If plans call to build another roller coaster on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, designers need look no further than UNLV's football season for a state-of-the-art blueprint.
With enough chills and thrills for any good heart-thumping amusement ride, the Rebels of 2002 experienced repeated lows almost directly followed by extreme highs - and even played in a haunted house where darkness fell.
In fact, when the ride ended with a 5-7 overall record and 3-4 Mountain West Conference mark, the standings simply teased a team with obvious talent that there could have been so much more.
"We showed flashes of success but ultimately didn't do the things you have to do to win consistently," Head Coach John Robinson said of his fourth season at the school. "We had cracks in many of the statistical categories that decide games - the turnovers, passing percentage, the return game. Sure, we led the conference in total offense (410 YPG) but we also made enough errors to keep us from cashing in (minus-7 in turnover margin)."
Interest was high enough to bring ESPN2 to town for a GAME ONE national broadcast for the first-ever Rebel home game in the month of August. Visiting was No. 25 Wisconsin along with its rabid fan base, which helped pump Sam Boyd Stadium full of enough people (42,075 of them) to set a state record for a team sporting event. What transpired was a poor, turnover-marred, performance by the home team that was quickly trumpeted by the most bizarre finish in school history.
With UNLV senior quarterback Jason Thomas accounting for four turnovers himself, the Badgers built a 27-7 bulge when the teams played lights out - literally. A car accident blew a nearby power transformer and the stadium was plunged into darkness. With ESPN2 knocked off the air, emergency lighting was not enough to keep the two head coaches from calling the game final even though 7:41 would have remained on a working clock.
"We felt it was in the best interest of the student-athletes to call it," Robinson said. "Waiting was not going to be a positive thing. We did not function well, there were so many errors that we blew it. We just absolutely destroyed ourselves with mistakes."
With the lights back on at the Boyd, the first-ever meeting between Kansas and UNLV took place in the form of GAME TWO, which marked the first time the Rebels opened with two straight at home since 1992. Just one week after playing so sloppily against UW, the Rebels did not commit a turnover in what was the school's first game not televised since mid-2000 (ending a school-record 17-game streak). Indeed, the hosts played conservatively and dominated on the ground 291 yards to 69. To wit, the Rebels used short touchdown runs by Joe Haro and Thomas to take a 14-0 lead before the Jayhawks closed to 14-10 at halftime, which was highlighted by a Tribute To America in anticipation of the approaching September 11 anniversary. UNLV, behind Haro's 105 yards on 14 carries, pulled away to build a 31-10 lead before KU made the game seem closer by posting two scores in the last six minutes. The 31-20 final marked the program's second win over a Big 12 Conference opponent in 10 outings.
Back on national TV for GAME THREE, UNLV kicked off Superstation TBS' re-entry into college football by traveling to Oregon State for the first-ever meeting on any level between Robinson and Beaver coach Dennis Erickson. OSU, which was 0-11 vs. Robinson teams and 0-3 vs. UNLV all-time, raced to a stunning 37-0 first-half lead and coasted home with a 47-17 bashing.
This time, the free-fall would continue. Playing at Toledo for the first time, UNLV was ambushed in GAME FOUR before a sold out Glass Bowl by the talented Rockets in the schools' first meeting since the 1984 California Bowl. The Rebels, who were traveling further East than at any time since the 1993 season, played a sickly first half for the second consecutive game. Falling behind 24-0, they would never get closer than 17 points. Despite the misleading stats (UNLV oddly had more first downs, rushing and passing yards), UT scored at least one touchdown in each quarter and enjoyed a 38-21 finish en route to earning a bid to the Motor City Bowl.
Robinson, who for the first time took no post-game questions from the media, instead stated his frustrations while putting his players on notice: "We're going to start over and rebuild this football team."
Seemingly lifeless at 1-3, the embarrassed Rebels got off the mat just in time to ward off their in-state rival Nevada, Reno in GAME FIVE. Haro scored a rushing TD for the sixth consecutive game, which was just one short of the Rebel record and junior RB Larry Croom caught six passes for 114 yards out of the H-back spot and won the game with a 45-yard catch-and-run late in the fourth to make it 21-17. UNLV, in fact, used The Battle for the Fremont Cannon to earn its leader his 200th career coaching victory (college and pro combined). "I've had some big ones," Robinson said in a jubilant locker room. "But none bigger than this because of the circumstances. Because people counted us out as dead."
The slow climb for UNLV ended abruptly when it lost a seventh consecutive conference opener in GAME SIX in a closer-than-it sounds 25-16 homecoming defeat. UNM's defense scored 10 points while UNLV saw 10 points taken off the board because of penalties. Third-string Lobo quarterback Justin Millea, who completed only 2-of-8 pass attempts after being pushed into the start, improbably became the first player to rush for 100 yards against UNLV in nine games. He gained nearly half of his 148 yards on one play when he scrambled out of trouble and raced for a back-breaking 73-yard touchdown. The Rebels, who gave up an early interception for a touchdown, pulled to within five with nearly 10 minutes left. However, UNLV saw its two-point conversion attempt returned for a score for the first time in school history and then surrendered a safety to hand UNM the game's last four points.
The wild ride made a sharp ascent just one week later during GAME SEVEN in an unlikely location - Provo, Utah. UNLV, which had only defeated BYU once in history, not only upset the Cougars but held them to their lowest scoring output at home since 1971. In what was BYU head coach Gary Crowton's first career defeat at Edwards Stadium, a hard-fought first half ended tied 3-3. Behind the crisp passing and nifty running of Thomas, the Rebels scored the game's first touchdown. Holding a tenuous lead, UNLV's defense took over. Sophomore safety Jamaal Brimmer hammered QB Matt Berry on a ferocious blitz, forced a fumble, scooped it up and ran untouched for a 27-yard score with over 10 minutes remaining. Seven minutes later, Chameion Sutton stepped in front of a Cougar pass attempt and took it in from 38 yards out to stretch the lead to 24-3. The stunned stadium, filled with 62,534 fans, represented the biggest crowd UNLV had ever won before.
"It was really an amazing defensive play," Robinson said of Brimmer's gem. "It's a team victory, and the team is celebrating. We've got five more to go and who in the hell knows what's going to happen from week to week?"
That sentiment continued in GAME EIGHT when a night of big plays tilted in favor of host San Diego State. After an 81-yard fumble return by Jamal Wynn gave the Rebels a 14-10 halftime lead, the Aztecs rallied to score two third-quarter touchdowns in less than four minutes. An 87-yard punt return for a score, which was the first such return allowed by UNLV since 1993, was the game-changer in a 31-21 final.
Returning home to lick their wounds, the Rebels found themselves in a true Wild West shootout in GAME NINE. UNLV built a big lead behind the legs of Thomas, whose three - count them, THREE -- rushing touchdowns in the first quarter alone set a school record. In what became the highest scoring contest ever between MWC schools, the two QBs put on a show. Cowpoke Casey Bramlett threw for 453 yards and five TDs while Thomas set career highs for passing yards (329), completions (20) and completion percentage (80 percent). After UW tied the game on a successful Hail Mary and then sent the game into overtime by getting a two-point conversion, the Pokes scored first in the extra session, but missed the crucial extra point. UNLV went for the jugular as Thomas hit a streaking Steven Costa for a beautiful 25-yard score on its first play in OT. Dillon Pieffer's extra point gave the Rebels their first overtime win in five all-time tries, 49-48.
The ride went south again in GAME 10 when Utah continued its dominance over a seemingly groggy UNLV in a 28-17 decision. The Rebels have never won in six games played in Salt Lake City and the Utes have outscored them 160-61 in four MWC meetings.
Staring at a 4-6 overall record, the Rebels were faced with having to win their final two games to make a bowl game - a daunting task considering both dates were with postseason contenders. GAME 11 against Air Force appeared more promising simply because a homestanding UNLV was looking for its third straight win over the Falcons. After the annual Senior Day festivities, the hosts started strong with two Thomas scoring passes that translated into a 14-7 second-quarter lead. Oddly, AFA used the passing game to move ahead and UNLV fumbles on back-to-back-to-back series, including one into the end zone, stalled any comeback. The Rebels pulled to within a field goal but fumbled yet again - this time on fourth-and-one at mid-field - to open the floodgates in the 49-32 final.
After a rare late-November off-week, the Rebel coaster got back on track and made one more unexpectedly glorious climb in Fort Collins, Colo., during GAME 12.
With Thomas sidelined at the last minute because of a foot injury, junior QB Kurt Nantkes made his second career start and ended up leading his team to a 36-33 stunner over MWC champ Colorado State. The Rebels knocked off the 13th-ranked Rams with a furious rushing attack and timely passing game. CSU, which was looking to go undefeated in the league, jumped out to leads of 9-0 and 19-7 in the first half but could not stop the Rebel runners, who totaled 390 yards on only 43 carries. That group was led by Croom, who exploded with 222 yards on just 20 carries to break a 20-year-old school record for per-carry average (11.0). CSU eventually regrouped and corralled a 36-30 lead with four minutes remaining before Croom and budding star Earvin Johnson (career-high 12 catches for 132 yards) marched their team down field to set up a perfect Nantkes-to-DeJhown Mandley 29-yard scoring pass with 46 seconds left. Pieffer's ensuing extra-point attempt was blocked, which broke his streak at a UNLV-record-tying 45 and meant he failed to become the first MWC kicker to have a perfect PAT season. Needing only a field goal to force overtime, CSU set up for a big kick return but instead saw Rebel special team standout Derek Olsen strip the ball and younger brother David Olsen recover it to seal the win.
"The year was a disappointment and we were frustrated about our up and down performance," Robinson said. "But we all left Fort Collins with the feeling that yes, there is the kind of athlete at UNLV that can win against a good team."
Although the ride ended a few clicks short of the postseason, there were plenty of honors to go around. UNLV received a nice surprise when Brimmer was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year by every major outlet, including the league's official list voted on by the head coaches. Adam Seward, who led the conference in tackles with 133, made the media's top team and another consensus first-teamer, offensive lineman Tony Terrell, made UNLV history when his years of community service and campus involvement were rewarded with a spot on the prestigious 11-man American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team.
Haro's 813 yards allowed him to become the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 yards in a career (2,013) while co-offensive team MVP Thomas finished second in total offense with 6,525 yards in three years as a Rebel. Two months later, he became the first UNLV quarterback since Randall Cunningham in 1984 to take snaps in a postseason all-star event when he played at the East-West Shrine Game.
While no players were selected in the NFL Draft, five Rebels immediately signed free-agent contracts with different teams: Thomas (Jets and then Falcons), FB Costa (Colts), Terrell (Chargers), Mandley (Dolphins) and Troy Mason (49ers).
2002 UNLV FOOTBALL AWARDS
Co-Most Valuable Player - Offense Joe Haro, TB, SR & Jason Thomas, QB, SRMost Valuable Player - Defense Tyrone Tucker, LB, SRRene Arceneaux Scholarship Award DeJhown Mandley, TE, SRRobert Cline Scholarship Award Connie Brown, DB, SRJack Gilmore Coaches Award Eddie Freas, OL, SRMost Inspirational Award Tony Terrell, OL, SRJohn Robinson Man of the Year Joe Haro, RB, SR"Doc" Tobler Senior Award Tony Terrell, OL, SRScholar-Athlete of the Year Toby Smeltzer, WR, SRCaptains Award Tony Terrell, OL, SR Joe Haro, RB, SR Tyrone Tucker, LB, SR
