Sept. 7, 2001
Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Quotes
UNLV vs. NORTHWESTERN
Sept. 7, 2001
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Game time temperature was 92 degrees on a special Friday game at 5 p.m.
Jason Thomas' second-quarter three-yard touchdown run marked the ninth time in his first 13 regular-season games that he ran for at least one score. He now has 12 in his career, which puts him second all-time among UNLV quarterbacks, eight behind Glenn Carano's school-record 20 rushing TDs from 1973-76.
Joe Haro's 10-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter was the junior's first career score. He finished with 104 yards to post back-to-back century-mark rushing efforts.
Northwestern snapped UNLV's six-game home winning streak. The last time UNLV lost at home was a 35-17 defeat at the hands of Colorado State on Nov. 27, 1999.
The Rebels started the season 0-2 for the first time since 1998, when the school finished 0-11.
UNLV QB Jason Thomas threw for a career-high 304 yards, which marked the first time a Rebel threw for more than 300 yards since Jon Denton threw for 401 vs. San Jose State on Nov. 22, 1997.
The season-opening crowd of 26,721 was the 10th-largest in UNLV history at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was the biggest home opener since 1997 vs. Hawaii.
UNLV WR Michael Johnson finished with 174 yards receiving on eight catches, which marked the 14th-most and most since Len Ware had 200 vs. San Diego State in 1996.
NU GAME NOTES
NU quarterback Zak Kustok extended his string of passes without an interception to 237. During that string, Kustok has thrown nine touchdown passis.
J.J. Standring's 63-yard punt in the second quarter was the second longest of his career. His previous career best came his freshman year, a 68-yarder vs. UNLV.
Kustok set a career high with three rushing TD's. He also threw for two.
Damien Anderson became the Wildcats' all-time rusher with 113 yards. He now has 3841 yards for his career. He previous record holder was Darnell Autry (1994-96), who totaled 3793 yards.
Anderson's streak of consecutive carries without a fumble came to an end at 318. Anderson suffered his first lost fumble since 1999 in the first quarter.
NU's offense, which ranked third nationally in scoring last year (36.8 ppg), reached double figures for the 13th straight game.
NU receiver Sam Simmons set a career best with 161 receiving yards. He also totaled 11 receptions, the second-most for his career. Simmons caught 12 passes for 124 yards and 1 TD last year vs. Michigan.
