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UNLV (0-4, 0-1 MOUNTAIN WEST)
vs.
NEVADA, RENO (1-2, 1-0 WAC)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 6, 2001KICKOFF: 1:07 pm PDTSITE: Mackay Stadium (31,545/Artificial Turf) RenoTV: SportsWest/KLAS (Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler)RADIO: ESPN 920 AM (Tim Neverett & Tony Cordasco)
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (0-4) looks to snap its four-game losing streak by traveling to Reno for the annual Battle for the Cannon vs. in-state rival UNR ... UNLV is coming off a 35-31 loss to then-No. 20 BYU in its MWC opener ... UNR (1-2) enjoyed a bye week after picking up its first victory of the season, 28-20, over WAC rival Hawaii ... UNLV looks to avoid starting a season 0-5 for only the third time in school history (1998, '96) ... The four teams that have defeated UNLV this season have a combined record of 11-4 and two (No. 16 Northwestern and No. 18 BYU) are currently ranked ... The 2001 Rebels are the first football team, college or NFL, under head coach John Robinson to start the season with four losses ... Robinson is 1-1 all-time vs. UNR ... With UNR having installed Field Turf in 2000, UNLV will play its only regular-season game on an artificial field Saturday. The Rebels have won both of their games played on non-grass surfaces under Robinson (1999 at North Texas and 2000 at Hawaii) ... The Wolf Pack will face its third MWC team of the season this Saturday as UNR opened at BYU and then traveled to CSU. Against the seven other teams other than UNLV that make up the three-year-old league, UNR holds a 9-18-4 record.
SERIES NOTES
UNR leads the all-time series 15-11, including five of the last six ... The 26 games vs. the Pack are by far the most played between UNLV and any opponent ... The Rebels once had an 8-4 lead in the series but UNR has dominated recently by taking 10 of the last 12 meetings in the rivalry, which is being played for the 13th consecutive season in '01 ... The Rebels have not won in Reno since a 26-21 victory on Sept. 15, 1979 ... During its current seven-game losing streak in the Biggest Little City in the World, UNLV has been outscored 304-94 for an average score of 43-13 ... While both schools have been members of both the Big West and Western Athletic conferences, the teams have only met each other four times as league rivals (1992-95) ... UNLV has just one player on its roster from the Reno area -- LB Bill Cofer of prep power McQueen HS -- while UNR lists two Las Vegans -- soph. LB Jesse Adams out of Valley HS and senior C Turner Graham from Bonanza HS ... Former UNLV quarterback Matt Ray transferred to UNR last year as a walk-on but has since moved on to play at a junior college.
UNLV (0-4)Date Opponent TV Result
A. 30 at Arkansas ESPN L, 14-10S. 7 NORTHWESTERN ESPN L, 37-28S. 22 at Arizona KFBT L, 38-21S. 29 BYU ABC L, 35-31O. 6 at Nevada, Reno KLAS 1 pmO. 13 SAN DIEGO STATE ABC 4 pmO. 20 COLORADO STATE KLAS 4 pmO. 27 at Wyoming TBA TBAN. 3 UTAH TBA 1 pmN. 10 at New Mexico KLAS 4 pmN. 17 at Air Force TBA TBA
NEVADA, RENO (1-2)Date Opponent Result (PT)
S. 1 at BYU L, 52-7S. 8 at Colorado State L, 35-18S. 22 HAWAII W, 28-20O. 6 UNLV 1 pmO. 13 LOUISIANA TECH 1 pmO. 20 at Rice 7 pmO. 27 at Boise State 7 pmN. 3 SMU 12 pmN. 10 at San Jose State 3:30 pmN. 17 FRESNO STATE 12 pmN. 24 at UTEP 6 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV 89154Founded: 1957Enrollment: 23,000Nickname: Rebels (Not Runnin')Colors: Scarlet & GrayPresident: Dr. Carol C. HarterDir. of Ath: Charles CavagnaroFaculty Rep: Dr. Hal K. RothmanConference: Mountain WestStadium/Opened: Sam Boyd/1971Capacity/Surface: 36,800/Natural GrassRecord in Stadium: 113-71-3 (30th season)All-Time Record: 186-183-4 (34th season)All-Time vs. MWC: 23-34-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 11-17 (.393/3rd year)Record Overall: 115-52-4 (.684/15th year)2000 Record: 8-5/4-3 (T3rd MWC)Offense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
LAST TIME THEY MET
UNLV 38, UNR 7
LAS VEGAS -- (Sept. 30, 2000) UNLV (3-2) broke a five-game losing streak to its in-state rival Nevada, Reno (1-4) in front of the biggest crowd ever to see the Battle for the Cannon waged in Las Vegas (27,578). The Rebels won their third straight home game for the first time since 1997 with a complete team effort despite racking up 132 yards on 12 penalties. UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas scored two rushing touchdowns and passed for two others, finishing 8-of-12 for 152 yards and no interceptions and adding 88 yards on the ground. Nate Turner earned four catches for 61 yards and was on the other end of both scoring strikes. Two Rebel tailbacks, Kevin Brown (104) and Jeremi Rudolph (103), hit the century mark in the same game for the first time since 1995 while the hosts rushed for more yards (321) since the 1995 Arkansas State game (334). Defensively, cornerback Kevin Thomas helped shut down the Wolf Pack passing attack with a career-high six pass breakups and LB Tyler Brickell added his second career interception. UNLV jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a one-yard Brown rush but UNR quickly tied things with a deflected scoring pass. JT hit Turner for a 37-yard score and Thomas added a short rushing TD to make it 21-7 at the break. Two more Thomas scores -- one rushing and one passing -- sealed the blowout. Senior Ray Cheetany also starred, punting six times for an average of 45.7, kicking five extra points and booting a 30-yard field goal. The Rebel defense, which outsacked the visitors 4-2, did not allow a second-half point for the fourth consecutive game while the Pack managed only 109 rushing yards and 136 passing. The 38-7 final meant the Fremont Cannon returned to the south while UNLV fans tore down goalposts for the second time ever and first since 1994. UNR, however, still leads the all-time series 15-11.
SERIES RECORD: UNR leads 15-11LAST MEETING: 2000 (UNLV 38-7)UNLV at UNR RECORD: 4-9UNR at UNLV RECORD: 6-7UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 38 (45-7 in 1975)UNR's LARGEST WIN: 42 (50-8 in 1991)
DATE SITE RESULT11-22-69 Reno UNR, 30-2811-26-70 Las Vegas UNLV, 42-3011-20-71 Reno UNLV, 24-1311-18-72 Las Vegas UNR, 41-1311-17-73 Reno UNR, 19-311-16-74 Las Vegas UNLV, 28-711-22-75 Reno UNLV, 45-711-20-76 Las Vegas UNLV, 49-3311-19-77 Reno UNLV, 27-129-16-78 Las Vegas UNR, 23-149-15-79 Reno UNLV, 26-219-3-83 Las Vegas UNLV, 28-1811-16-85 Reno UNR, 48-710-3-87 Las Vegas UNLV, 24-1911-11-89 Reno UNR, 45-710-20-90 Las Vegas UNR, 26-149-7-91 Reno UNR, 50-810-17-92 Las Vegas UNR, 14-1010-23-93 Reno UNR, 49-1411-19-94 Las Vegas UNLV, 32-2710-28-95 Reno UNR, 55-3210-5-96 Las Vegas UNR, 54-179-6-97 Reno UNR, 31-1410-3-98 Las Vegas UNR, 31-2010-2-99 Reno UNR, 26-1210-7-00 Las Vegas UNLV, 38-7
TACKLE RECORD STANDS
Last season, senior strong safety Randy Black became his school's all-time tackle leader with 294 in four years. Just one year later, one of Black's former teammates was looking to push that total down to No. 2 on the list. Black was battling linebacker James Sunia to see who would finish 2000 as the UNLV Takedown King before Sunia suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game Five. After missing eight games, including the Las Vegas Bowl, Sunia re-injured his ACL/MCL just before spring practice kicked off and the Hawaii native was back in rehabilitation mode. Sunia gradually made his way back into practice and played for the first time in 11 games on Sept. 22 at Arizona. His four tackles vs. the Wildcats moved Sunia up one spot into a tie with former teammate Jerrad Pierucci in eighth place on the all-time list. Bad luck struck again, however, as Sunia broke his left ankle just one week later vs. BYU on Sept. 29 without registering a tackle vs. the Cougars. Barring the NCAA granting a sixth season of eligibility, Sunia's career has now ended 30 tackles short of the record. After leading the team in tackles both of his first two seasons, Sunia was averaging 10.6 takedowns per game before only playing in seven games his final two seasons.
UNLV CAREER TACKLE LEADERS*
PL PLAYER (POS) YEARS TOT
1. Randy Black (DB) 1997-00 294 2. Darnell Pickens (LB) 1984-87 289 3. Doc Wise (DL) 1986-89 280 4. Greg Gales (LB) 1996-98 277 5. Jason Davis (DB) 1991-94 276 6. Harvey Allen (DB) 1982-85 272 7. Quincy Sanders (DB) 1995-99 270 8. James Sunia (LB) 1998-PR 264 Jerrad Pierucci (LB) 1996-99 264 10.Jody Reinoehl (LB) 1987-90 260
REBELATIONS
ON THE OFFENSIVE: Despite winning neither game, UNLV outgained both of its first two opponents in 2001 (298-114 at Arkansas and 453-411 vs. Northwestern) ... Sophomore WR Michael Johnson set a Mountain West Conference record with 174 yards on a career-high eight receptions vs. Northwestern. It was the 14th-best receiving day in school history and the most since Len Ware had 200 vs. SDSU in 1996 ... UNLV has 16 100-yard rushers in the last 16 regular-season games ... A week after UNLV threw for the second-least yards in school history with 40 vs. the Razorbacks, Thomas rebounded to toss for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns vs. the Wildcats. It marked the first 300-yard game for a UNLV quarterback since Jon Denton threw for 401 vs. San Jose State in 1997 ... The Rebels are a stunning 0-8 on fourth-down attempts this fall after being 7-13 on such plays a year ago.
FOR THE DEFENSE: UNLV is tied with Syracuse for the national lead in fumbles recovered with nine ... Sophomore LB Ryan Claridge's four forced fumbles puts him just three behind single-season UNLV record holder Bruce Gray (1970) ... The Rebels had a season-high four sacks, including two by Ahmad Miller, vs. BYU and totaled eight TFL overall vs. the Cougars ... Senior Scott Parkhurst, who started the first two games at LB, moved back to the line in time for the Arizona game while Adam Seward moved over to back up LaMar Owens at SLB ... UNLV held Arkansas to only 114 yards in Game One, which broke the school record of 131 yards by Cal State Fullerton in 1983 ... The Rebels held their opponent to under 200 yards rushing for the 13th consecutive game vs. BYU ... Ahmad Briggs picked up a fumble on a botched option play at Arizona and returned it 30 yards for UNLV's first defensive TD of the year. SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY: Last week, sophomore coverage ace Derek Olsen earned his first career score when he scooped up a BYU fumble on the opening kickoff and ran 22 yards for a TD ... UNLV ranks second in the nation in kickoff return average with 33.79 on 14 attempts. The Rebels trail only Washington, which has an average of 34.75 on only four attempts ... Freshman Dominique Dorsey leads the nation in kickoff returns with 46.7 on six attempts. Ronald Rogers of Western Michigan is No. 2 with an average of 40.4 on five attempts ... Dorsey's 87-yard return on his first attempt vs. NU was the fourth-longest in UNLV history and fifth-longest in MWC history ... Freshman Gary Cook, who was the team's fourth different starting punter in as many season openers (1998: Joe Kristosik, 1999: Ryan McDonald, 2000: Ray Cheetany), turned in his best day in terms of average vs. BYU when he booted six times for a 39.8-yard average, including dropping two inside the opponent's 20.
JERSEY JOE
UNLV junior Jersey Joe Haro has burst into the starting tailback spot after a long journey back and forth across the line of scrimmage. An all-state performer out of Clifton, N.J., Haro joined the Rebels in 1998 and earned a medical hardship after rushing for four yards on two carries. He carried the ball only eight times in 1999 but still managed to be his team's leading rusher vs. BYU with 59 yards on just four carries. With a senior logjam at the UNLV tailback spot in 2000, Haro moved to defensive back but fractured his right fibula in Game Two and missed the remainder of the season. Haro moved back to offense during bowl-game practices last December and earned the No. 2 tailback spot heading into the season opener. During halftime at Arkansas, Haro had five carries for zero yards, but then Jersey Joe exploded to finish with a game-high 131 yards on 24 total carries. Starting his first game vs. Northwestern the following week, Haro proved his gutty rushing style was no fluke as he gained 104 yards on 25 carries, including his first career touchdown run of 10 yards. He again led his team in rushing with 71 yards on 15 carries and a score at Arizona in Game Three and picked up 80 yards on 21 carries, including a score, vs. BYU. Haro currently ranks 35th in the nation and fifth in the MWC with 96.5 yards per game.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Freshman Dominique Dorsey has made a big splash in his collegiate debut season. In Game Two vs. Northwestern, he ran for 18 yards on his first career rush and then took his first kickoff return 87 yards. At Arizona in Game Three, Dorsey returned a kick 55 yards and rushed for 24 yards on seven carries. Last week vs. BYU, Little D totaled 115 yards on three kickoff returns and gained 77 yards on 14 rushes, including his first two career touchdowns. Dorsey, however, is not the only Rebel rookie to already make an impact in 2001. WR Earvin Johnson earned his first catch vs. NU and added a spectacular 21-yard grab vs. BYU while Gary Cook has earned the team's starting punting job. On defense, redshirt LB Adam Seward has 12 tackles, redshirt DB Jamaal Brimmer has 10 while Zach Bell and Ruschard Dodd-Masters each have three takedowns. The team's oldest rookie, 21-year-old QB Kurt Nantkes, made his collegiate debut at Arizona and completed 2 of 3 attempts for 33 yards, including his first touchdown pass.
GAME FOUR IN REVIEW
No. 20 BYU 35, UNLV 31
HEARTBREAK RETURNS AS COUGARS RALLY
LAS VEGAS -- (Sept. 29, 2001) UNLV (0-4) failed in its best attempt ever to defeat a ranked team at home as the Rebels allowed BYU (4-0) to drive for a last-minute, game-winning touchdown in a 35-31 final. With gametime temperatures at 100 degrees and playing in front of an ABC-TV regional audience and the second-biggest crowd to ever watch UNLV play at Sam Boyd Stadium (32,601), the Rebels played their best game of the season but still saw their record vs. ranked teams drop to 1-12 all-time. A wild first quarter began with a BYU fumble on the opening kickoff, which Derek Olsen returned 22 yards for his first career score. The Cougars quickly drove down field to tie things and then took their first lead with the a 50-yard Matt Payne field goal -- the longest vs. UNLV since 1995. After a 53-yard kickoff return by Dominique Dorsey, UNLV used a three-yard Joe Haro run to take a 14-10 lead. After Sam Brandon hauled in BYU QB Brandon Doman's first interception of the year, the Rebels took its largest lead of the season -- 21-10 -- on an eight-yard Dorsey run. Heading into the second quarter, BYU scored 18 points, including a 54-yard TD strike from Doman to Rod Wilkerson with under a minute left, to build a 28-21 halftime advantage. The only points of the third quarter allowed UNLV to tie the score on a another Dorsey TD run. The see-saw battle took another turn when BYU fumbled deep in Rebel territory to thwart a game-sealing drive. UNLV took advantage and pulled out a 15-play, 88-yard drive -- the longest in both yards and time of the season -- to the BYU four-yard-line before settling for a 22-yard Dillon Pieffer field goal and 31-28 lead with 6:32 on the clock. After trading possessions, BYU got the ball back with 2:26 remaining. Aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty on second-and-13 on its own 17, BYU moved down field and faced a game-deciding fourth-and-four. Doman then hit Mike Rigell for a 42-yard gain to the UNLV 21 and then the QB ran it in himself on the very next play to put his team up by four with just over a minute left. The Rebels, needing a TD, moved down field quickly and had a first-and-10 at the BYU 39. The Rebels picked up nine yards but a Jason Thomas pass attempt only found the sideline and UNLV turned the ball over on downs and lost its sixth consecutive conference opener. Doman hit on 23-of-37 attempts for 281 yards and two scores while Luke Staley rushed for 77 and caught 40 more yards to lead the visitors. Haro led all rushers with 80 yards on 21 attempts but fumbled for the third time in 2001. Dorsey finished with 77 yards on 14 carries and 115 yards on three kickoff returns in his first extensive action as a collegian. Thomas struggled through the air with only 132 yards passing and two interceptions. Defensively, UNLV forced three more turnovers (four) than BYU had commited all season. Ahmad Miller had two of the Rebels' four sacks on the night -- three more than the team had surrendered in the previous three games combined. Despite the effort, the 2001 Rebels became the first John Robinson-led football team - pro of college - to begin a season 0-4 and UNLV fell to 0-4 for the fourth time in school history (1998, '96 and '82) and 1-8 vs. BYU all-time, including 0-4 in Las Vegas.
UNLV vs. UNR
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
REBEL OFFENSE
WR 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L) 8 Michael Johnson (5-10, 180, SO-1L)WR 1 Bobby Nero (6-1, 180, SR-1L) 4 Earvin Johnson (6-3, 195, FR-HS)LT 69 Brandon Bair (6-6, 295, SR-2L) 67 Eddie Freas (6-2, 300, JR-RS)LG 63 Greg Hulett (6-3, 300, SR-1L) 76 Marcus Johnson (6-1, 290, FR-RS)C 61 Peter Tramontanas (6-5, 275, SR-3L) 73 Dominic Furio (6-2, 285, SO-1L)RG 70 Tony Terrell (6-4, 295, JR-2L) 60 Ernie Calanche (6-4, 290, JR-1L)RT 75 Shane Wagers (6-5, 300, SR-2L) 77 Jimy Zoll (6-6, 300, FR-RS)TE 80 DeJhown Mandley (6-4, 240, JR-2L) 83 Trevan Sorensen (6-4, 255, JR-2L)QB 2 Jason Thomas (6-4, 230, JR-1L) 7 Kurt Nantkes (6-4, 215, FR-RS)TB 34 Joe Haro (5-10, 190, JR-2L) 32 Jabari Johnson (5-11, 200, SR-1L)FB 24 Steven Costa (6-1, 225, JR-2L) 40 George Gordon (6-0, 235, JR-RS)
REBEL SPECIALISTS
PK 95 Dillon Pieffer (5-11, 180, SO-1L)HOLD 23 Toby Smeltzer (5-10, 185, JR-2L)LS 67 Eddie Freas (6-2, 300, JR-RS)
REBEL DEFENSE
LDE 47 Anton Palepoi (6-4, 275, SR-1L) 45 Steve Newton (6-3, 245, SR-2L)DT 44 Ahmad Miller (6-4, 310, SR-1L) 92 Phil Reed (6-3, 265, JR-2L)NG 91 Dietrich Canterberry (6-4, 300, SO-1L) 93 Garrett Brassington (6-2, 285, JR-TR)RDE 90 Ahmad Briggs (6-3, 230, JR-2L) 99 Adrian Watson (6-3, 240, SR-1L) 37 Scott Parkhurst (6-3, 245, SR-1L)SLB 13 LaMar Owens (6-2, 235, SR-1L) 55 Adam Seward (6-2, 235, FR-RS)MLB 49 Ryan Claridge (6-3, 245, SO-1L) 36 Shanga Wilson (6-1, 215, SR-1L)WLB 36 Shanga Wilson (6-1, 215, SR-1L) 18 Tosh Burrus (6-0, 200, JR-2L)CB 19 Jamal Wynn (6-0, 185, JR-2L) 3 Ruschard Dodd-Masters (5-11, 175, FR-RS)SS 41 Ross Dalton (6-3, 205, JR-2L) 21 Chameion Sutton (5-11, 180, JR-TR)FS 42 Sam Brandon (6-3, 195, SR-2L) 27 Jamaal Brimmer (6-1, 205, FR-RS)CB 28 Kevin Thomas (5-11, 180, SR-3L) 3 Ruschard Dodd-Masters (5-11, 175, FR-RS)
REBEL SPECIALISTS
P 16 Gary Cook (5-11, 180, FR-HS)PR 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L)KR 6 Dominique Dorsey (5-6, 165, FR-HS) 34 Joe Haro (5-10, 190, JR-2L 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L)
