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UNLV (0-1, 0-0 MOUNTAIN WEST)
vs.
NORTHWESTERN (0-0, 0-0 BIG TEN)
DATE: Friday, Sept. 7, 2001KICKOFF: 5:06 pm PDTSITE: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800/Grass)TV: ESPNRADIO: ESPN 920 AM
GAME PREVIEW
UNLV (0-1) will open its 34th home season of football by welcoming Big Ten Conference favorite Northwestern (0-0, ranked 20th by USA TODAY/ESPN & 16th by AP last week) in a special Friday matchup that will be televised nationally by ESPN ... Northwestern is the first ranked team to play UNLV since No. 19 BYU on Oct. 23, 1999 ... At No. 16 in the latest AP poll, the Wildcats are the highest-ranked team to play the Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium since No. 8 Kansas State came to town on Nov. 26, 1994 ... UNLV will look for only its second victory ever over a ranked opponent and first at home. The Rebels shocked No. 8 BYU 45-41 on Oct. 10, 1981, in Provo ... On Friday, UNLV will attempt to win its seventh consecutive home game for the first time since putting together an 11-game streak at SBS in 1978-79 ... All-time, UNLV is 22-11 in home openers (.667), including 1-1 under head coach John Robinson ... The Rebels opened last season's home slate with a 38-0 whitewash of North Texas ... Robinson is 11-3 in home openers during his career at USC and UNLV. He is 1-0 vs. Northwestern as his Trojans downed the Wildcats 41-32 in the memorable 1996 Rose Bowl ... Special guest Blue Man Group from the Luxor hotel will perform Friday's national anthem ... With another Friday night affair ahead vs. CSU, UNLV will not play on a Saturday until Game Four at Arizona ... UNLV did not receive votes in the coaches' poll this week. In the preseason polls, the Rebels were ranked 37th by AP and 43rd by the coaches. Last week, UNLV dropped two spots in the AP and moved up one place in the coaches' rankings ... Northwestern is the second of three consecutive UNLV opponents who are coming off seasons in which they played in the postseason as Arkansas played in the Las Vegas Bowl, NU in the Alamo and CSU in the Liberty. Overall, the Rebels will face four bowl teams in 2001 as they close the regular season at Silicon Valley Classic winner Air Force.
UNLV (0-1)
Date Opponent TV Result
A. 30 at Arkansas ESPN L, 14-10S. 7 NORTHWESTERN ESPN 5 pmS. 14 COLORADO STATE ESPN 5 pmS. 22 at Arizona KFBT 7 pmS. 29 BYU ABC 4 pmO. 6 at Nevada, Reno KLAS 1 pmO. 13 SAN DIEGO STATE ABC 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
NORTHWESTERN (0-0)
Date Opponent Time (CT)S. 7 at UNLV 3 pmS. 15 NAVY 12 pmS. 22 at Duke 5 pmS. 29 MICHIGAN STATE TBAO. 6 at Ohio State 6:45 pmO. 13 MINNESOTA 11 amO. 20 PENN STATE TBAO. 27 at Purdue TBAN. 3 at Indiana TBAN. 10 IOWA TBAN. 22 at Illinois 12 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: 113-69-3 (30th season)All-Time Record: 186-180-4 (34th season)All-Time vs. MWC: 23-33-1Head Coach: John RobinsonRecord at UNLV: 11-14 (.440/3rd year)Record Overall: 115-49-4 (.696/15th year)2000 Record: 8-5/4-3 (T3rd MWC)Offense: MultipleDefense: 4-3
SERIES NOTES
UNLV and Northwestern have met only once as the Wildcats crushed UNLV 41-7 on Sept. 5, 1998, in what was the opener of Jeff Horton's final season coaching the Rebels ... Horton now regularly faces the Wildcats as quarterbacks coach for Wisconsin ... Northwestern is one of only two Big Ten teams to take on the Rebels ... UNLV is 1-3 vs. the Big Ten: 1-2 vs. Wisconsin and 0-1 vs. NU ... The school's lone win vs. the league came in a 17-7 home victory over the Badgers in 1986 ... The Wildcats have played four of the eight MWC teams: 2-2 vs. Air Force, 1-1 vs. Utah and 1-0 vs. Wyoming and UNLV ... This game marks only the third time ever that NU travels to a MWC-school campus as the Wildcats split two games at Air Force, winning 14-10 in 1994 and losing 62-27 in 1988 at Falcon Stadium ... The Rebels have played three other teams from the Land of Lincoln: 0-3 vs. Northern Illinois (1987, '89, '95), 1-1 vs. Western Illinois (1972, '77) and 1-0 vs. Illinois State (1997) ... UNLV and NU have met once in men's basketball with the Rebels winning 101-95 on Dec. 20, 1977. In its relatively brief history as a football program, UNLV is believed to have played 11 teams ranked in at least one of the two major polls at the time of the game:
RANK OPP RESULT DATENo. 2 at Tennessee L, 62-3 8-31-96No. 8 KANSAS ST. L, 42-3 11-26-94No. 8 at BYU W, 45-41 10-10-81No. 9 at Nebraska L, 48-6 10-1-88No. 10 SMU L, 38-21 12-1-84No. 12 BYU L, 54-14 11-29-80No. 14 at Wisconsin L, 52-7 8-19-98No. 19 at BYU L, 63-28 10-12-96No. 19 BYU L, 29-0 10-23-99No. 19 BYU L, 27-0 9-2-82No. 22 at Clemson L, 24-14 9-4-93
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
NORTHWESTERN 41, UNLV 7
EVANSTON, ILL -- (Sept. 5, 1998) Northwestern preseason All-America wide receiver D'Wayne Bates had nine receptions for 156 yards and two scores as the Wildcats (1-0) scored 31 straight points in just over two quarters to defeat UNLV (0-1) 41-7. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools and NU was only the second Big Ten team to ever take on UNLV. The Rebels fell to 16-15 in season debuts and just 3-10 on the road in opening games. UNLV, which would finish with just eight first downs and 35 yards rushing, fought toe-to-toe early as the Cats held just a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. Then, after a NU score, UNLV's fifth-year senior quarterback Kevin Crook, making his fourth career start, hit Lenny Ware for a 77-yard touchdown to pull his team to within 10-7. That would mark the only scoring for the visitors, however, as the Cats went on to post their most points in a season opener since 1962. Ware led the Rebels with 136 yards on eight catches while senior Damon Williams broke the UNLV record for career receptions by grabbing five balls for an all-time total of 161.
GAME 1 IN REVIEW
ARKANSAS 14, UNLV 10
REBELS LET HOGS OFF HOOK
LITTLE ROCK -- (Aug. 30, 2001) Despite holding its opponent to record-low offensive numbers, UNLV (0-1) allowed Arkansas (1-0) to score a game-winning last-minute touchdown and capture a 14-10 victory in the season opener for both schools. Playing its earliest game in history, UNLV took on the Hogs in a rematch of last season's Las Vegas Bowl, which the Rebels won 31-14. UNLV fell to 17-17 all time in season openers and just 4-12 in lid lifters away from home. Playing on ESPN for the first time since 1994, the Rebels fell to 5-3 in Thursday games. The Razorbacks snapped UNLV's four-game losing streak despite earning its first first down other than by penalty midway in the fourth quarter. Set up by a 39-yard punt return by Troy Mason, Dillon Pieffer opened the scoring with a 27-yard field gaol in the first quarter. The Rebels then converted an interception into a six-yard touchdown shuttle pass from Jason Thomas to Jabari Johnson. Arkansas finally got on the board in the third quarter with a 45-yard interception return for a score to make it 10-7. UNLV, wasted a 53-yard run by Thomas and then a 68-yard scamper by Joe Haro by missing two 29-yard field-goal attempts that would have iced the game. Still leading by three with under two minutes remaining, just-inserted UNLV punter Ryan McDonald bobbled a snap and was tackled for 10-yard loss at his own 49. With no timeouts remaining, UA quarterback Ryan Sorahan completed two fourth-down pass attempts and then hit Richard Smith for 23 yards before Cedric Cobbs romped in from a yard out for the improbable winning score. Haro led all rushers with 131 yards on 24 carries while Thomas netted 103 for his third career century-mark game. JT struggled through the air, however, completing a school-record low four passes in 16 attempts for 40 yards and three interceptions. The hosts, who were 0-15 on third down, managed only five total first downs and earned just 26 yards on 25 attempts en route to being out-gained in total yards, 298-114.
REBELATIONS
ON THE OFFENSIVE: When RB Joe Haro gained 131 yards and QB Jason Thomas 103 at Arkansas, it marked the fourth time in the last nine games that the Rebels boasted two players over the century mark ... UNLV has now featured 15 100-yard rushers in the last 13 regular-season games ... The Rebels threw for the second-fewest passing yard total in a game with 40 (the record is 39 at Baylor in 1988) ... The squad's 4-of-16 passing also tied the school record for least completions in school history (also set at Baylor) ... When Thomas took his place under center at Arkansas it marked the first time that UNLV started the same quarterback for two consecutive season openers since Jon Denton did it in 1996-97.
FOR THE DEFENSE: UNLV is ranked fourth in the nation in total defense after holding the Hogs to 114 yards, 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 10th consecutive game at Arkansas, which only gained 26 yards on 25 attempts ... The Rebels shut out a road opponent in the first half for the first time since blanking New Mexico State on Nov. 14, 1987 ... Counting the second half of last year's Las Vegas Bowl, Arkansas only scored one offensive touchdown in its last six quarters vs. UNLV ... Thanks to a Anton Palepoi pass deflection, Shanga Wilson hauled in his first career interception, which led to UNLV's only touchdown.
SPECIAL (TEAMS) DELIVERY: Troy Mason, who ranked seventh in the nation a year ago with a punt return average of 16.4, picked up right where he left off as he returned four Arkansas kicks for an average of 15.3, which ranks him 12th nationally ... New kickoff returner Joe Haro only got one ball to return at Little Rock but took it back 34 yards ... 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).
IT'S A FACT: STAFF INTACT
UNLV's assistant coaching staff returned unchanged in 2001, which marked the first time UNLV saw every come back since 1985 when the Rebels were coming off a California Bowl victory. There was one significant title change, however, as offensive line coach Rob Boras earned the additional title of offensive coordinator, though John Robinson will continue to call the plays. Entering the 2001 season, Boras was the third-youngest coordinator from either side of the ball in all of Divison I-A.
YOUNGEST DIVISION I-A COORDINATORS
RK COACH SCHOOL AGE POSITION 1. Tyrone Nix Southern Miss 28 Defensive 2. Bill Lazor Buffalo 29 Offensive 3. Rob Boras UNLV 30 Offensive 4. Matt Eberflus Missouri 31 Defensive Jon Wauford Miami (Ohio) 31 Defensive Bill O'Brien Georgia Tech 31 Offensive 7. Mark Hudspeth Navy 32 Offensive Al Golden Virginia 32 Defensive 9. Rob Chudzinski Miami (Fla.) 33 Offensive John Milligan Central Mich. 33 Defensive Butch Jones Central Mich. 33 Offensive Bill Musgrave Virginia 33 Offensive
PAC-10 EAST? Under the guidance of former USC head coach John Robinson, UNLV has attracted no less than eight former Pac-10 Conference players to the roster. Jason Thomas, Deon Burnett, Larry Croom, Matt Harris and now-former Rebel Kevin Brown transferred directly from their respective schools while the remaining three came to Las Vegas after stops at junior colleges. Burnett, Croom and Harris must sit out 2001 and will be eligible to play in 2002. Two other D-I transfers sitting out at UNLV this season are former Iowa State linebacker Tyrone Tucker and former Alabama defensive back Connie Brown.
PLAYER POSITION PAC-10 SCHOOL
Kevin Brown* Running Back Washington State Deon Burnett# Running Back Washington State Larry Croom# Running Back Arizona Matt Harris# Quarterback USC Jabari Johnson Running Back Washington Bobby Nero Wide Receiver Oregon Jason Thomas Quarterback USC Shanga Wilson Linebacker Arizona *Exhausted eligibility in 2000 #Eligible in 2002
UNLV vs. NORTHWESTERN
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)SLB 37 Scott Parkhurst (6-3, 245, SR-1L) 13 LaMar Owens (6-2, 235, SR-1L)MLB 49 Ryan Claridge (6-3, 245, SO-1L) 55 Adam Seward (6-2, 235, FR-RS)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) 15 Joe Hunter (6-0, 175, FR-RS)
REBEL SPECIALISTS
P 16 Gary Cook (5-11, 180, FR-HS) 17 Ryan McDonald (5-10, 185, SO-1L)PR 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L)KR 34 Joe Haro (5-10, 190, JR-2L 86 Troy Mason (5-10, 170, JR-2L)
