SAN DIEGO (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV football (3-7/1-5) earned its first Mountain West win of the year by stunning San Diego State (7-3/4-2) with a come-from-behind, 27-24 victory on a cool but clear Saturday night at SDCCU Stadium.
The Rebels snapped a nine-game losing streak here as they last downed the Aztecs on their home field when the legendary John Robinson was head coach in 2000.
UNLV played inspired defense, holding SDSU standout running back Juwan Washington to just 66 net yards on 21 carries while intercepting two passes for the first time this season. However, the visitors still trailed 24-19 with under four minutes remaining when running back Lexington "Lightning" Thomas struck for a 75-yard, game-winning touchdown. After UNLV completed a two-point conversion to take a three-point lead, the hosts' attempt to move into field-goal range was thwarted when cornerback
Jericho Flowers hauled in his first pick of the season and third of his career.
Evan Pantels nailed both of his field-goal attempts to give UNLV an early 6-0 lead. The Rebels led 13-7 before SDSU went ahead just before halftime with a short touchdown run on fourth down. UNLV, however, would score the game's final 14 points to secure the victory.
TURNING POINT:
With SDSU leading 24-13 as the fourth quarter started, UNLV showed resiliency by staging an 11-play, 75-yard drive in 5:48 that was capped off by
Max Gilliam's 10-yard touchdown pass to
Brandon Presley. Even though the two-point conversion attempt failed, the drive kept the Rebels in the game and set up the late heroics.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Not only did
Lexington Thomas' 75-yard Lightning bolt win the game for the Rebels, it also broke Mike Thomas' 44-year-old school record for most career rushing touchdowns with 38. It also pushed Lex over the 100-yard mark for the 17th time in his career, which tied Mike Thomas' school mark for century-mark games.
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Who else but #LightningLex?
QUOTABLE:
"To win special games you need special players and
Lexington Thomas made a special play. That is a dude making a great college football play -- that's why you bring guys like that in…For our guys to come out against a team with this record, who is still fighting for a conference championship, and beat Boise State in Boise -- it just shows the grit of our guys - they fight and they have some toughness to them."
-UNLV Head Coach Tony Sanchez
REBEL NOTES:
-UNLV snapped a four-game losing streak against SDSU to make the all-time series 18-10 in favor of the Aztecs
-Rebel quarterback
Armani Rogers did not play for the sixth consecutive game after injuring his foot at Arkansas State on September 22
-The 75-yard touchdown was the second longest of Thomas' career (85 yards at Central Michigan in 2016) and the 11th run of 55 yards or longer in his collegiate career
-Senior safety
Dalton Baker hauled in his second interception of the season and the second in the last three games after having zero picks coming into 2018
-UNLV's pair of interceptions gave the team five on the year
-WR
Darren Woods Jr. posted his second career 100-yard receiving game with exactly that amount on four receptions, including a 77-yarder that set up a Rebel field goal. It marked the third 100-yard receiving game by a UNLV player this season as
Tyleek Collins had two
-Sophomore OL
Matt Brayton made his first start as a Rebel, playing at left guard
-Redshirt freshman H-back
Jamaal Neal earned his first carries as a Rebel, running four times for 26 yards and picking up a first down on third-and-short on the first three of those attempts
NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV will close out its road schedule with a trip to play Hawai'i Saturday at 8 p.m. PT. The game is only available on a pay-per-view basis on the islands or for free on the mainland via the Stadium app.
