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UNLV (1-4, 0-1 MOUNTAIN WEST)
vs.
SAN DIEGO ST. (2-3, 1-1 MWC)
DATE:       Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001KICKOFF:    4:07 pm PDTSITE:       Sam Boyd Stadium                (36,800/Natural Grass) Las VegasTV:     ABC                (Sean McDonough, Ed Cunningham)RADIO:      ESPN 920 AM                (Tim Neverett, Tony Cordasco)

GAME PREVIEW

Fresh from earning its first win, UNLV (1-4) looks for its initial MWC victory of the season by hosting San Diego State (2-3) in the school's 34th Homecoming game ... The Rebels hold a 20-13 record in Homecoming games (.606), but have dropped seven of the last 11 traditional events staged at Sam Boyd Stadium ... UNLV is coming off a 27-12 win over in-state rival UNR in what was the Rebels' first victory in Reno since 1979 ... The 15-point win represented UNLV's largest margin of victory on the road since John Robinson's debut game at North Texas in 1999 (26-3) ... SDSU is coming off a 40-7 home win over Eastern Illinois ... Incredibly, the Aztecs will be the first team this season to not have enjoyed a bye week before taking on the Rebels ... The game will be broadcast by ABC TV on a regional basis, marking the Rebels' fourth appearance on a network this season and 11th in the last 19 games ... The four teams that have defeated UNLV this fall have a combined record of 13-6 and two (No. 17 BYU and No. 24 Northwestern) are currently ranked in the coaches' poll ... The 2001 Rebels were the first football team, college or NFL, under Robinson to start the season with four losses.

SERIES NOTES

The series is tied at five victories apiece ... The Aztecs' largest margin of victory in the series came in their last visit, 37-7, in 1999 ... UNLV head coach John Robinson is 1-1 vs. the man who succeeded him after his first stint at USC -- SDSU head coach Ted Tollner ... More than half of the Rebel roster is made up of California products ... Rebels from the San Diego area are WR Michael Johnson (Oceanside/Vista HS), DB Jamal Wynn (National City/Sweetwater HS) and OL Jimy Zoll (Santee/Santana HS) ... The Aztecs list two players from Nevada: redshirt freshman DL Marcus Levi is a graduate of Las Vegas' Western High School and soph. LB Gherardo Fedrigo of Incline Village.

SERIES RECORD:          Tied 5-5LAST MEETING:           2000 (UNLV 31-24)SDSU at UNLV RECORD:    2-2UNLV at SDSU RECORD:    3-3UNLV's LARGEST WIN: 18 (28-10 in 1983)SDSU's LARGEST WIN: 30 (37-7 in 1999)
DATE            SITE            RESULT10-22-77    San Diego   SDSU, 31-710-11-80    San Diego   UNLV, 28-1711-14-81    Las Vegas   SDSU, 38-209-25-82         San Diego   SDSU, 26-2310-27-83    Las Vegas   UNLV, 28-1011-3-84         San Diego   UNLV, 30-1411-16-96    Las Vegas   UNLV, 44-4210-18-97    San Diego  (OT) SDSU, 20-1711-20-99    Las Vegas   SDSU, 37-711-25-00    San Diego   UNLV, 31-24

UNLV (1-4)
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    W, 27-12O. 13   SAN DIEGO STATE ABC 4 pmO. 20   COLORADO STATE  TBA 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
SAN DIEGO STATE (2-3)
Date    Opponent        Result (PT)
A. 30   ARIZONA         L, 23-10S. 8    at Arizona St.  L, 38-7S. 22   at Colorado St. W, 14-7S. 29   AIR FORCE   L, 45-21O. 6    EASTERN ILL.    W, 40-7O. 13   at UNLV         4 pmO. 20   at Ohio State   TBAO. 27   BYU         6 pmN. 3    NEW MEXICO  TBAN. 10   at Utah         TBAN. 17   WYOMING         TBA
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:   113-71-3 (30th season)All-Time Record:     187-183-4 (34th season)All-Time vs. MWC:    23-34-1Head Coach:              John RobinsonRecord at UNLV:          12-17  (.414/3rd year)Record Overall:          116-52-4 (.686/15th year)2000 Record:             8-5/4-3 (T3rd MWC)Offense:         MultipleDefense:         4-3

LAST TIME THEY MET

UNLV 31, SAN DIEGO STATE 24

LATE PICK ENSURES REBELS LIVE ANOTHER DAY

LAS VEGAS -- (Nov. 25, 2000) Sixth-year cornerback Amar Brisco returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown with less than a minute remaining to give UNLV (6-5) a 31-24 victory over San Diego State (3-8) and keep the Rebels' bowl hopes alive. The victory, which broke a seven-game road losing skid, was UNLV's first on the road in the month of November since 1993 and first in San Diego since 1984. The Rebels improved to 4-3 in the Mountain West Conference and secured a third-place league finish behind a strong performance by quarterback Jason Thomas, who established career highs in passing attempts (31), completions (19) and yards (277) to go with two scoring tosses. After a scoreless first quarter in front of a crowd of 17,000 at Qualcomm Stadium and a SportsWest television audience, UNLV broke the ice with a 53-yard touchdown reception by Bobby Nero. The hosts rebounded, however, on their next play from scrimmage when Lon Sheriff hit Derrick Lewis for a 68-yard score. After another long Lewis reception, Jason Van ran in one of his two touchdowns to push the Aztecs' lead to 21-7 with three minutes left in the second quarter. Burned by the big play but not panicked, UNLV quickly drove down field and Thomas found Nate Turner from 16 yards out to make it 21-14 at the break. After a three-and-out by SDSU, UNLV flew down field and tied things with a one-yard Kevin Brown plunge. Aztec kicker Nate Tandberg's 37-yard field goal put his team up 24-21 but Tandberg's subsequent fourth-quarter attempt was blocked by Adrian Watson to keep the lead at three. UNLV earned a first and goal but was forced to use a Dillon Pieffer 27-yard field goal at the three minute mark to tie the game despite the program's 0-4 overtime record. SDSU effectively passed down field and was moving into position for a game-winning field goal when it faced second and six at the UNLV 37. Sheriff threw near the home sideline and Brisco moved in front of the ball and took it all the way to stun the crowd with his second career score and his team's longest intereception return since 1991. Offensively, UNLV was led by Turner's 11 receptions for 158 yards (both career highs) to offset a ground game that picked up only 91 yards. For the hosts, who were held to just three points in the second half, Lewis finished with 153 yards on just three receptions while Sheriff torched UNLV's secondary for 328 yards on just 17 completions -- the most passing yards surrendered by the Rebels since Wyoming threw for 357 on Oct. 17, 1998. The game marked only the seventh time in school history that UNLV rallied to win after being down two touchodwns.

REBELATIONS

ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Rebels completed their first fourth-down conversion of the season at UNR to improve to 1-9 this fall after being 7-13 on such plays a year ago ... UNLV has 17 100-yard rushers in the last 17 regular-season games ... 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 ... A week after UNLV threw for the second-least yards in school history with 40 vs. Arkansas, 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: UNLV is tied with six teams for the national lead in fumbles recovered with nine ... Sophomore LB Ryan Claridge leads the nation with six forced fumbles and is just one behind single-season UNLV record holder Bruce Gray (1970) ... The Rebels have had seven sacks in the last two games ... The defensive line has already contributed six pass breakups this fall ... FS Sam Brandon, who had a team-season-high 12 tackles at UNR, has led his team in takedowns in all but one game in 2001 ... Brandon is tied for fourth in the MWC with 8.6 tackles per game ... Lombardi Award candidate Anton Palepoi stands third 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 ... 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: PK Dillon Pieffer has made three consecutive field goals, including a career-long 41-yarder at UNR last week ... The Rebels have a new kickoff man in the form of import Hubie 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 nation in kickoff return average with 32.24 on 17 attempts ... Freshman Dominique Dorsey leads the nation in kickoff returns with 46.7 on six 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 was the team's fourth different starting punter in as many season openers (1998: Joe Kristosik, 1999: Ryan McDonald, 2000: Ray Cheetany).

NOW WE'RE COOK-ING

Rookie punter Gary Cook was named Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for UNLV's first honor of the season Monday. Cook, out of Truckee, Calif., may be the Rebels' most improved player since the season opener. After kicking for no better than a 35.5-yard average in his first three games as a collegian, Cook hit for 39.8 vs. BYU in Game Four and then, on Saturday at UNR, totaled a career-high 45.3 on six attempts. His day featured four boots 42 yards or longer, including a career-long 64-yarder. Cook's other two kicks pinned the Pack inside its own 20, including at the 9 with under two minutes remaining. Cook is the third punter in school history to win such a conference kudo joining Ray Cheetany on Oct. 9 last season and Joe Kristosik playing in the WAC in 1998 (Sept. 28 and Oct. 12). He is the first UNLV freshman to be honored by his league since quarterback Jon Denton in 1996.

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 currently ranks 43rd in the nation and fifth in the MWC with 88.4 yards per game.

TAKE A PEEK AT NEEK

Diminutive UNLV tailback Dominique (pronounced dom-in-NEEK) Dorsey is creating a sensation in Las Vegas. The 5-foot-6-inch, 165-pound true freshman did not even play in the season's first game but has since exploded into a versatile gridiron weapon. Dorsey, who joins former Tulare (Calif.) Union High School teammate and starting fullback Steven Costa in the Rebel backfield, gained 18 yards on his first career carry vs. Northwestern and then minutes later returned his first kickoff 87 yards. He has since returned six total kicks and skyrocketed to No. 1 in the nation with a 46.7-yard average. Dorsey broke out of the backfield vs. BYU when he gained 77 yards on 14 carries and scored his first two TDs. Then, still coming off of the bench at Nevada, Reno, "Little D" rolled up 180 yards on just 18 carries, including a career-long 56-yarder and another score. He currently ranks seventh in the MWC and 60th in the nation with 75 yards per game and is third in the league and 18th among I-A players in all-purpose yardage with a 145-yard average.

DORSEY BY THE NUMBERS

Dominique Dorsey's 180 yards at UNR in Game Five represented the second-best total in school history by a freshman runner. Also, his 301 net rushing yards already put him eighth on UNLV's single-season list. He needs just 110 more yards to break the top five and 324 in the final six games to break James Wofford's record set four years ago. Also, Neek's performance on kickoff returns not only puts him atop the national list, but also has helped his team reach No. 1.

UNLV SINGLE-SEASON
FRESHMAN RUSHING
PL  YDS PLAYER           YEAR
1.  624 James Wofford    19972.  483 Omar Love    19923.  437 Tommy Jackson    19874.  433 Willie Russell   19755.  411 Michael Morton   19786.  404 Kirk Jones   19837.  317 Matt Wills   19918.  301 Dominique Dorsey 2001
UNLV SINGLE-GAME
FRESHMAN RUSHING
PL  YDS PLAYER           OPP, YEAR
1.  221 Heny Melton      N.M. Highlands, 19742.  180 Dominique Dorsey UNR, 20013.  170 James Wofford    SJSU, 19974.  145 Michael Morton   BYU, 19785.  144 Omar Love    SJSU, 1992

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Dominique Dorsey is not the only Rebel rookie to already make an impact in 2001. Highly touted WR recruit Earvin Johnson earned his first catch vs. NU and currently has four grabs for 59 yards while 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. On special teams, Gary Cook has earned the team's starting punting job while Hubie Schulze Zumkley is the squad's new kickoff man. On defense, redshirt LB and newly installed starter Adam Seward is seventh on the team with 18 tackles and had his first career sack at UNR. Redshirt DB Jamaal Brimmer has 11 tackles while Zach Bell (six) and Ruschard Dodd-Masters (four) also are contributing.

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 with former Rebels Rodney Mazion and Jim Farnham on the school's career interception list. The senior led the squad in 1999 with five picks and paced the Rebels again last fall with two and now leads the 2001 team. With his next interception, the Sacramento, Calif., native will be all alone in fifth and just one out of a tie for third.

UNLV CAREER INTERCEPTION LIST
PL  PLAYER (YEARS)                  NO1.  Marlon Beavers (1973-76)    172.  Charles Jarvis (1978-81)    143.  David Hollis (1983-86)          11    Patt Medchill (1970-72)         115.  Kevin Thomas (1998-PR)           9    Rodney Mazion (1991-94)     9    Jim Farnham (1970-71)           98.  Alvin Horn (1984-86)            8    Aaron Mitchell (1977-78)    8    Jim Thompson (1968-69)          8

GAME 5 IN REVIEW

UNLV 27, UNR 12

CANNON STAYS RED WITH WIN UP NORTH

RENO -- (Oct. 6, 2001) UNLV won in Reno for the first time since 1979 with a come-from-behind 27-12 victory over in-state rival UNR in front of 24,238 fans at Mackay Stadium and a SportsWest TV audience. The Rebels earned their first win of the season by rushing for 313 yards and converting two turnovers into 10 points. UNLV avoided starting a season 0-5 for only the third time in history despite being shut out in the first half. After UNLV threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, UNR was held to a 25-yard Damon Fine field goal. The teams bungled through most of the remainder of the half, including the Rebels' fumbling at the UNR six after a 73-yard drive. However, the Wolf Pack struck again on the final play of the second quarter as Fine booted a school-record-tying 58-yard field goal, which was the second-longest ever kicked against UNLV. UNR opened the third quarter with a long drive that was thwarted by a rare 30-yard penalty for two late hits. The fouls moved the Pack from the Rebel 13 back to the 43 and a subsequent field-goal attempt failed. Down 6-0, UNLV was finally awakened by the running of Dominique Dorsey as the freshman's 56-yard scamper set up a four-yard Haro TD run and gave the visitors their first lead. UNR QB David Neill, who began the game 0-10 on pass attempts, was intercepted on the next drive by Kevin Thomas and the preseason All-American cornerback returned it 25 yards. UNLV QB Jason Thomas, who only passed for 80 yards on the day, rushed for 35 to help his team reach the UNR 10 before a Dillon Pieffer field goal made the score 10-6. UNLV's next possession was capped by a nine-yard Dorsey TD run that made it 17-6 to begin the fourth quarter. With Neill knocked out of the game with an injury, UNR was sparked by QB Zac Threadgill, who moved his team down field and into the end zone, which pulled the Pack to within 17-12 after a failed two-point conversion attempt. Looking to ice the game, UNLV drove to the UNR 24 but had to settle for a 41-yard Pieffer field goal. Down by only eight, UNR failed to move the ball and Kevin Thomas earned his ninth career pick and returned it to the three with 13 seconds remaining. Jason Thomas ran the ball in from there for the day's final points. Dorsey finished with 180 yards on just 18 carries while UNR was paced by Chance Krestschemer as the WAC's leading rusher put up 163 yards on 23 carries. Defensively, Sam Brandon led the way with 12 tackles and three sacks were spread among the defense. The win broke a seven-game losing streak in Reno and marked the first time UNLV downed its northern neighbor in successive seasons for the first time since 1976-77. UNR, however, still leads the all-time series 15-12. The Rebels, who improved to 3-0 on artificial turf under Robinson, won a game after being shut out in the first half for the first time since a 23-22 victory at New Mexico on Sept. 21, 1991.

UNLV vs. SDSU
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)    6   Dominique Dorsey (5-6, 165, FR-HS)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  Hubie 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  6   Dominique Dorsey (5-6, 165, FR-HS)    86  Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L)    34  Joe Haro (5-10, 190, JR-2L)