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UNLV (1-2, 0-1 MOUNTAIN WEST)vs.AIR FORCE (3-0, 2-0 MWC)DATE: Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000KICKOFF: 4:00 pm PDTSITE: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800/Grass)TV: ABC (Charlie Jones & Mark Hermann)RADIO: ESPN 920 AM (Larry Kahn & Tony Cordasco)
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (1-2) hosts a Mountain West Conference opponent for the first time this season with a date vs. first-place Air Force (3-0) ... The Rebels are coming off a 10-7 heartbreaking defeat at BYU while the Falcons stayed unbeaten with a 23-14 win at Utah ... UNLV, which has never won a MWC game at Sam Boyd Stadium, looks to go 2-0 at home for the first time since the 1997 season ... The last time the Rebels defeated a conference opponent at home was a 21-19 win over TCU on Oct. 11, 1997, when both schools were members of the WAC ... The game will be televised by ABC Television on a regional basis (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah and parts of Wyoming and Colorado) ... UNLV has never appeared on an over-the-air network from Sam Boyd Stadium and the school's last appearance on ABC came in a regional Game of the Week telecast at Wyoming on Oct. 3, 1981 ... The last time the Rebels appeared on any network at home was the 1994 Las Vegas Bowl, a 52-24 victory over Central Michigan carried by ESPN ... The Rebels will appear on TV up to nine times this season, which breaks the school record of four showings set just last year ... UNLV has now shut out its opponent in seven of the last eight quarters of play ... Rebel QBs have thrown just two interceptions in the last 30 quarters ... Saturday's game will feature a post-anthem flyover. Nellis Air Force Base is providing aerial support for four F-15s scheduled to appear 1,000 feet above the stadium ... The first 10,000 fans at this week's game will receive a free Rebel Football ROUND 2 poster.
SERIES NOTES
Air Force leads the all-time series 4-1, including four straight wins ... 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 five years (MWC foes Wyoming and Colorado Stae 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 what would be head coach Tony Knap's final home appearance ... It took 15 years for the Falcons to even the series when they spoiled UNLV's WAC debut with a resounding 65-17 win at Sam Boyd Stadium ... UNLV's roster lists one player from the state of Colorado -- freshman QB Kurt Nantkes from Aurora's Hinkley High School.
SERIES RECORD: AFA leads 4-1LAST MEETING: 1999 (AFA 35-16)AFA at UNLV RECORD: 2-1UNLV at AFA RECORD: 0-2UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 3 (24-21 in 1981)AFA's LARGEST WIN: 48 (65-17 in 1996)
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, 52-1011-13-99 Colo. Springs AFA, 35-16
2000 SCHEDULES/RESULTS
UNLV (1-2)
Date Opponent (TV) TimeS. 9 at Iowa State (KFBT) L, 37-22S. 16 NORTH TEXAS W, 38-0S. 23 at BYU (KFBT) L, 10-7S. 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
AIR FORCE (3-0)
Date Opponent TimeS. 2 CS NORTHRIDGE W, 55-6S. 9 BYU W, 31-23S. 23 at Utah W, 23-14S. 30 at UNLV 5 pm MDTO. 7 NAVY 11 am MDTO. 14 at Wyoming TBAO. 21 NEW MEXICO TBAO. 28 at Notre Dame TBAN. 4 at Army TBAN. 11 COLORADO STATE TBAN. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 1 pm PST
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: 179-176-4 (33rd season)All-Time vs. MWC: 18-31-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 4-10 (2nd year)Record Overall: 108-45-4 (14th season)1999 Record: 3-8/1-6 T8thOffense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
AIR FORCE 35, UNLV 16
REBELS CLOSE ROAD SEASON WITH LOSS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- (Nov. 13, 1999)
UNLV (3-6) finished with a 3-3 road record in 1999 after falling to Air Force (6-3) in its second-ever trip to the service academy. Playing in front of a senior day crowd of 44,187 at Falcon Stadium (which was the biggest of the year for a Rebel game), AFA's rushing game rolled up 418 yards en route to a 35-16 win. The Falcons jumped out to the lead on a Scotty McKay 40-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Playing behind true-freshman quarterback Matt Ray, who was making his collegiate debut, UNLV moved the ball well with tailback Jeremi Rudolph earning 72 yards on just seven carries in the first half. The Rebels finally got on the board with their first field goal in four attempts on the season with a 37-yarder by Tim O'Reilly. AFA, however, used two one-yard scoring plunges to make it 21-3 at the break. The Falcons, who finished with 504 yards in total offense behind two quarterbacks, saw no less than 13 players rush the ball. Quarterback Mike Thiessen was the most effective, earning 94 yards on the ground and passing for 84 more and one score. The Falcons increased their lead to 35-3 before Ray led two impressive scoring drives. Nate Turner caught a 20-yard score and James Wofford ran one in from 10 yards out to close the scoring. Ray finished 10-of-18 in passing for 187 yards and no interceptions. Senior Len Ware caught three balls for 90 yards to move into a tie for fourth at the school in career receptions. The Rebel defense was led by Quincy Sanders' school-record 22 total tackles and Kevin Thomas' fourth interception of the season.
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 (former UNLV star Randall Cunningham, who is the NFL career leader in rushing for a quarterback, had a single-game career high of just 57 yards in 1983). Thomas also added 74 yards on 10 carries vs. North Texas and led the team in rushing with 51 net yards at BYU. His 72-yard run vs. the Cougars was the longest for UNLV since an 89-yard burst by Darin Brightmon in 1989.
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
REBELATIONS
ON THE OFFENSIVE:Sophomore Troy Mason earned his first 100-yard game with a five-catch 102-yard day at BYU ... The Rebels, who were flagged 20 times for 177 yards in the first two games, had just one penalty for five yards at BYU, which was the least for the program since a one flag for five yards performance at San Jose State in 1993 ... UNLV has had less possession time than its opponent in all three games this season ... Vs. UNT, senior transfer Kevin Brown recorded his first 100-yard game as a Rebel with 103 yards on just nine carries (Brown had six century-mark games while playing at Washington State in 1998) ... The game 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 earlier ... JC transfer Charles James' one and only catch as a Rebel was a 40-yard touchdown reception from Jason Thomas vs. UNT ... Of Jason Thomas' 26 completions this season, 14 have gone to Nate Turner and three of those were scores ... Of the four Rebels with at least five carries, three are averaging at least five yards a carry (Brown 6.3, Jabari Johnson 6.3, and Thomas 5.0) ... UNLV has thrown only two interceptions in the last 30 quarters of play ... Thomas ranks 13th 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.
FOR THE DEFENSE:UNLV outsacked BYU 5-4 Saturday ... Preseason All-American cornerback Kevin Thomas had his first interception of the year and sixth of his career last week ... The Rebels had two fourth-quarter goal-line stands vs. UNT to preserve the team's first shutout in 17 years ... UNLV has kept all of its opponents at 200 yards or less rushing this season ... The Rebels managed that just five times in all of 1999 ... The longest run against UNLV this season is 25 yards by Brian McDonald of BYU ... Dietrich Canterberry recovered two fumbles vs. UNT ... Three players are tied for the team lead with two sacks each: James Sunia, Anton Palepoi and Ahmad Briggs ... Free Safety Sam Brandon, a former receiver who is playing his first season on defense this fall, leads the Rebels in tackles with 24 ... Scott Parkhurst paces the squad with four TFL.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY:UNLV is 2-of-4 on field goals this season, which already equals the team's total from a year ago ... The two misses were both blocked ... Ray Cheetany's 48-yard field goal vs. UNT was the longest for UNLV since Nick Garritano's 54-yarder vs. UNR in 1994 ... Troy Mason ranks 33rd in the nation in punt returns with an average of 11.88 per attempt.
JT BIG PLAY
All of Jason Thomas' four career touchdown passes have gone for at least 31 yards. In addition, Thomas has a touchdown run of 45 yards (at ISU) and another rush for 72 yards (at BYU) -- which was the longest run from scrimmage for the Rebels since Darin Brightmon's 89-yard scamper in 1989.
Thomas' TD Passes
YDS RECEIVER GAME57 Nate Turner NORTH TEXAS56 Nate Turner at Iowa State40 Charles James NORTH TEXAS31 Nate Turner at Iowa State
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
BYU 10, UNLV 7
CHILLY UPSET BID FALLS SHORT
PROVO, Utah -- (Sept. 23, 2000) UNLV (1-2) dropped its fifth-straight conference opener by falling 10-7 in a rainy defensive battle with BYU (2-3). The 60,191 at Cougar Stadium and viewers across the ESPN Regional network saw BYU take an early lead and barely hold on during a Rebel rally. With gametime temperatures dipping below 40 degrees, BYU's Brian McDonald ran in a 25-yard touchdown and Owen Pochman booted a 42-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Cougars, however, were foiled by a 66-yard punt by Ray Cheetany in a game that became dominated by field position. The closest anyone came to scoring in the next two quarters came on a 72-yard run by UNLV QB Jason Thomas (the longest for the school since 1989) to the BYU 13. A subsequent field goal attempt, however, was blocked and the game remained 10-0 into the fourth quarter. Thomas, who was under intense pressure all day from a nearly constant Cougar blitz, finally hit another big play with a 49-yard strike to Troy Mason that led to Thomas taking it in from a yard out. Down 10-7, UNLV continued its rally by forcing a BYU punt and then rolling down field on two big pass plays to face first down at the Cougar 25 with under five minutes remaining. The BYU defense, however, rallied to stuff a Jeremi Rudolph run, then sack Thomas for five- and 13-yard losses to turn a sure field-goal attempt into a punt. BYU then simply ran out the remaining 2:40 to earn the victory. Thomas, who was sacked four times but still led the team in rushing with 51 net yards, earned his first 200-yard passing day by finishing 11-17 for 202 yards and one pick. Mason hauled in five balls for 102 yards -- his first career century-mark game -- and Cheetany had a huge game by averaging 45.5 yards on eight kicks. The Cougars, who struggled to pass the ball (157 yards), were led by Luke Staley's 167 yards on 28 carries. The UNLV defense, which shut out its opponent for seven of its last eight quarters, had one interception and recorded five sacks, including two each by James Sunia and Anton Pelepoi. BYU upped its advantage in the all-time series to 7-1 while the Rebels fell to 8-11 in league openers, including 2-6 when they came on the road. Before the game, BYU head coach LaVell Edwards, who will retire after the 2000 season, was presented with two round-trip tickets to Hawaii courtesy of UNLV head coach John Robinson and athletics director Charles Cavagnaro.
THE WATCHER
Two UNLV players have been named as part of initial watch lists for major national awards this season.
Junior cornerback Kevin Thomas was one of 40 defensive backs named to the 2000 Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. The trophy has been awarded to the nation's top defensive back since 1986 by the Jim Thorpe Association. All players on the list have been named by at least two publications as candidates for All-American or all-conference honors. Thomas, a unanimous choice for preseason All-Mountain West Conference, was also the league's choice for preseason defensive player of the year in a vote by MWC coaches as well as The Sporting News. Thomas also was tabbed preseason second-team All-American by Athlon magazine. The native of Sacramento, Calif., led the 1999 Rebels with five interceptions and broke the school record for pass breakups in a season with 24, which ranked first in the league. Thomas was one of three Mountain West Conference defensive backs to make the watch list, joining seniors Andre Dyson of Utah and Jared Lee of BYU. Finalists for the Thorpe will be invited to ESPN's College Football Awards Show at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where the winner will be announced December 7. A formal presentation will take place at a banquet in February in Oklahoma City, which is home to the Jim Thorpe Association.
Senior punter/kicker Ray Cheetany is one of 32 booters from around college football who are members of the first Ray Guy Award watch list, which was announced by the Greater Augusta (Ga.) Sports Council. The Ray Guy Award will be awarded to the nation's best punter as determined by a committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches, former punters. Cheetany, who punts, kicks off and placekicks for the Rebels, finished fourth in the nation in punting average in 1999 at 45.4. A 2000 preseason All-American, he is the only punter from the MWC to appear on the list. A national selection committee will choose 10 semifinalists on November 8 and three finalists will be announced Nov. 30. The winner will be announced in December at a formal awards dinner in Augusta. The Ray Guy Award was created to recognize the remaining major position on the football field without such an honor. The award was named after arguably the greatest punter of all time, Ray Guy, who attended the University of Southern Mississippi and then was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders and starred for the team from 1973-86.
UNLV at AIR FORCETENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
REBEL OFFENSEWR (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)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 SPECIALISTSPK 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 DEFENSELDE 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 90 Ahmad Briggs (6-3, 230, SO-1L) 45 Steve Newton (6-3, 245, JR-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) 49 Ryan Claridge (6-3, 235, FR-HS)WLB 36 Shanga Wilson (6-1, 215, JR-TR) 18 Tosh Burrus (6-0, 210, SO-1L)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 SPECIALISTSP 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)
