collegiate start this Saturday is true freshman Matt Ray. The graduate of tiny Quincy HS in northern California was presumably going to redshirt his first year before injuries and ineffectiveness demanded a change under center. Eight-game starter Jason Vaughan has been slowed by a concussion sustained in the BYU game and back up Chris Hayward is battling a stress fracture in his foot. Ray -- whose great uncle is coaching legend Bill Walsh -- would be the fourth freshman to make a start for UNLV in the last five years, joining Chris Hayward (1998), Jon Denton (1996) and Kevin Crook (1995), all of whom were redshirts ... As a team, UNLV is plus-three in the turnover department on the season, which ranks 32nd nationally, after finishing minus-12 a year ago ... A big part of that positive turnover ratio comes from a lack of interceptions thrown by Rebel signal-callers. UNLV's six interceptions tossed is one less than the school-record-low of seven set in 1990 ... James Wofford's season-best 57 yards at UNM moved him closer to the school's top 10 in career rushing. The junior, who has played both fullback and tailback this fall, needs just nine yards to pass Shannon Wilson's total of 1,592 in 10th.
FOR THE DEFENSE...
The Rebels intercepted four passes at Wyoming -- the most for UNLV since picking off four Louisiana Tech throws on Nov. 6, 1993. The school record is five (three times) ... The Rebels now have nine interceptions as a team -- two more than all of last season ... Against BYU, fifth-year senior end Alonzo Jones started his first game since Sept. 9, 1995, vs. Arkansas State ... The Rebels lead the MWC in pass defense, giving up 167.2 yards per game. UNLV is currently ranked 13th in the nation in pass-efficiency defense after finishing 97th in that category a year ago ... Rebel opponents have converted only four of a league-leading 13 fourth-down attempts this season (31 percent) after converting seven of 14 in 1999 (50 percent) ... The Rebel D has three scores, including a 100-yard fumble return ... Since 1996, UNLV has returned four fumbles 65 yards or longer ... MLB James Sunia led the team in tackles last year as a rookie with 115, helping the Hawaiian earn first-team Freshman All-America honors from Football News. He currently leads the squad with 76 total tackles and is fourth in the MWC with an average of 9.5 per game.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY...
UNLV has attempted only three field goals this season -- all unsuccessful. The school records for least three-pointers made and attempted both came in 1969 when the Rebels went 0-2 on season attempts. UNLV has made only 28 FGs in almost five seasons after setting the school's single-season record with 21 in 1994 ... Kickoff return man Len Ware, who missed three games with an injury, would rank second in the nation with a 35.1-yard average if he had enough attempts. His 97-yard return for a score vs. Utah was the second-longest kickoff return in school history and the first returned for a touchdown since 1992 ... As a team, the Rebels are eighth in the nation in kickoff return average at 25.2.
PUNTER U.?
Continuing UNLV's long line of nationally decorated punters is junior Ray Cheetany. With the loss of last year's consensus first-team All-American punter in Joe Kristosik, the Rebels turned to true freshman Ryan McDonald to start the season. However, by game three vs. Iowa State, Cheetany -- who had handled the kickoff duties all season -- took over. Now, Cheetany not only has earned the starting job, but he leads the league and is fourth in the nation in punting average with 45.5. The transfer from Iowa Central CC punted eight times for an average of 48.8 vs. Utah. He then averaged 48 yards on seven kicks at both UNR and at Wyoming. Against BYU, he kicked nine times for a 45-yard average, including a 67-yarder, which is the longest for UNLV since 1995. Cheetany even completed a pass on a fake for 24 yards and a first down in the victory over Wyoming.
1999 NCAA DIV I-A PUNTING LEADERSRK PLAYER SCHOOL ATT AVG.1. Andrew Bayes East Carolina 40 49.352. Brain Schmitz North Carolina 65 47.983. Shane Lechler Texas A&M 45 45.874. Ray Cheetany UNLV 43 45.535. Nick Harris California 71 45.17
UNLV ALL-AMERICAN PUNTERSYR PLAYER (Team & Agencies)1998 Joe Kristosik (First Team: Walter Camp, AP, AFCA, FWAA, Football News) 1993 Brad Faunce (Second Team: Football News/Third Team: AP)1992 Brian Parvin (Second Team: Football News)1984 Randall Cunningham (Second Team: AP)1983 Randall Cunningham (First Team: AFCA/Second Team: AP)
RUDOLPH: THE HARD-NOSED GAIN'S NEAR
Highly touted tailback Jeremi Rudolph has not disappointed in his first season as a Rebel. The former Florida State signee and minor league baseball player was John Robinson's first recruit at UNLV after two impressive seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College. The consensus preseason newcomer of the year for the Mountain West Conference, Rudolph led UNLV to victory in week one with 97 yards on 20 carries. The native of Apopka, Fla., scored two touchdowns (nine and three yards), including the team's first points of the year. Then, at Baylor, he rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries. Rudolph's breakout game, however, came at UNR as he totaled 120 yards rushing on 20 attempts, which marked the first 100-yard mark for a Rebel runner this fall. He also led the team in receptions with six and receiving yardage with 56, which included a stunning 40-yard catch and run for a touchdown. On October 9, Rudolph rolled up 149 yards on 32 carries en route to helping his team to a 35-32 upset at Wyoming and MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors. One week later, Rudolph was injured in the first series vs. BYU and left the game with a strained groin. He also missed the following game at UNM but is expected back this week vs. Air Force. His 74.9-yard average currently puts him fifth in the MWC. Also, Rudolph is second on the team in touchdowns with four and his nine receptions are good for fourth on the squad. Despite the missed time, Rudolph was named as one of the top 10 transfers in college football for 1999 in the Nov. 8 issue of Sports Illustrated.
