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By W.G. Ramierez
Special to UNLVRebels.com

LAS VEGAS -- Both UNLV and San Jose State needed big plays in what turned out to be a wild finish in the Rebels' Mountain West Conference home opener Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

As it turned out, the Spartans got one more than the Rebels and escaped with a 33-27 overtime victory against UNLV.

After quarterback Kenny Potter connected with running back Tyler Ervin on 4th down and 10 for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:08 left in regulation, Spartans defensive end Isaiah Irving blocked a 43-yard field-goal attempt on the first overtime series.

From there, it was all Ervin, as SJSU quickly moved through the Rebels on its first drive in the extra period, culminating with a two-yard touchdown run.

"Unfortunate outcome," UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said. "I thought we did some good things. There are some things definitely to continue to improve on. Guys played hard, showed a lot of character. But these are one of those where you feel like you got kicked in the gut a little bit."

San Jose State (3-3 overall, 2-1 in Mountain West play) beat the Rebels for the sixth straight time. UNLV (2-4, 1-1) saw its five-year win streak in conference home openers snapped.

The victory didn't come easy for SJSU.

After UNLV recovered a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter, Kurt Palandech found tight end Andrew Price for a 25-yard touchdown play, to bring the Rebels to within three, 20-17. After holding the Spartans on their next drive, the Rebels drove 86 yards in eight plays, as Palandech found Devonte Boyd for a 22-yard touchdown to give the Rebels a 24-20 lead.

After Ervin's late touchdown, UNLV responded by driving 43 yards in nine plays before Nicolai Bornand booted a 49-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.

"Football is a game of give and take, and sometimes they're going to make plays," Ervin said. "We had to continue to make plays and just do what we do. I think we did a good job staying persistent. We knew we had to kick it into high gear if we wanted to win the game. "To do that we had to step up our game a little bit and I think we did that late in the fourth quarter."

Said San Jose coach Ron Caragher: "Credit UNLV, they just kept coming and kept coming and got some big plays out of some guys. Next thing you know they're up by four with four minutes left in the game. We knew we had to keep our foot on the throttle."

Palandech, making the first start of his career as a Rebel in place of injured starter Blake Decker, finished the night completing half of his 30 attempts for 217 yards and two touchdown passes, while also rushing for 47 yards.

"I thought he did a good job executing plays," Sanchez said, about his quarterback. "There are times I feel he could have gotten the ball out a little faster. And then there are sometimes where he made some great throws."

Potter, who missed the previous two games because of an ankle injury, struggled in the first quarter. But he finished 30 of 48 for 329 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Ervin entered the game second in the nation in rushing, averaging 160.2 yards per game, also struggled early. But he came up big down the stretch and finished with 73 yards on 18 attempts and a touchdown, and caught eight passes for 74 yards.

San Jose State's win marked the first time this season the Spartans came from behind for a victory.

"I told Tony I didn't think any team should have lost that game, because they both fought to the end," Caragher said. "We're happy to be on this side of it, but they shouldn't hang their heads cause they played a really competitive game."

Sanchez, in his first year coaching the Rebels after spending the previous six with national powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School, coached at San Ramon's California High School. As he did with Gorman, and he's trying to do at UNLV, Sanchez resurrected Cal High in five years, turning the once dreadful program into a state power under his watch.