With UNLV Football this fall saying goodbye to Sam Boyd Stadium after five decades, we pick five of the most memorable individual home performances by a Rebel over the years.

By Mark Wallington



Oct. 19, 1974
MR. T RUNS WILD
UNLV 37, Boise State 35
Rebel Football's first superstar – the late Mike Thomas, who sadly passed away just last month at the age of 66 – willed his team to victory over the fourth-ranked Broncos in a battle of Division II unbeatens. Playing in front of the first sellout in Sam Boyd Stadium (then known as Las Vegas Stadium) history, the past and future First Team All-America running back used 33 carries to run for more yards – 266 – than any Rebel before or since in their own facility. Head coach Ron Meyer's squad, which would move up to No. 2 in the national poll after the memorable victory, completed that regular season undefeated and reached the NCAA semifinal game. Thomas went on to NFL and earned the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.


 
Nov. 21, 1987
WOODS SHUFFLES HIS WAY TOWARD TITLE
UNLV 30, Pacific 24
This weekend's honorary captain, Ickey Woods, had to go on a record roll to win the NCAA rushing title that fall and boy did he. UNLV scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to sneak by the now-defunct Tigers but it was Woods' career-high 265 yards on 37 carries that was most notable because it marked his school-record THIRD CONSECUTIVE 200-yard effort. One week later against Northern Illinois, Woods posted his school-record seventh straight century-mark game with 186 yards, which was just enough to make him the first player from the conference to lead the NCAA in rush yards with 1,658. Just a few months later, Ickey would become the highest draft pick in school history when the Cincinnati Bengals selected him 31st overall.


 
Sept. 17, 1994
GATEWOOD GRABS HISTORY, DAVIS DOES TOO
IDAHO 48, UNLV 38
The home team lost the game (before recovering to win a conference title and bowl championship later that fall) but what everyone remembers about this night is the records – the outright monster-sized stats turned in by senior wide receiver Randy Gatewood. The Vandals took a big lead on the Rebels so new head coach Jeff Horton decided to just sling it all over the field – ignoring the run completely – to try to spark a rally. It worked. While UNLV would ultimately come up short, Gatewood set two major NCAA records that night with 23 receptions for 363 yards. While the yardage record has since been broken, Gatewood's 16.8 yards per play is still the national mark for all-purpose average. Also still standing are six national records by quarterback Jason Davis, who came off the bench during the passing barrage. His eye-popping, video-game-like performance saw him throw more passes (41) for more completions (28) for more yards (347) in one quarter than anyone in college football history before or since.


 
Nov. 16, 1996
THE DENTONATOR GOES OFF
UNLV 44, San Diego State 42
UNLV snapped the nation's longest losing streak (12 games) in improbable style when freshman quarterback Jon Denton, a local phenom from Green Valley High School, led the Rebels to their first-ever WAC victory, stunning surging San Diego State. Denton threw four touchdowns – including two longer than 70 yards – and broke five NCAA and two school records with his 503 yards passing (the most ever by a college freshman at the time) as part of a game that featured 1,297 combined offensive yards. What's more, the Rebels' only win of the season also knocked the Aztecs out of the inaugural WAC Championship Game.


 
Nov. 24, 2018
RECORD RALLY SUITS ARMANI
UNLV 34, UNR 29
Trailing 23-0 against the arch-rival Wolf Pack in the season finale, the Rebels would only allow six more points the rest of the way in staging the biggest comeback in program history. Quarterback Armani Rogers threw for three touchdowns, completing 13 of 20 attempts for 172 yards and no turnovers, and rushed for two scores as part of his 46-yard night on the ground, including the game-winner with 2:34 left. The monumental comeback meant the fabled Fremont Cannon returned to Rebel Red while the Pack lost in Las Vegas for the first time in a dozen seasons.