Oct. 17, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes
UNLV Post-Game Notes#24 UtahOct. 17, 2009
UNLV dropped its fourth straight game in falling to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the MWC. Utah improved to 13-2 all-time vs. the Rebels.
In suffering their eighth consecutive Homecoming defeat, the Rebels fell to 21-21 all-time in the traditional affairs.
UNLV dropped to 5-25 all-time vs. ranked opponents, including 1-14 at home.
UNLV senior WR Ryan Wolfe's six catches left him just three short of the all-time Mountain West Conference record of 262 set by San Diego State's J.R. Tolver in 1999-2002.
Wolfe also moved up five spots to tie with three other players for 23rd in NCAA FBS history with his 259 career grabs (Wes Welker of Texas Tech, Michael Thomas of Arizona and Marcus Harris of Wyoming).
Omar Clayton saw his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass stopped at 14 games. That was just one shy of MWC record-holder John Beck's 15-game streak set with BYU in 2005-06 and four short of Jon Denton's UNLV record set in 1996-97.
Clayton's 223-yard night did move him up spot to No. 7 on UNLV's career passing list with 3,971 in just 22 career games as a Rebel.
LB Nate Carter had a game-high 11 tackles, which marked the Las Vegas native's career high.
Senior P/PK Kyle Watson had another outstanding night. The former transfer from Texas Southern hit all three of his field goals (21, 26 and 37) and punted four times for a 46.2-yard average.
Reserve QB Mike Clausen threw his fourth touchdown pass of the season and the ninth of his career when he found Phillip Payne from 11 yards out. It was Payne's fourth score of the year and 11th for his young career.
UNLV forced five Ute fumbles and recovered two of them.
The Rebels posted nine more first downs than the Utes (23-14) while both teams finished with extacly 327 yards.
UNLV honored what was arguably its greatest-ever team at the game as the 1984 Rebels held a reunion and were recognized on the field after the first quarter. That squad, led by All-American QB/P Randall Cunningham, went 11-2 overall, took the PCAA title with a 7-0 mark and won the school's first-ever bowl trip over Toledo in the California Bowl.
