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UNLV (0-1, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST)vs.NORTH TEXAS (0-2, 0-0 BIG WEST)DATE: Saturday, Sept. 16, 2000KICKOFF: 7:00 pm PDTSITE: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800/Grass)TV: NoneRADIO: ESPN 920 AM(Larry Kahn & Tony Cordasco)
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (0-1) opens its home season by hosting non-league opponent North Texas (0-2) of the Big West Conference ... The Rebels look to break a six-game losing streak while the Eagles are coming off a 13-7 loss at Texas Tech, which was their seventh-consecutive defeat ... UNLV will attempt to break a school-record 12-game home losing streak ... All-time, UNLV is 21-11 in home openers (.656), but the Rebels will look to win their Sam Boyd Stadium season debut for the first time since downing Hawaii 25-15 on Sept. 20, 1997 ... The Rebels last won in Las Vegas on Oct. 11, 1997, with a 21-19 defeat of TCU ... Head Coach John Robinson is 10-3 in home openers during his career at USC and UNLV ... The Rebels are 23-18 vs. teams currently in the Big West Conference ... UNLV senior Nate Turner leads the nation in receiving yards with 140 per game ... Four freshmen made their Rebel debut at ISU: LB Ryan Claridge, DBs Ruschard Dodd-Masters and Derek Olsen and redshirt WR Michael Johnson ... Special guest Blue Man Group - Live at Luxor will perform Saturday's anthem, dubbed The Star Spangled Tubeulum ... The first 2,500 fans will receive an AT&T football beach ball and the first 15,000 fans will take home a commemorative Rebel schedule poster courtesy of Caesars Palace.
SERIES NOTES
UNLV leads the all-time series 3-0 ... The Mean Green is one of only two 2000 opponents that UNLV boasts a winning record against (4-3 vs. New Mexico) ... The Eagles are the only Big West Conference team other than now-WAC member UNR that the Rebels have played since leaving the league after the 1995 season ... The programs have also met twice in men's basketball but not since 1970 ... UNLV lists three players on its roster from the Lone Star State, two of whom may play vs. UNT: DE Ahmad Briggs from Irving and OL Ernie Calanche from Garland. OL Allen Williams from Fort Worth is out for the year because of injury ... First-year assistant strength & conditioning coach Erik Munson spent the last five years working for the Denton, TX, school ... John Robinson is 1-0 vs. North Texas after last year's opening-game victory, which snapped UNLV's 16-game overall losing streak and 26-game road losing skid.
SERIES RECORD: UNLV leads 3-0LAST MEETING: 1999 (UNLV 26-3)UNT at UNLV RECORD: 0-2UNLV at UNT RECORD: 1-0UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 23 (26-3 in 1999)UNT's LARGEST WIN: None
2000 SCHEDULES/RESULTS
UNLV (0-1)Date Opponent (TV) TimeS. 9 at Iowa State (KFBT) L, 37-22S. 16 NORTH TEXAS 7 pm PDTS. 23 at BYU (KFBT) 12 pm PDTS. 30 AIR FORCE (ABC) 4 pm PDTO. 7 UNR (S.West)7 pm PDTO. 14 at Colorado St. (S.West)3 pm PDTO. 21 WYOMING-HC (S.West)4 pm PDTO. 28 at Mississippi 11 am PDTN. 4 at Utah (ESPN+) TBAN. 11 NEW MEXICO (S.West)TBAN. 25 at San Diego St.(ESPN2) 4 pm PSTD. 2 at Hawaii 8 pm PST
NORTH TEXAS (0-2)Date Opponent TimeA. 31 BAYLOR L, 20-7S. 9 at Texas Tech L, 13-7S. 16 at UNLV 9 pm CDTS. 23 KANSAS STATE 1 pm CDTO. 5 SAMFORD 7 pm CDTO. 14 UTAH STATE 2:30 pm CDTO. 21 at Boise State 4 pm CDTO. 28 at UL-Lafayette 7 pm CDTN. 4 IDAHO 2:30 CDTN. 11 at Arkansas St. 4 pm CDTN. 18 NEW MEXICO ST. 2:30 pm CDT
UNLV QUICK FACTSLocation: Las Vegas, NV 89154Founded: 1957Enrollment: 23,000Nickname: Rebels (Not Runnin')Colors: Scarlet & GrayPresident: Dr. Carol C. HarterDir. of Athletics: Charles CavagnaroFaculty Representative: Dr. Myrlene LamancusoConference: Mountain WestStadium: Sam Boyd StadiumCapacity/Surface: 36,800/Natural GrassRecord in Stadium: 107-69-3 (28 seasons)UNLV All-Time Record: 178-175-4 (33rd season)All-Time vs. MWC: 18-30-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 3-9 (2nd year)Record Overall: 107-44-4 (14th season)1999 Record: 3-8/1-6 T8thOffense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
UNLV 26, NORTH TEXAS 3
ROBINSON'S REBELS PLAY STREAK BREAKERS
DENTON, TEXAS -- (Sept. 2, 1999) The John Robinson Era at UNLV began on a Thursday night in a game shown live on Las Vegas' KLAS TV-8 (CBS) -- believed to be the first time in school history that Rebel football appeared on a network affiliate in prime time. The Rebels broke a school-record 16-game losing streak with a 26-3 victory at North Texas in the season opener for both programs. UNLV won its first game on the road since 1994 by taking advantage of various Eagle miscues and playing stingy defense in front of 19,011 at Fouts Field. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rebels got on the board with a nine-yard run by JC-transfer Jeremi Rudolph, though the PAT was blocked. The Mean Green then knocked in a 24-yard field goal just before the break to cut the lead in half. The 6-3 score marked the first time UNLV had gone into the lockerroom with a lead on the road since leading 7-6, ironically, at USC in 1997. After a scoreless third period, UNLV exploded for 20 points. Another Rudolph run gave the visitors a 13-3 lead and Kevin Thomas stepped in front of a Jason Attaway pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown to put the game away. The Rebels' first touchdown passing play finished things off when Jason Vaughan hit freshman DeJhown Mandley for an eight-yard score with less than a minute remaining. UNLV improved its record on Thursday games to 5-2 all-time and moved to 17-15 in season openers, including just 4-10 when opening on the road.
RUSHIN' REBEL
UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas, a transfer from USC, made his debut a doozy. The sophomore from Compton, Calif., used his first series as a collegian to run for an electrifying 45-yard touchdown. Despite a fumble and interception, Thomas also showed spurts of brilliance through the air with two touchdown passes to Nate Turner (56 and 31 yards). Although he completed only nine passes on 25 attempts, Thomas threw for 190 yards and ran for 107 for 297 total offensive yards, which currrently ranks 12th in the nation. Thomas became only the third UNLV quarterback to reach the century mark on the ground and his 107 yards were the second-most in school history by a signal-caller. Super Duper Hunkie Cooper, who also played receiver and running back and is now a star in the Arena Football League, set the record by piling up 165 yards on 18 carries while playing QB in 1991. Interestingly, former UNLV All-American Randall Cunningham, who is the all-time leader in rushing for a quarterback in the NFL, had a single-game career high of just 57 yards on seven carries in a 35-21 win at Oregon State in 1983.
TACKLE ELIGIBLE
The race to become UNLV's all-time tackler is being waged this fall between two standout Rebels. Senior strong safety Randy Black has jumped ahead of teammate junior James Sunia after the season's first game. Black, a Las Vegas native, used his team-high nine takedowns to move up two spots to No. 9 on the career list with 242. Black, who had a career-high 87 tackles in `99 while also playing seven games at speed linebacker, needs only 19 to move into eighth place and only 48 to replace Darnell Pickens (1984-87) at the top. Sunia has led the team in tackles for the last two seasons. His 119 tackles a year ago followed a freshman All-America campaign with 115 takedowns as a rookie. The linebacker, who entered the season averaging 10.6 tackles per game in his career, stands four behind Black in 10th place in only his third season. Two now-former Rebels -- DB Quincy Sanders at No. 6 and LB Jerrad Pierucci No. 7 -- battled their way up the same list a year ago.
UNLV CAREER TACKLE LEADERS*PL PLAYER (POS) YEARS TOT1. Darnell Pickens (LB) 1984-87 2892. Doc Wise (DL) 1986-89 280 Harvey Allen (DB) 1982-85 2804. Greg Gales (LB) 1996-98 2775. Jason Davis (DB) 1991-94 2766. Quincy Sanders (DB) 1995-99 2707. Jerrad Pierucci (LB) 1996-99 2648. Jody Reinoehl (LB) 1987-90 2609. Randy Black (DB) 1997-PR 24210. James Sunia (LB) 1998-PR 238
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
IOWA STATE 37, UNLV 22
MISTAKES DOOM THOMAS-LED REBELS' EFFORT
AMES, IOWA -- (Sept. 9, 2000)
The second season of John Robinson leading Rebel Football premiered on a windy and humid day in Ames, Iowa, and the beginning of Round 2 turned into a tale of two halves for UNLV (0-1). After being the first Mountain West Conference team to kick off in 1999, the Rebels were the last to start play this fall as they met Iowa State for the second year in a row but only third time in history. The Rebels trotted out a new starting quarterback in highly touted USC transfer Jason Thomas and the sophomore began to live up to the hype with a 45-yard touchdown run to cap his first possession as a collegian. However, the ensuing blocked extra point was the beginning of a mistake-filled half for the visitors. A Rebel fumble was converted into an ISU touchdown, an interception resulted in a field goal, an Iowa-native Ray Cheetany punt attempt was blocked and run in for another score. Add that to nine penalties for 86 yards in the first half alone and the Cyclones led 27-6 at halftime. UNLV rallied after the break and used two Thomas to Nate Turner touchdown connections and a Cheetany field goal to pull as close as 34-22 with nearly a quarter remaining. ISU, however, blocked a short Cheetany FG attempt and tacked on a three-pointer of its own to hold on 37-22. Thomas finished the day with 107 yards rushing -- the second most by a Rebel quarterback -- to go with his 9-25 passing for 190 yards. Turner earned 140 yards on his six catches for the first century-mark game for a Rebel receiver since Len Ware's 114-yard effort in the 1998 season finale. For ISU, Ennis Haywood pounded out 108 yards on 29 carries, J.J. Moses totaled 114 yards on five grabs and Sage Rosenfels threw for 286 yards and two scores. UNLV, which is 1-8 all-time vs. teams from the Big 12 Conference, fell to 17-16 in season openers and 4-11 when the season began on the road. "We lost the game in the second quarter," Robinson said. "There's no question the second quarter was the game really."
PAC-10 EAST
Under the guidance of former USC head coach John Robinson, UNLV has attracted no less than five former Pac-10 Conference players who will help the Rebels this season. Jason Thomas and Kevin Brown transferred directly from their respective schools and sat out 1999 per NCAA rules while the remaining three came to Las Vegas this year after stops at junior colleges.
PLAYER YR. POSITION PAC-10 SCHOOLKevin Brown Sr. Running Back Washington StateJabari Johnson Jr. Running Back WashingtonBobby Nero Jr. Wide Receiver OregonJason Thomas Soph. Quarterback USCShanga Wilson Jr. Linebacker Arizona
AYE, AYE CAPTAINS
UNLV will continue to use game-week captains until permanent captains are voted on later in the season. Serving as captains for the season-opener at Iowa State were seniors SS Randy Black, OL John Greer and P/K Ray Cheetany.
UNLV vs. NORTH TEXAS
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
REBEL OFFENSE
WR (Z) 6 Nate Turner (6-3, 200, SR-1L) 1 Bobby Nero (6-1, 180, JR-TR)WR (X) 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, SO-1L) 9 Charles James (6-2, 180, JR-TR)LT 69 Bradon Bair (6-6, 295, JR-1L) 54 Brian Hart (6-5, 285, SR-3L)LG 63 Greg Hulett (6-3, 300, JR-RS) 75 Shane Wagers (6-5, 300, JR-1L)C 61 Peter Tramontanas (6-5, 275, JR-2L) 78 Joel Menendez (6-3, 275, FR-RS)RG 70 Tony Terrell (6-4, 295, SO-1L) 73 Dominic Furio (6-2, 285, FR-RS)RT 72 John Greer (6-5, 290, SR-3L) 77 Jimy Zoll (6-6, 300, FR-HS)TE 80 DeJhown Mandley (6-4, 240, SO-1L) 83 Trevan Sorensen (6-4, 240, SO-1L)QB 2 Jason Thomas (6-4, 235, SO-TR) 10 Jason Vaughan (6-4, 210, SR-1L) 15 Kurt Nantkes (6-3, 205, FR-RS)TB 7 Jeremi Rudolph (5-9, 175, SR-1L) 4 Kevin Brown (6-2, 225, SR-TR)FB 33 James Wofford (6-0, 200, SR-3L) 24 Steven Costa (6-1, 225, SO-1L)
REBEL SPECIALISTS
PK 39 Ray Cheetany (5-11, 180, SR-1L) 82 Rob Williams (5-11, 170, FR-HS)KO 39 Ray Cheetany (5-11, 180, SR-1L)HOLD 23 Toby Smeltzer (5-10, 185, SO-1L)LS 53 Ryan Hanson (6-2, 220, FR-RS)
REBEL DEFENSE
LDE 47 Anton Palepoi (6-4, 275, JR-TR) 37 Scott Parkhurst (6-3, 235, JR-TR)DT 44 Ahmad Miller (6-4, 295, JR-1L) 91 Dietrich Canterberry (6-4, 290, FR-RS)NG 98 Anthony Suggs (6-0, 260, SR-1L) 92 Phil Reed (6-3, 270, SO-1L)RDE 45 Steve Newton (6-3, 245, JR-1L) 90 Ahmad Briggs (6-3, 230, SO-1L) 99 Adrian Watson (6-3, 240, JR-TR)SLB 48 Tyler Brickell (6-4, 225, SR-3L) 13 LaMar Owens (6-2, 235, JR-TR)MLB 43 James Sunia (5-10, 245, JR-2L) 59 Bill Cofer (5-11, 235, SO-1L)WLB 36 Shanga Wilson (6-1, 215, JR-TR) 49 Ryan Claridge (6-3, 235, FR-HS)CB 5 Amar Brisco (5-10, 170, SR-3L) 19 Jamal Wynn (6-0, 185, SO-1L) 34 Joe Haro (5-10, 190, SO-1L)SS 22 Randy Black (6-0, 200, SR-3L) 31 Sharif Hamilton (6-0, 195, SR-1L) 41 Ross Dalton (6-3, 205, SO-1L)FS 42 Sam Brandon (6-3, 195, JR-1L) 23 Toby Smeltzer (5-10, 185, SO-1L)CB 28 Kevin Thomas (5-11, 180, JR-2L) 25 Sean Mackey (6-1, 190, FR-RS)
REBEL SPECIALISTS
P 39 Ray Cheetany (5-11, 170, SR-1L) 17 Ryan McDonald (5-10, 175, SO-1L)PR 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, SO-1L) 7 Jeremi Rudolph (5-9, 175, SR-1L)KOR 7 Jeremi Rudolph (5-9, 175, SR-1L) 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, SO-1L)
