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UNLV (2-5, 1-2 MOUNTAIN WEST)
vs.
WYOMING (2-5, 0-4 MOUNTAIN WEST)
DATE:       Saturday, Oct. 27, 2001KICKOFF:    3:07 pm PDTSITE:       War Memorial Stadium (33,500/Grass)TV:     SportsWest:Las Vegas One/Cable 39                (Dave McCann and Irv Brown)RADIO:      ESPN 920 AM                (Tim Neverett, Tony Cordasco)

GAME PREVIEW

UNLV (2-5) looks for its first Mountain West Conference road victory of the season as it travels to take on Wyoming (2-5) ... This is the second consecutive week that the Rebels will play an opponent with an identical overall record ... The game will be shown in Las Vegas on Cox Cable channels 1 and 39 ... The Rebels are coming off a 26-24 home loss to Colorado State while the Cowboys lost their fourth straight, 35-0 at Utah ... UNLV, which plays three of its final four dates on the road, must win all of its remaning games to earn a second consecutive winning season ... The Rebels have posted only three winning seasons in the last 14 years ... UNLV has boasted a 100-yard rusher in five of seven games this fall, including three straight ... The five teams that have defeated UNLV this season have a combined record of 20-13 ... UNLV head coach John Robinson is 2-0 vs. Wyoming in his career ... The Rebels have played in front of seven consecutive crowds larger than 20,000 this season for only the second time in history (1983).

SERIES NOTES

UNLV leads the all-time series 5-4 ... The only other MWC schools that the Rebels have a winning record against are SDSU (6-5) and UNM (5-3) ... The Rebels won the first three games in the series by a total of 13 points ... Wyoming then had a four-game winning streak before 1999's upset victory in Laramie, which gave UNLV its third and final victory of the year during Robinson's first year in Las Vegas ... UNLV's five victories in the series have come by a total of 35 points ... The Rebel-Poke history is a high-scoring one as the winning team has reached at least 32 points in six of the last eight meetings and the average score for the series stands at 31-20 ... Former Rebel QB Jon Denton set a then-NCAA freshman single-game record when he threw for 486 yards vs. the Pokes in 1996.

SERIES RECORD:      UNLV leads 5- 4LAST MEETING:       2000 (UNLV 42-23)UNLV at WYO RECORD: 2-2WYO at UNLV RECORD: 2-3UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 19 (42-23 in 2000)WYO's LARGEST WIN:  24 (45-21 in 1981)
DATE            SITE            RESULT11-11-78    Las Vegas   UNLV, 12-1010-27-79    Laramie         UNLV, 28-2411-8-80         Las Vegas   UNLV, 33-2610-3-81         Laramie         WYO, 45-219-28-96         Las Vegas   WYO, 33-2111-8-97         Laramie         WYO, 35-2310-17-98    Las Vegas   WYO, 28-25 (OT)10-9-99         Laramie         UNLV, 35-3210-21-00    Las Vegas   UNLV, 42-23

UNLV (2-5)
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    W, 27-12O. 13   SAN DIEGO STATE ABC W, 31-3O. 20   COLORADO STATE  KLAS    L, 26-24O. 27   at Wyoming  LV One  3 pm PTN. 3    UTAH            ESPN+ 12 pm PTN. 10   at New Mexico   KLAS    4 pm PTN. 17   at Air Force    TBA TBA
WYOMING (2-5)
Date    Opponent        Result (MT)
S. 1    FURMAN          W, 20-14S. 6    TEXAS A&M   L, 28-20S. 22   at Utah State   W, 43-42S. 29   COLORADO STATE  L, 42-14O. 6    NEW MEXICO  L, 30-29O. 13   at Air Force    L, 24-13O. 20   at Utah         L, 35-0O. 27   UNLV            4 pmN. 10   BYU         TBAN. 17   at San Diego St.TBAN. 24   at Kansas   12 pm
UNLV QUICK FACTS
Location:               Las Vegas, NV  89154Founded:            1957Enrollment:         23,000Nickname:           Rebels (Not Runnin')Colors:             Scarlet & GrayPresident:          Dr. Carol C. HarterDir. of Athletics:  Charles CavagnaroFaculty Representative: Dr. Hal K. RothmanConference:         Mountain WestStadium/Opened:         Sam Boyd/1971Capacity/Surface:   36,800/Natural GrassRecord in Stadium:  114-72-3 (30th season)All-Time Record:    188-184-4 (34th season)All-Time vs. MWC:   24-35-1Head Coach:             John RobinsonRecord at UNLV:         13-18  (.419/3rd year)Record Overall:         117-53-4 (.684/15th year)2000 Record:            8-5/4-3 (T3rd MWC)Offense:        MultipleDefense:        4-3

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

UNLV 42, WYOMING 23

POKES FALL IN LAS VEGAS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE '80

LAS VEGAS -- (Oct. 21, 2000) UNLV (4-3) got touchdowns from six different players and recorded eight sacks as the Rebels won their fourth straight home game in the same season for the first time since 1989 with a 42-23 victory over Wyoming before 19,967 at Sam Boyd Stadium and a SportsWest TV audience. The win, which was the first over Wyoming in Las Vegas since 1980, moved the Rebels above .500 after seven games for the first time since 1994. UNLV saw seven players score six points apiece, including two unusual plays to open the scoring. First, wide receiver Nate Turner took a lateral from quarterback Jason Vaughan, who was making his first start of the season, and hit Bobby Nero for a 33-yard touchdown strike. Just four minutes later, special teams standout Nate Rydalch blocked a Wyoming punt that Kevin Rhaburn recovered in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 UNLV lead. It was the first time UNLV scored on a blocked punt since Mark Byers did it at New Mexico State in 1994. After the Cowboys came back with a Jay Stoner to Nate Scott TD, Jason Thomas, who was overcoming a sprained foot suffered a week earlier, entered the game and promptly led his team on a drive that culminated in a 10-yard Thomas rushing score. A Cowboy field goal made the halftime score 21-10 but a three-yard Kevin Brown TD gave the hosts an 18-point lead. The teams traded scores but UW never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way as UNLV posted its most points since a 55-48 overtime loss to San Jose State on Nov. 22, 1997. The seventh player to reach six points was freshman walk-on kicker Dillon Pieffer, who made all of his extra points in his collegiate debut. Jeremi Rudolph led the Rebel runners with 102 yards on just 11 carries, including a game-long 43 yarder, while Turner caught four balls for 96 yards. CB Kevin Thomas had 10 tackles and DE Anton Palepoi had four of his team's sacks to lead the UNLV defense as the Rebels got to four wins in a season for the first time since 1994 and won their first Homecoming game in three seasons and only fourth in the last 11 years.

REBELATIONS

ON THE OFFENSIVE:

UNLV has scored at least 30 combined points in all four quarters this year but the Rebels' best efforts have come in the fourth period where they have put up 55 points ... The Rebel offensive line has allowed only two sacks in the last three games and only eight in seven games this fall ... UNLV have been successful on fourth down only twice in 12 attempts this season after finishing 7-13 on such plays a year ago ... 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 ... A week after UNLV threw for the second-least yards in school history with 40 vs. Arkansas, Jason Thomas rebounded to toss for a career-high 304 yards and two touchdowns vs. Northwestern. It marked the first 300-yard game for a UNLV quarterback since Jon Denton threw for 401 vs. San Jose State in 1997.

FOR THE DEFENSE:

SDSU's 3 points in Game Six was the lowest total ever allowed by UNLV to a MWC opponent ... The Rebels are tied for seventh in the nation in fumbles recovered with nine ... Sophomore LB Ryan Claridge is among the national leaders with six forced fumbles and is just one behind single-season UNLV record holder Bruce Gray (1970) ... FS Sam Brandon, who had a team-season-high 12 tackles at UNR, has led his team in takedowns in all but two games in 2001 ... Despite missing the last two weeks with a sprained knee, Lombardi Award candidate Anton Palepoi stands fourth in the MWC with 3.5 QB sacks ... 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 and now is the starter on the strong side ... UNLV held Arkansas to only 114 yards in Game One, which broke the school record of 131 yards by Cal State Fullerton in 1983.

SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY:

The Rebels have had two players bring home MWC Special Teams Player of the Week honors this fall as freshman punter Gary Cook earned the title on Oct. 8 after averaging 45.3 yards per kick at UNR and PR Troy Mason earned the award on Oct. 15 after returning two punts longer than 50 yards vs. SDSU ... Despite being perfect in 20 PAT attempts, PK Dillon Pieffer is only 6 of 11 in field goals this season after making 6-7 as a rookie a year ago ... The Rebels have a new kickoff man in the form of import Hubi Schulze Zumkley, a freshman from Herbern, Germany, who took over the duties beginning in Game Four ... Kick 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 first in the MWC in both kickoff returns (1st NCAA with 28.8) and punt returns (15th NCAA with 12.8).

JERSEY JOE

UNLV junior Jersey Joe Haro 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. Haro has had career-best days two weeks in a row as he ran for 136 vs. SDSU and then 146 yards and two touchdowns vs. CSU for his third and fourth century-mark games this fall. With 724 yards, Haro needs 276 yards in the final four games to reach 1,000. It would mark only the sixth 1,000-yard season in UNLV history but the second in two years as former Rebel Jeremi Rudolph rushed for 1,005 in 2000. Haro currently ranks 23rd in the nation and fourth in the MWC with 103.4 yards per game and fifth in the league and 59th in the country in all-purpose yards with 112.9 per game.

PICK ME!

With his two interceptions vs. Nevada, Reno -- the first multiple-interception game of his career -- UNLV preseason All-American cornerback Kevin Thomas moved all the way from 11th into a tie for fifth on the school's career list. The senior then moved all alone into fifth when he had one pick vs. CSU. KT led the squad in 1999 with five interceptions and paced the Rebels again last fall with two and now leads the 2001 team with three. With his next int., the Sacramento, Calif., native will move into a tie for third all-time with former Rebels David Hollis and Patt Medchill.

UNLV CAREER INTERCEPTION LIST
PL  PLAYER (YEARS)                  NO
1.  Marlon Beavers (1973-76)    172.  Charles Jarvis (1978-81)    143.  David Hollis (1983-86)          11    Patt Medchill (1970-72)         115.  Kevin Thomas (1998-PR)           106.  Rodney Mazion (1991-94)         9    Jim Farnham (1970-71)           9

GAME 7 IN REVIEW

COLORADO STATE 26, UNLV 24

HOSTS FUMBLE THROUGH LOSS

LAS VEGAS -- (Oct. 20, 2001) UNLV (2-5) fumbled five times and lost four of them as part of a mistake-filled performance en route to losing to Colorado State (3-5) for the sixth consecutive time, 26-24, in front of 20,049 fans and a SportsWest TV audience. The game began with UNLV punter Gary Cook fumbling a punt attempt and Ram Ameer Lowe running it in four yards for a touchdown. CSU eventually went up 10-0 with a 23-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter. UNLV got back in the game on a bizarre play where a Jason Thomas pass was caught by a falling Michael Johnson, who, laying on his back, flicked the ball in the air to a streaking Troy Mason who ran it in 10 yards for the lateral-aided touchdown. The Rams, who struggled offensively all day, used a trick play for their next score as running back Henri Childs threw a halfback pass to quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, who made his way for a 56-yard score. A botched extra point made the score 16-7 and then UNLV used a short Dillon Pieffer field goal just before halftime to close to within six. To start the third quarter, the Rebels forced a fumble of their own and Joe Haro ran in from 11 yards out to give UNLV its only lead of the day, 17-16. However, Dominique Dorsey's second of his two fumbles would then lead to another CSU field goal. The Rebels would drive 64 yards before stalling and missing a 37-yard field goal attempt that left the score at 19-17. In the fourth quarter, CSU completed its only long drive of the game (11 plays, 80 yards) with a seven-yard Chris Pittman scoring run. UNLV answered with it own 80-yard drive, which was capped by Haro's second score from five yards out to make the score 26-24 with seven minutes remaining. UNLV then got the break it needed on the next Ram drive when Kevin Thomas intercepted Van Pelt in the end zone with more than four minutes left. After a earning a first down at their own 26, the Rebels stalled and were forced to go on fourth and 2. Thomas hit Steven Costa for first down yardage before a crushing Justin Gallimore hit jolted the ball loose for an incompletion. With UNLV using its three timeouts and CSU facing a third and 24 at midfield, the Rebels looked set for another attempt before a personal foul penalty gave the Rams an automatic first down. UNLV would hold again but two Hail Mary attempts went incomplete to close the game and the Rams moved to 3-0-1 all-time vs. UNLV in Las Vegas despite being outrushed (280-164) and outpassed (173-168). The Rebels, who have lost the last two games to the Rams by a combined three points, were led by Haro's career-high 146 yards on 30 carries. CSU's Drew Wood was the defensive star with 18 tackles and two of the team's four fumble recoveries.

CENTURY MARK CENTER

PLAYER          POS ATT-YD  OPPONENT    DATE    RESULT

Jason Thomas QB 27-107 at Iowa State Sept. 9, 2000 L, 37-22 Kevin Brown TB 9-103 NORTH TEXAS Sept. 16, 2000 W, 38-0 Kevin Brown TB 16-104 UNR Oct. 7, 2000 W, 38-7 Jeremi Rudolph TB 13-103 UNR Oct. 7, 2000 W, 38-7 Kevin Brown TB 17-134 at CSU Oct. 14, 2000 L, 20-19 Jeremi Rudolph TB 11-102 WYOMING Oct. 21, 2000 W, 42-23 James Wofford FB 10-138 at Ole Miss Oct. 28, 2000 L, 43-40 (OT) Jeremi Rudolph TB 17-107 at Ole Miss Oct. 28, 2000 L, 43-40 (OT) Jeremi Rudolph TB 16-110 at Utah Nov. 4, 2000 L, 38-16 Jeremi Rudolph TB 19-106 NEW MEXICO Nov. 11, 2000 W, 18-14 Jeremi Rudolph TB 26-159 at Hawaii Dec. 2, 2000 W, 34-32 Kevin Brown TB 19-139 at Hawaii Dec. 2, 2000 W, 34-32 Jason Thomas QB 10-126 at Hawaii Dec. 2, 2000 W, 34-32 Joe Haro TB 24-131 at Arkansas Aug. 28, 2001 L, 14-10 Jason Thomas QB 12-103 at Arkansas Aug. 28, 2001 L, 14-10 Joe Haro TB 25-104 NORTHWESTERN Sept. 7 2001 L, 37-28 Dominique DorseyTB 18-180 at UNR Oct. 6, 2001 W, 27-12 Joe Haro TB 23-136 SDSU Oct. 13, 2001 W, 31-3 Joe Haro TB 30-146 CSU Oct. 20, 2001 L, 26-24

UNLV vs. WYOMING

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) 84 Brad Osterhout (6-4, 245, JR-1L) 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) KO 14 Hubi Schulze Zumkley (6-2, 215, FR-HS) 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 55 Adam Seward (6-2, 235, FR-RS) 13 LaMar Owens (6-2, 235, SR-1L) 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 21 Chameion Sutton (5-11, 180, JR-TR) 41 Ross Dalton (6-3, 205, JR-2L) 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 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L) 1 Bobby Nero (6-1, 180, SR-1L) 34 Joe Haro (5-10, 190, JR-2L)