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UNLV (1-1, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST)vs.BYU (1-3, 0-1 MOUNTAIN WEST)DATE: Saturday, Sept. 23, 2000KICKOFF: 12:00 pm PDTSITE: Cougar Stadium (65,000/Grass)TV: ESPN+Plus - Gold 33/Cable 6RADIO: ESPN 920 AM
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (1-1) opens its second Mountain West Conference season by traveling to perennial power BYU (1-3) ... The game will be televised as the premiere of the 2000 ESPN+Plus Game of the Week package ... Last week, the Rebels broke a six-game losing streak and school-record 12-game home losing skid with a 38-0 victory over North Texas while BYU is regrouping after a 44-28 Thursday night loss to Mississippi State on ESPN ... The Rebels will look for their first conference opening victory on the road since 1994 ... All-time, UNLV is 8-10 in league openers (.445), but only 2-5 when beginning the conference campaign on the road ... UNLV's output last week represented the most points scored since a 55-48 overtime loss to San Jose State on Nov. 22, 1997 ... The 38-point margin was the biggest since a 72-7 win over New Mexico on Nov. 1, 1980, and tied for the eighth-biggest in school history ... The Rebels' shutout was only the eighth in school history, the first since 1983, the first at home since 1978 and only the third vs. a D-I opponent.
ALL-TIME REBEL SHUTOUTS9-16-00 38-0 NORTH TEXAS11-12-8313-0 at Cal State Fullerton11-18-7827-0 UTEP10-6-73 26-0 NORTHEAST LOUISIANA9-23-72 31-0 CAL STATE LOS ANGELES9-18-71 38-0 ADAMS STATE COLLEGE10-3-70 56-0 OREGON TECH10-26-6869-0 CALIFORNIA TECH
SERIES NOTES
BYU leads the series 6-1, including four straight wins ... The game features the eighth (LaVell Edwards -- .718) and ninth (John Robinson -- .705) winningest active college coaches ... Former UNLV tight ends coach Mike Empey (1997-98) is now a BYU assistant ... The schools first met 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" ... UNLV does not list a player from the state of Utah while BYU lists one Nevadan on its roster -- redshirt freshman LB Brent Carlson from Durango HS in Las Vegas.
SERIES RECORD: BYU leads 6-1LAST MEETING: 1999 (BYU 29-0)UNLV at BYU RECORD: 1-2BYU at UNLV RECORD: 3-0UNLV at NEUTRAL SITE: 0-1UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 4 (45-41 in 1981)BYU's LARGEST WIN: 40 (54-14 in 1980)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, 63-2810-10-98 Provo BYU, 63-2810-23-99 Las Vegas BYU, 29-0
2000 SCHEDULES/RESULTS
UNLV (1-1)
Date Opponent (TV) TimeS. 9 at Iowa State (KFBT) L, 37-22S. 16 NORTH TEXAS W, 38-0S. 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
BRIGHAM YOUNG (1-3)Date Opponent TimeA. 26 vs. Florida St. L, 29-3S. 2 at Virginia W, 38-35S. 9 at Air Force L, 31-23S. 14 MISSISSIPPI ST. L, 44-28S. 23 UNLV 1 pm MDTS. 30 at Syracuse 6 pm EDTO. 6 UTAH STATE 7 pm MDTO. 21 SAN DIEGO STATE 1 pm MDTO. 26 WYOMING 6 pm MDTN. 2 at Colorado St. 6 pm MDTN. 18 NEW MEXICO 4 pm MDTN. 24 at Utah 4 pm MDT
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: 108-69-3 (28 seasons)UNLV All-Time Record: 179-175-4 (33rd season)All-Time vs. MWC: 18-30-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 4-9 (2nd year)Record Overall: 108-44-4 (14th season)1999 Record: 3-8/1-6 T8thOffense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
BYU 29, UNLV 0
NO. 19 BYU SHUTS DOWN REBEL HOMECOMING
LAS VEGAS -- (Oct. 23, 1999) Playing in front of the fourth-largest home crowd in history (30,599), UNLV (3-4) was blanked by 19th-ranked BYU (6-1) 29-0. The Rebels fell to 19-13 all-time in homecoming games (3-7 during the 1990s) by suffering their fourth-ever shutout at home and second of the year. The first ranked team to play UNLV in Las Vegas since 1994, the Cougars improved to 6-1 vs. the Rebels behind a stadium-record five field goals by kicker Owen Pochman. The UNLV defense, which earned nine pass breakups and eight tackles for loss, held BYU QB Kevin Feterik to 257 yards passing and picked off two balls. However, the Rebel offense was non-existent after the loss of its star tailback in the first quarter. Jeremi Rudolph injured his groin after mis-stepping in a sand-filled hole on the Sam Boyd Stadium grass. UNLV was held to just 24 yards rushing and 94 passing as QB Jason Vaughan was sacked five times. After BYU opened with a touchdown, three consecutive Pochman three-pointers made the score 16-0 at halftime but the hosts could not get on the board. In the first-ever meeting between legendary coaches John Robinson and LaVell Edwards, the Cougars dropped the Rebels' career record vs. ranked teams to 1-11.
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 while becoming only the third UNLV quarterback to reach the century mark on the ground. 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. Thomas added 74 yards on 10 carries last week in his Las Vegas debut.
UNLV 100-YARD RUSHING QUARTERBACKSPLAYER DATE OUTCOME ATT YDS AVG TDHunkie Cooper Sept. 14, 1991 W, 23-9 vs. Oregon St. 18 165 9.2 1 (6yd)Jason Thomas Sept. 9, 2000 L, 37-22 at Iowa State 21 107 5.1 1 (45yd)Derek Stott Nov. 23, 1991 L, 44-23 vs. Pacific 15 103 6.9 0
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 James Sunia after the season's first two games. Black, a Las Vegas native, used his team-high nine takedowns in the opener to move up two spots to No. 9 on the career list and he now has 247. Black, who had a career-high 87 tackles in `99 while also playing seven games at speed linebacker, needs only 14 to move into eighth place and only 43 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 24710. James Sunia (LB) 1998-PR 243
REBELATIONS
ON THE OFFENSIVE: Last week vs. UNT, senior transfer Kevin Brown recorded his first 100-yard game as a Rebel with 103 yards on just nine carries, which gave him a career-best 11.44 yards-per-carry average (16th highest single-game average in school history) ... Brown's 53-yard burst was the longest for UNLV since James Wofford's 55-yarder vs. UNR on Oct. 3, 1998 ... Brown had six century-mark games while playing at Washington State in 1998, where his best YPC was 6.53 in a 111-yard, 17 carry game vs. Illinois ... It marked the first 100-yard rushing game by a Rebel running back since Jeremi Rudolph's 165-yard day at Wyoming on Oct. 9, 1999, seven games ago ... JC transfer Charles James' one and only catch as a Rebel was a 40-yard touchdown reception from Jason Thomas vs. UNT ... After two games, the Rebel offensive line has only allowed only two sacks compared to six at the same point a year ago ... Of Jason Thomas' 15 completions this season, 11 have gone to Nate Turner and three of those were scores ... All four UNLV backs with at least five carries are averaging at least five yards a carry (Brown 8.1, Jabari Johnson 6.3, Thomas 5.8, and Rudolph 5.1) ... UNLV has thrown only one interception (Thomas at Iowa State) in the last 26 quarters of play ... Thomas ranks 17th nationally in passing efficiency ... The Rebels' 314 yards rushing vs. UNT were the most for the program since 334 in a 28-23 win over Arkansas State on Sept. 9, 1995 ... The 447 yards in total offense were the most since earning 451 in a 46-28 loss at Fresno State on Oct. 25, 1997 ... The 38 points scored vs. UNT were the most since a 55-48 OT loss to San Jose State on Nov. 22, 1997.
FOR THE DEFENSE:
The Rebels had two fourth-quarter goal-line stands vs. UNT to preserve the team's first shutout in 17 years ... UNLV has kept both of its opponents at 150 yards or less rushing this season ... The Rebels managed that just twice in all of 1999 ... The longest run against UNLV this season is 18 yards by Ennis Haywood of Iowa State ... Dietrich Canterberry recovered two fumbles vs. UNT ... Ahmad Briggs leads the squad with two QB sacks.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY:
UNLV is 2-of-3 on field goals this season, which already equals the team's total from a year ago ... Ray Cheetany's 48-yard field goal was the longest for UNLV since Nick Garritano's 54-yarder vs. UNR in 1994 ... Troy Mason ranks 27th in the nation in punt returns with an average of 12.83 per attempt while Jeremi Rudolph is 29th in kickoff returns at 24.67.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
UNLV 38, NORTH TEXAS 0
REBELS SHUT OUT HOME LOSING STREAK
LAS VEGAS -- (Sept. 16, 2000) UNLV (1-1) evened its record by shutting out North Texas (0-3) 38-0 and improving to 22-11 all-time in home openers in front of 16,544 at Sam Boyd Stadium. Playing in 97-degree heat, the Rebels halted a school-record 12-game home losing streak and six-game losing skid overall by dominating the Eagles on both sides of the ball. UNLV's biggest victory margin since 1980 was made possible by a record-setting 15 minute-period as the Rebels scored more points -- 31 -- in the second quarter than in any quarter in school history, besting the 30 posted in the third period vs. Santa Clara in 1974. After a scoreless first, UNLV broke through with a 57-yard touchdown pass play from quarterback Jason Thomas to Nate Turner. Jeremi Rudolph scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns, Charles James hauled in a 40-yard Thomas pass, Ray Cheetany hit a 48-yard field goal -- the longest for UNLV since 1994 -- and Thomas took it in himself from two yards out and rout was on. Even though UNLV cleared most of its bench in the final quarter, the only score in the second half was Rudolph's run. UNLV's defense stiffened on two late goal-line stands, including forcing an incompletion from the two-yard line on the game's final play to record the program's first shutout since a 13-0 game at Cal State Fullerton in 1983 and first at home since a 27-0 win over UTEP in 1978. The defense finished with three quarterback sacks by three different players, 10 players with three or more tackles (the leader was FS Sam Brandon with seven), eight tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups. Thomas left early after completing 6-of-11 pass attempts for 129 yards and no interceptions while running for 74 yards. Transfer Kevin Brown earned his first 100-yard game as a Rebel by picking up 103 on just nine carries and Rudolph had 74 to help UNLV rush for the most yards -- 314 -- since totaling 334 vs. Arkansas State in 1995. The victory, which moved the Rebels to 4-0 all-time vs. the Mean Green, also marked the first at home under Head Coach John Robinson, who improved to 11-3 in home openers.
JT BIG PLAY
All of Jason Thomas' four career touchdown passes have gone for at least 31 yards.
Thomas' Touchdown Passes
YDS RECEIVER GAME57 Nate Turner NORTH TEXAS56 Nate Turner at Iowa State40 Charles James NORTH TEXAS31 Nate Turner at Iowa State
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 leaders 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. Last week's game vs. North Texas saw seniors FB James Wofford, DL Anthony Suggs and LB Tyler Brickell serve as captains.
UNLV vs. BYUTENTATIVE 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)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)
