October 5, 1998
GAME 6UNLV (0-5, 0-2 WAC)vs. BRIGHAM YOUNG (2-3, 0-1 WAC)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 10, 1998KICKOFF: 11:00 am PDTSITE: Cougar Stadium (65,000), Provo, UTTV: KFBT TV-33, 11 am PDT (Blue & White Network)RADIO: KXNT-840 AM, 10:30 am PDT (Tony Cordasco & Hunkie Cooper)
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (0-5, 0-2) heads back to the road for the fourth time in six weeks with a game at BYU (2-3, 0-1) and continues to look for its first-ever WAC road victory ... The Rebels will attempt to snap a 10-game overall losing streak, which includes the final five games of 1997 ... UNLV comes off a 31-20 loss to in-state rival Nevada, Reno while BYU lost 31-21 at Fresno State ... The Rebels head to Provo with two new faces in the two-deep. Former third-string QB Chad Reed is listed No. 1 heading into practice after an effective fourth-quarter relief job vs. UNR while former No. 3 RB Dahrin Footman will get the call after coming off the bench to post a career-best 154-yard night vs. the Wolf Pack.
SERIES NOTES
BYU leads the all-time series between the schools 4-1 ... This marks the second meeting in the last three years but only the fourth in 16 seasons ... In the early 1980s, BYU was a regular on the Rebel schedule during an era in which UNLV first thought itself headed to the WAC ... The two teams will play annually beginning next year when they leave the WAC for a new eight-team league ... The schools met for the first time in the Nikkan Yokohama Bowl on Dec. 2, 1978. The Cougars prevailed 28-24 in Japan in what was billed as the "Unofficial WAC Championship" ... All-time, UNLV has played 10 games vs. ranked opponents -- four of which were BYU. The Cougars are the only ranked team the Rebels ever defeated, 45-41, in 1981 ... UNLV lists three players from the state of Utah: OL Gabe Gurney (American Fork), TE Mike Leatham (Pleasant Grove) and WR Nick Palmer (Providence) ... BYU lists no Nevadans on its 1998 roster.
SERIES RECORD: BYU leads 4-1 LAST MEETING: 1996 (BYU 63-28)UNLV at BYU RECORD: 1-1BYU at UNLV RECORD: 2-0UNLV at NEUTRAL SITE: 0-1UNLV's BIGGEST WIN: 4 (45-41 in 1981)BYU's BIGGEST WIN: 40 (54-14 in 1980)
SERIES SCORES:DATE SITE RESULT12-2-78 Japan BYU, 28-2411-29-80 Las Vegas BYU, 54-1410-10-81 Provo UNLV, 45-419-2-82 Las Vegas BYU 27-010-12-96 Provo BYU 63-28
UNLV (0-5) 1998 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Result/Time S. 5 at Northwestern L, 41-7S. 12 AIR FORCE L, 52-10S. 19 at Wisconsin L, 52-7S. 26 at Colorado St. L, 38-16O. 3 NEVADA, RENO L, 31-20O. 10 at BYU 12 pm MDTO. 17 WYOMING (HC) 4 pm PDT O. 24 at SMU 2 pm CDTO. 31 TULSA 1 pm PDTN. 7 OPENN. 14 at Rice 2 pm CSTN. 21 TCU 1 pm PST
BYU (2-3) 1998 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Result/TimeS. 5 at Alabama L, 38-31S. 12 ARIZONA STATE W, 26-6S. 19 at Washington L, 20-10S. 26 MURRAY STATE W, 43-9O. 3 at Fresno State L, 31-21O. 10 UNLV 12 pm MDTO. 17 at Hawaii 6 pm HDTO. 24 SAN JOSE STATE 12 pm MDTO. 29 SAN DIEGO STATE 6 pm MDTN. 7 NEW MEXICO 12 pm MSTN. 14 at UTEP 3 pm MSTN. 21 at Utah 11:30 am MST
UNLV QUICK FACTSLocation: Las Vegas, 89154Founded: 1957Enrollment: 20,000Nickname: Rebels (Not Runnin')Colors: Scarlet & GrayPresident: Dr. Carol C. HarterDir. of Athletics: Charles CavagnaroConference: Western Athletic/Mtn. Div.Stadium: Sam Boyd StadiumCapacity/Surface: 35,000/ArtificialRecord in Stadium: 107-61-3 (26 seasons)UNLV All-Time Record: 175-160-4 (30 seasons)All-Time vs. WAC: 37-56-2Head Coach: Jeff Horton (UNR '81)Record at UNLV: 13-38 (5th year)Record Overall: 20-42 (6th year)Off. Coordinator: Buzz Preston (Hawaii '82)Def. Coordinator: Ruffin McNeill (ECU '80)Offense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
PROVO, Utah (Oct. 12, 1996) -- BYU 63, UNLV 28
UNLV (0-7) lost for a then-school record ninth-straight time over two seasons as BYU (6-1) celebrated its homecoming before 64,872 fans at Cougar Stadium. In the first meeting between the schools in 14 years, UNLV, which finally found a running game, scored a touchdown in the first quarter for the first time in 1996 and took its biggest lead up to that point of the season, 7-0, on a Jon Denton 23-yard scoring scramble. The Rebels easily drove down field again but an Omar Love fumble on the Cougar seven reversed momentum. In fact, UNLV would drive up and down the field all day as all four Rebel TDs came on 80-yard drives. Tied at 7 at the end of the first, BYU exploded for 21 points to take a 28-14 halftime advantage. The Cougars, who played mistake-free football, scored 35 points off of UNLV's five turnovers (four fumbles) and became the third team of the season to score at least 60 on the Rebels. Denton continued his record-setting freshman campaign by passing for 314 yards on 24-of-36 passing, including a career-high three scores, which gave him the school's freshman season TD record with 10.
TOY TRAIN MAKING TRACKS
Redshirt freshman Duane "Toy Train" James continues to emerge as a threat from all over the field. The San Diego native, who sat out last year because of a foot injury, is currently leading the WAC and fourth in the nation in punt returns with a 18.8 YPR average. He also is fourth in the league and 35th nationally with a 21.2 YPR average on kickoffs. His 78-yard punt return for a score last week marked the first time a Rebel had returned a punt or kickoff for a touchdown since Heny Bailey took in a 74-yard punt return vs. Cal State Fullerton in 1992. James, who leads the Rebels in scoring with 12 points, is 15th in the WAC in all-purpose yardage with 105.4 YPG.
GAME FIVE IN REVIEW
REBELS FAIL TO REGAIN FREMONT CANNON
NEVADA, RENO 31, UNLV 20
LAS VEGAS -- For the second week in a row, UNLV (0-5) scored its most points of the year and gave up the least but still lost its 10th consecutive game, 31-20, to Nevada, Reno (3-2) in front of 22,006 fans at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Battle for Nevada saw the visiting Wolf Pack jump to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, including UNR's first rushing score of the season coming on a Chris Lemon rush. The Rebels rebounded, however, and used a 17-yard scoring run by Dahrin Footman and a 55-yard TD scamper by James Wofford to pull within 21-14 at halftime. The seven-point deficit marked the closest UNLV had been at the break of any game this year. For Footman, who gained 65 yards on five carries on the drive, it marked his first career score. The junior went on to post a career-high 154 yards rushing on just 13 carries as the Rebels earned a season-high 268 yards on the ground. Wofford's run was the longest for a Rebel since Tony Burton's 65-yarder in 1995. UNR opened the third quarter with a 64-yard scoring drive and added a 41-yard field goal to make it 31-14 with one quarter remaining. QB Kevin Crook, who was replaced by Chad Reed in the fourth quarter, was only 2-of-16 in passing and UNLV's seven pass completions marked its lowest total since posting five vs. UNR in 1992. The Rebels' final score came on a 78-yard punt return by Duane "Toy Train" James, which marked the first kick returned for a touchdown by UNLV since Henry Bailey's in 1992 vs. CS Fullerton. The Pack won its fourth straight in the series, evening its record in Las Vegas to 6-6 and taking a 14-10 lead overall.
ON THE OFFENSIVE...
UNLV may start its third QB of the season on Saturday. Fifth-year senior Kevin Crook started the first two games before redshirt freshman Chris Hayward took over. Crook then relieved Hayward in the second quarter of the CSU game and started the next week vs. UNR. However, against the Wolf Pack, senior Chad Reed came in for his first action and is now listed atop the depth chart heading into practice ... Damon Williams, who became UNLV's career leader in receptions in the season-opener at Northwestern, has a school-record 39-game streak of catching at least one pass ... UNLV's season-high rushing total of 268 was the most gained on the ground by a Rebel team since earning 313 vs. North Texas in 1995 ... UNLV has thrown at least one TD pass in 23 of its last 26 games ... Dahrin Footman's 154 yards rushing vs. UNR were the most for a Rebel since James Wofford's 170 yards vs. San Jose State on Nov. 22, 1997 ... The seven UNLV pass completions vs. UNR were the least for the team since the Rebels connected on only five vs. UNR in 1992.
FOR THE DEFENSE...
Preseason First-Team All-WAC DE Talance Sawyer was fourth in the conference in tackles for loss heading into last week's game. With one more vs. UNR, he now has eight on the year for a total of 21 yards ... Sawyer also has one QB sack, three pass break-ups and one caused fumble on the year ... He currently stands third on the team with 42 total tackles ... When DE La'anui Correa tackled CSU RB Duan Ruff in the end zone at CSU, it marked the Rebels' first defensive safety since Nov. 6, 1993, at Lousiana Tech ... Redshirt freshman and team captain James Sunia, who leads the team in tackles with a total of 59, had a team season-high 17 vs. Air Force. He was among the WAC's top-five heading into the weekend ... Anthony Brown's interception at CSU marked the third of the season for the Rebels but the first from the secondary. The Rebels' first two interceptions came from an unlikely source -- the defensive line. At Northwestern, DL Robin Maile caught a deflected pass and at Wisconsin, DE Ted Darnell caught a ball batted by Sawyer and returned the pick 50 yards for a touchdown.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY...
The Rebels blocked a field goal last week for the first time since Nov. 13, 1993, vs. San Jose State ... After a down junior season, punter Joe Kristosik is making his senior campaign the best of his career. The Las Vegas native currently ranks 12th in the nation and third in the WAC with a 44.8 YPK average coming on 31 attempts. He was named the WAC's Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 29 after averaging 51.3 at CSU, becoming the first punter in school history to earn a conference player of the week honor since the program joined the Big West in 1982 ... As a team, UNLV leads the conference and is 13th nationally with a net punting average of 40.0 YPK ... Boosted by Duane "Toy Train" James' 78-yard punt return vs. UNR, UNLV moved from 75th to fourth in the nation with a team punt-return average of 18.8.
THE UPSET UP NORTH
Even though BYU and UNLV have only played each other five times, the 1981 clash at Provo still stands as the biggest upset, one of the biggest comebacks and perhaps the biggest win in Rebel history. Unranked UNLV (3-2) traveled to BYU for the first time and outdueled the 8th-ranked Cougars (5-0), 45-41, in front of 39,852. The homecoming upset broke the nation's longest winning streak at 17 and BYU's string of home-game victories at 16. After BYU exploded for 27 points in the second quarter, UNLV trailed 41-24 with only 5:46 left in the third. That's when senior signal-caller Sam King went to work and led UNLV to 21 straight points. The dramatic finish saw King march the Rebels 79 yards in 11 plays and was capped by a Jim Sandusky 20-TD reception with only 19 seconds left. BYU, which started a young QB named Steve Young because Jim McMahon was out with an injury, went on to post an 11-2 record, which included a Holiday Bowl victory. The Rebels finished 6-6 in Tony Knap's final season as coach.
AYE, AYE CAPTAINS
For the second year in a row, UNLV will use permanent captains this fall. Six players -- three on offense and three on defense -- were voted on by the team. The 1998 Rebel captains are:
(Defense) (Offense)Greg Gales LB Senior Kevin Crook QB SeniorTalance Sawyer DE Senior Bubba Gonzalez C SeniorJames Sunia LB Freshman-RS Damon Williams WR Senior
UNLV VS. BYU TENTATIVE TWO-DEEP
REBEL OFFENSEH 8 DAMON WILLIAMS (6-4, 225, SR-3L) 16 Duane James (5-9, 175, FR-RS)
LT 72 JOHN GREER (6-5, 290, SO-1L) 74 Brandon Ellena (6-4, 275, SR-1L)
LG 64 JERALD PIERUCCI (6-5, 290, SR-3L) 71 Glenn Pilaroswksi (6-3, 295, JR-TR)
C 76 BUBBA GONZALEZ (6-2, 260, SR-2L) 59 Aaron Hall (6-0, 265, FR-RS)
RG 77 BLAKE LIVINGOOD (6-8, 330, SO-SQ) 61 Peter Tramontanas (6-6, 260, FR-HS)
RT 54 BRIAN HART (6-5, 280, SO-SQ) 67 Robert Grundy (6-5, 315, JR-TR) TE 89 SAM MINEO (6-3, 250, SR-3L) 83 Mike Leatham (6-4, 230, SR-1L)
QB 7 CHAD REED (6-1, 210, SR-1L) 5 KEVIN CROOK (6-3, 200, SR-3L) 11 Chris Hayward (6-4, 210, FR-RS) WR (Z) 82 CARLOS BAKER (5-10, 195, SR-3L) 16 Duane James (5-9, 175, FR-RS)
WR (X) 3 LEN WARE (6-1, 185, JR-2L) 42 Sam Brandon (6-3, 180, SO-SQ) RB 21 DAHRIN FOOTMAN (5-8, 195, JR-2L) 4 Coury Hankins (5-9, 185, JR-2L) REBEL SPECIALISTSKO 17 TIM O'REILLY (6-0, 205, JR-2L)PK 17 TIM O'REILLY (6-0, 205, JR-2L)HOLD 5 KEVIN CROOK (6-3, 200, SR-3L)LS 83 MIKE LEATHAM (6-4, 230, SR-1L) REBEL DEFENSELE 10 RODERICK JONES (6-2, 235, JR-2L) 58 La'anui Correa (65-3, 230, FR-HS)
LT 98 TROY KIRKPATRICK (6-5, 255, SR-1L) 91 Robin Maile (6-1, 290, SR-1L)
RT 99 TED DARNELL (6-5, 270, SR-3L) 92 Derrick Monroe (6-2, 285, SR-3L) RE 9 TALANCE SAWYER (6-2, 290, SR-3L) 99 Ted Darnell (6-5, 270, SR-3L) WILL 55 JERRAD PIERUCCI (6-2, 225, JR-2L) 25 A.C. Smith (6-1, 225, JR-1L)
MIKE 43 JAMES SUNIA (5-10, 240, FR-RS) 50 Dusty Pearce (6-2, 250, JR-TR) BANDIT 44 GREG GALES (6-2, 235, SR-2L) 48 Tyler Brickell (6-4, 230, SO-1L) LC 23 JAMES TEELE (5-10, 180, SR-1L) 26 Andre Hilliard (5-8, 155, JR-TR)
NICKEL 22 RANDY BLACK (6-0, 200, SO-1L) 20 Kawika Batoon (5-10, 175, SO-1L) FS 36 ANTHONY BROWN (6-0, 205, SR-2L) 1 Mark Hays (5-10, 190, SR-1L)
RC 28 KEVIN THOMAS (5-11, 165, FR-RS) 26 Andre Hilliard (5-8, 155, JR-TR) REBEL SPECIALISTSPUNT 97 JOE KRISTOSIK (6-3, 220, SR-3L) 17 Tim O'Reilly (6-0, 205, JR-2L)KOR 16 DUANE JAMES (5-9, 175, FR-RS) 3 Len Ware (6-1, 185, JR-2L)PR 16 DUANE JAMES (5-9, 175, FR-RS) 3 Len Ware (6-1, 185, JR-2L)
