October 19, 1998
GAME 8
UNLV (0-7, 0-4 WAC)
vs.
SMU (2-5, 2-2 WAC)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 24, 1998KICKOFF: 12:00 pm PDTSITE: Cotton Bowl (68,252), Dallas, TXTV: NoneRADIO: KXNT-840 AM, 11:30 am PDT (Tony Cordasco & Hunkie Cooper)
GAME PREVIEWUNLV (0-7, 0-4) heads back to the road to take on SMU (2-5, 2-2) for the first time in 14 years ... In Dallas, the Rebels will attempt to snap a school-record tying 12-game losing steak and a program-record 24-game road losing streak, which dates back to 1994 ... Last week,UNLV suffered a heartbreaking overtime homecoming loss to Wyoming 28-25 while the Mustangs upended their cross-town rival TCU 10-6 for their second WAC victory ... Four of UNLV's first seven opponents received votes in the current USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll: No. 8 Wisconsin, Air Force (28th), Wyoming (34th) and Colorado State (36th) ... On Saturday, Chad Reed will become the first Rebel quarterback this season to start his third consecutive game.
SERIES NOTESThese two teams have met only once, with SMU taking a 38-21 victory in Las Vegas in 1984 ... That game saw UNLV's Randall Cunningham become only the third QB in NCAA history to throw for more than 2,500 yards in three consecutive seasons behind John Elway and Doug Flutie ... Cunningham's No. 12, which was retired in ceremonies at halftime, is still the only jersey so honored by the UNLV football program ... At No. 10, SMU was the highest ranked team to play at Sam Boyd Stadium until No. 8 Kansas State came to town in 1994 ... Saturday marks the firstand last time the two schools will meet as WAC rivals because UNLV will join a new eight-teamconference next year ... UNLV, which has never competed in Dallas, has won only one out of sixgames it has played in the state of Texas -- a 27-20 victory over UTEP on Nov. 28, 1981 ...Former UNLV head coach Ron Meyer (1973-75) left Las Vegas to lead SMU from 1976-1981 ... UNLV's roster lists six players from the state of Texas -- the fourth-most from any state. However, four of those players are redshirt freshmen who will not travel. Making the homecoming trip will be Kendleton native DE Roderick Jones and Lubbock resident QB Chad Reed ... Also, Rebel Head Coach Jeff Horton is a native of nearby Arlington and prepped at Sam Houston High School.
SERIES RECORD: SMU 1-0 LAST MEETING: 1984 (SMU 38-21)UNLV at SMU RECORD: 0-0SMU at UNLV RECORD: 1-0 UNLV's LARGEST WIN: NoneSMU's LARGEST WIN: 17 (38-21 in 1984)
UNLV (0-7) 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 L, 38-14O. 17 WYOMING (HC) L, 28-25 (OT) 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
SMU (2-5) 1998 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Result/TimeS. 5 at Rice L, 23-17 (OT)S. 12 TULANE L, 31-21S. 19 at Arkansas L, 44-17S. 26 MISSISSIPPI L, 48-41 (OT)O. 3 at Hawai'i W, 28-0O. 10 at Wyoming L, 12-7O. 17 TCU W, 10-6O. 24 UNLV 2 pm CDTO. 31 at Air Force 12 pm MDTN. 7 TULSA 2 pm CSTN. 14 COLORADO STATE 2 pm CSTN. 21 at Navy 12 pm EST
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: 32,000/ArtificialRecord in Stadium: 107-62-3 (26 seasons)UNLV All-Time Record: 175-162-4 (30 seasons)All-Time vs. WAC: 37-58-2Head Coach: Jeff Horton (UNR '81)Record at UNLV: 13-40 (5th year)Record Overall: 20-44 (6th year)Off. Coordinator: Buzz Preston (Hawaii '82)Def. Coordinator: Ruffin McNeill (ECU '80)Offense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
UNLV HEAD COACH JEFF HORTON
Jeff Horton, who turned 41 this summer, is in his fifth season at the helm of the Rebel football program and sixth as a Div. I-A head coach. The seventh head man in UNLV's 30 years of football history, Horton has a career record of 20-44 and 13-40 for the Rebels. Facing a half-decade in charge, Horton will tie original coach Bill Ireland (1968-72) for second-longest stint leading UNLV football. Only Tony Knap (1976-81) coached the Rebels longer. Named the 1994 Big West Co-Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to its second-ever league title and bowl win, Horton graduated from Nevada, Reno in 1981 and later received his master's from the Univ. of San Francisco. He came to Las Vegas after spending the 1993 seasonas head coach of UNR, where he also had been assistant coach from 1985-89 and '92. Horton alsoserved a stint as a UNLV assistant from 1990-91. Born July 13, 1957, Horton is married to the former Teri Arden of Reno.
HORTON'S CAREER RECORDYEAR SCHOOL TOT CONF FIN1998 UNLV 0-7 0-4 8th1997 UNLV 3-8 2-6 7th1996 UNLV 1-11 1-7 T7th1995 UNLV 2-9 1-5 10th1994 UNLV 7-5 5-1 T1st1993 UNR 7-4 4-2 3rd
TOTAL 6 Years 20-44 13-25
THE LAST TIME THEY METLAS VEGAS -- (Dec. 1, 1984)SMU 38, UNLV 21
UNLV (10-2) took on 10th-ranked SMU (9-2) but could not contain the Mustang's explosive running game in a 38-21 loss in front of 23,639 on a cold Nevada night as the Rebels suffered their only home loss of the season. Under Head coach Bobby Collins, SMU (9-2) earned 451 yardson the ground behind Reggie Dupard's 191 (still the ninth-most in SMU history) and Jeff Atkins' 167. The Mustangs took a 17-7 halftime lead and built a 24-point lead despite a big day from Rebel QB Randall Cunningham, who had his number retired at halftime. Also, Kirk Jones' 65 yards on nine carries made him only the second Rebel to gain 1,000 yards in a single season. PCAA champion UNLV went on to earn its first bowl victory over Toledo in the California Bowl while SWC co-champion SMU would edge Notre Dame in the Aloha Bowl.
CROWD COUNT
After seven games, UNLV is on pace to break two attendance records. The Rebels are currently averaging 48,662 fans at away games, which is more than 5,000 people-per-game higher than the record of 43,173 set in 1996. Also, in total attendance, 1998's current average of 36,289 is almost 5,000 more than the record 31,482 fans-per-game average of 1996. Two of this fall's crowds broke into the top-10 in UNLV history. The 75,044 customers who turned out at Wisconsin on Sept. 19 marked the third-most people the Rebels have ever played before while the 61,774 at Cougar Stadium on Oct. 10 was the sixth-biggest crowd overall and top crowd for any conference game the school has ever played.
GAME SEVEN IN REVIEWREBELS WORK OVERTIME IN LOSSWYOMING 28, UNLV 25(OT)
LAS VEGAS -- UNLV running back James Wofford fumbled on a dive into the endzone during the first overtime and Wyoming (5-1) soon converted to hand the Rebels their school-record tying 12-consecutive defeat, 28-25, in front of a homecoming crowd of 17,089. UNLV, which played its most complete game of the year, used a regenerated running game and turnover-free execution to push the Cowboys to the brink. En route to posting a season-high in points and a season-low in points allowed, the Rebels earned their first halftime lead of the year at 10-7. The hosts took their biggest lead of the season, nine points, in the third quarter but an ensuing missed extra point would prove costly. The teams traded scores but the Cowboys, who were led by Marques Brigham's 144 yards rushing and Wendell Montgomery's 10 catches for 158 yards, rallied to take a 25-22 lead. A Tim O'Reilly field goal for UNLV tied things before a last-second Wyoming attempt sailed wide to force overtime. UNLV, which lost the toss, went on offense first and stayed on the ground. Handing the ball off to Wofford, who would finish with a career-high 184 yards, moved the Rebels to a first-and-goal situation at the one yard line. Wofford's would-be scoring plunge instead turned into a lost fumble, however, and the Pokes kicked an 18-yard field goal to win their fourth consecutive game and take a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. UNLV, which dropped to 0-3 in overtime games, also dipped to 19-12 in homecoming games.
REBEL STAT BOXTEAM Category WAC NAT RUSHING OFFENSE 108.7 13 91PASSING OFFENSE 139.3 11 92TOTAL OFFENSE 248.0 16 111SCORING OFFENSE 14.1 15 106RUSHING DEFENSE 225.4 15 103PASSG. DEF. RG. 150.93 16 104TOTAL DEFENSE 479.1 16 108SCORING DEFENSE 40.0 16 110PUNT RETURNS 16.4 1 4KO RETURNS 21.2 8 51NET PUNTING 42.1 1 3TURNOVER MARGIN -5 12 80PENALTIES PG 46.4 5 --QB SACKS 11 12 --3RD DOWN O. .255 14 --3RD DOWN D. .518 16 --
NO ORDINARY JOE
After a down junior season, UNLV punter Joe Kristosik is making his senior campaign the best of his career. In fact, he may just become the fourth punter in UNLV history to earn All-American honors. The Las Vegas native currently leads the WAC and ranks second in the nation with a 46.90 average coming on 50 attempts. He is less than one yard behind national leader Craig Jarrett of Michigan State, who has a 47.55 average but on 21 less attempts. At BYU, Kristosik tied the UNLV and Cougar Stadium record for punts in one game with 13 and averaged an 52.5. Of those boots, eight went 50 yards or longer and four went 60 or longer, including two at a season long of 67 yards. On the year, Kristosik has an amazing 20 kicks that traveled at least 50 yards, including eight that went 60 yards or longer. The former prepquarterback at Bishop Gorman High School has twice been named the WAC's Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 28 after averaging 51.3 YPK at CSU and Oct. 12 after the BYU game) to become the first punter in school history to earn a conference player of the week honor since the program joined the Big West in 1982.
ON THE OFFENSIVE...
UNLV has started three quarterbacks this season: Fifth-year senior Kevin Crook (3 games), redshirt freshman Chris Hayward (2) and senior Chad Reed (2) ... Reed is the only signal-caller to play an entire game this season, doing it the past two weeks ... Damon Williams, who became UNLV's career leader in receptions in the season-opener at Northwestern and is one of 32 players on the 1998 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, had a school-record 39-game streak of catching at least one pass snapped at BYU and has now been shut out for two consecutive games ... Reed, a former Memphis QB, threw his first two touchdowns as a Rebel vs. Wyoming ... One of those scores was a career-first TD by senior TE Mike Leatham, who along with starter Sam Mineo, scored the first two TDs by a tight end of the season ... James Wofford's 184 yards rushing last week were the most by a UNLV player since Shannon Wilson earned 200 vs. Arkansas State on Sept. 9, 1995 ... Wofford's big night moved him into 12th in the WAC in rushing yards per game with a 66.3 average ... WR Len Ware's 56 yards vs. the Cowboys moved the junior from 11th to ninth place on the schools' career receiving yardage list with 1,796.
FOR THE DEFENSE...
UNLV has eight QB sacks in two games after recording only three in the first five ... When Wyoming scored 28 points last week, it marked the first time since Oct. 18, 1997, that a Rebelopponent did not score at least 30 points -- a span of 11 games ... UNLV has two defensive scores this season and six in two years ... All of the Rebels' six interceptions this season were by different players -- including three by non-defensive backs. DE Ted Darnell (who scored a TD with his) and DL Robin Maile join LB Greg Gales with one pick each this fall... Preseason First-Team All-WAC DE Talance Sawyer leads the conference in tackles for loss with 14 for 49 yards. Sawyer, who leads the team with four QB sacks, also has four pass break-ups and two forced fumbles on the year ... Redshirt freshman and team captain James Sunia, who leads the team in tackles with a total of 79, had a team season-high 17 vs. Air Force. He has found a home among the WAC's top-five in total tackles.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY...
UNLV attempted its first field goal in 10 quarters last week -- a 22-yard three-pointer by TimO'Reilly ... At BYU, the Rebels blocked a punt for the first time since Sept. 23, 1995, at Iowa State and then repeated the feat last week vs. Wyoming ... Against UNR, UNLV blocked a field goal for the first time since Nov. 13, 1993, vs. San Jose State ... As a team, UNLV leads the conference and is third nationally with a net punting average of 42.1 YPK ... Boosted by Duane "Toy Train" James' 78-yard punt return vs. UNR, the Rebels are first in the league and fourth nationally in team punt returns with 16.4 YPR.
UNLV vs. SMU TENTATIVE TWO-DEEP
REBEL OFFENSEH 8 DAMON WILLIAMS (6-4, 225, SR-3L) 16 Duane James (5-9, 175, FR-RS)
LT 54 BRIAN HART (6-5, 280, SO-SQ) 72 John Greer (6-5, 290, SO-1L) LG 64 JERALD PIERUCCI (6-5, 290, SR-3L) 74 Brandon Ellena (6-4, 275, SR-1L)
C 76 BUBBA GONZALEZ (6-2, 260, SR-2L) 59 Aaron Hall (6-0, 265, FR-RS)
RG 61 PETER TRAMONTANAS (6-6, 260, FR-HS) 77 Blake Livingood (6-8, 330, SO-SQ)
RT 67 ROBERT GRUNDY (6-5, 315, JR-TR) 54 Brian Hart (6-5, 280, SO-SQ) 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) 11 Chris Hayward (6-4, 210, FR-RS)
WR (Z) 42 SAM BRANDON (6-3, 180, FR-RS) 16 Duane James (5-9, 175, FR-RS)
WR (X) 3 LEN WARE (6-1, 185, JR-2L) 82 Carlos Baker (5-10, 195, SR-3L) RB 33 JAMES WOFFORD (6-0, 200, SO-1L) 4 Coury Hankins (5-9, 185, JR-2L) REBEL SPECIALISTSKO 13 DANA BARSUHN (5-10, 180, SR-1L)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 99 TED DARNELL (6-5, 270, SR-3L) 10 Roderick Jones (6-2, 235, JR-2L) LT 91 ROBIN MAILE (6-1, 290, SR-1L) 73 Justin Conway (6-1, 280, SO-1L)
RT 92 DERRICK MONROE (6-2, 285, SR-3L) 68 Faaolo Alovao (6-2, 270, FR-RS) RE 9 TALANCE SAWYER (6-2, 290, SR-3L) 58 La'anui Correa (65-3, 230, FR-HS) 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 26 ANDRE HILLIARD (5-8, 155, JR-TR) 23 James Teele (5-10, 180, SR-1L) NICKEL 20 KAWIKA BATOON (5-10, 175, SO-1L) 22 Randy Black (6-0, 200, 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) 1 Mark Hays (5-10, 190, SR-1L) 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)
