By W.G. Ramirez
Special to UNLVRebels.com

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - After redshirting his freshman year, while watching one of his best friends -- Devonte Boyd -- have a stunning season that saw Boyd earn Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, UNLV defensive back Tim Hough wanted nothing more than to have a breakout game in his hometown this season.

A breakout game at home, in front of friends and family and during a big win.

He got his wish Saturday night, as the former all-state, two-way player from Desert Pines High School had two interceptions and a long return of blocked kick for the Rebels during their 80-8 win over Idaho State.

"It's really special," Hough said after the Rebels' first victory of the season. "Every chance we get, we just do our best on the field and tonight it just happened to show up big time."

Coach Tony Sanchez said Hough has been a favorite among players and coaches, because of his work ethic at practice.

"He doesn't act like a freshman, he has a real leadership quality," Sanchez said. "And the way he's played the last couple weeks, it's just great to see. His future is bright.

"And it's a great thing when any of our players do well, but when it's a local it's a pretty neat thing because everyone gets to see what a local guy can do."

After Idaho State placekicker Zak Johnson's field goal was blocked by Dominic Baldwin, Hough promptly scooped the ball and returned it 54 yards to the Bengals' 23-yard-line to give the Rebels exceptional field position. But it was the return itself -- which may have been an additional 54 yards horizontally with all Hough's cutbacks and reversals - that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

"I saw the green light, and our coach always preaches about getting into the end zone any way we can," Hough said. "We don't normally get a chance to recover a (blocked) field goal, so I tried my hardest to get into the end zone."

Shortly afterward, at the 10:49 mark of the second quarter, Hough picked off ISU quarterback Michael Sanders deep in Bengals territory, and returned it to Idaho State's six-yard-line, again putting UNLV in a position to extend its lead.

But it wasn't until his pick at the 13:25 mark of the third quarter that he was completely satisfied, as he intercepted Sanders in the corner of the end zone for a touchback. Immediately afterward, he said he could hear the roughly 30 friends and family who were in attendance.

"We get coached hard all week, and our DB coach always tells us when it comes to the game, that's when we have fun," Hough said. "So when we get a chance, especially when we start making plays, like when I picked up that (blocked) field goal and ran it, or after Jay'Onn Myles got a pick, we started having fun.

"Then when Troy Hawthorne got a pick six, that's when it got out of control. And our offense was clicking too, it was just all big for us."

Hough sparked a UNLV defense that caused six turnovers -- four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The performance came at a perfect time for the Rebels, who have in-state rival UNR on deck, and can now take the momentum with them to Reno.

Of course, according to Hough, the matchup itself should provide enough motivation.

"This is what we've been working for and we finally got a dub," he said. "But I think of it as doing our job and we move on to the next one. The win means a lot, but I don't think we need that much (motivation) to carry over. Reno versus UNLV, it just gets you hyped just thinking about it."