A Fresh Start: UNLV's Search for Success (NCAA '14)

[NeverEnough]

Week 7 Recap

Week 7 Top 25 Scoreboard

Results

#1 Alabama 30, Kentucky 7

#3 Stanford 41, Utah 14

#5 Michigan 19, Penn State 10

#6 Nebraska 31, Purdue 28

#7 Kansas State 41, #16 Baylor 13

#8 LSU 45, #21 Florida 28

#9 Georgia 16, Missouri 13

#13 Texas A&M 45, #19 Ole Miss 22

#14 NC State 37, #20 Syracuse 20

#22 Auburn 31, Western Carolina 7

#24 Texas 28, #18 Oklahoma 21

#25 Michigan State 20, Indiana 17

Arkansas 24, #4 South Carolina 10

Washington 45, #17 Oregon 7

Utah State 34, #23 Boise State 28

Week 7 Mountain West Conference Scoreboard
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
Utah State 34, #23 Boise State 28	C. Keeton (USU); 184	A. Baltazar (BSU): 140	T. Van Leeuwen (USU): 73
UNLV 35, Hawai'i 14	T. Graham (HAW): 232	T. Cornett (UNLV): 151	J. Phillips (UNLV): 113
Colorado State 22, San Jose State 17	G. Grayson (CSU): 212	K. Bibbs (CSU): 148	N. Grigsby (SJSU): 140
Wyoming 35, New Mexico 28	B. Smith (WYO): 229	K. Carrier (UNM): 111	R. Herron (WYO): 131
San Diego State 27, Air Force 24	Q. Kaehler (SDSU): 174	J. Lee (AF): 125	A. Roberts (SDSU): 66

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Oct 14, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Alabama (33)	6	0	1497
2	2	Ohio State (25)	6	0	1485
3	5	Michigan (2)	6	0	1352
4	3	Stanford (1)	6	0	1328
5	6	Nebraska	6	0	1298
6	7	Kansas State	6	0	1264
7	10	Miami	5	0	1167
8	8	LSU	6	1	999
9	14	NC State	6	0	979
10	9	Georgia	4	2	935
11	11	Notre Dame	4	2	855
12	12	Tennessee	5	1	829
13	13	Texas A&M	4	2	800
14	4	South Carolina	5	1	751
15	15	Oklahoma State	3	2	690
16	16	Baylor	4	1	461
17	24	Texas	4	2	431
18	22	Auburn	5	1	429
19	--	Arkansas	4	3	338
20	25	Michigan State	5	1	308
21	20	Syracuse	5	1	305
22	--	Iowa	5	1	228
23	18	Oklahoma	3	3	208
24	19	Ole Miss	3	3	194
25	--	West Virginia	4	2	174

- Other Teams Receiving Votes -
Clemson (167, Florida (155), Houston (72), USC (64), Boston College (40), Oregon (6)

- Dropped Out -
Oregon (#17), Florida (#21), Boise State (#23)

Heisman Watch - Updated: Oct 14, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Devin Gardner	QB	Michigan		69-125, 996 Yds, 81 Car, 565 Yds, 19 Total TD
Jeremy Hill	HB	LSU		136 Car, 828 Yds, 18 Rec, 210 Yds, 9 Total TD
Taylor Martinez	QB	Nebraska		75-145, 910 Yds, 82 Car, 450 Yds, 15 Total TD
John Hubert	HB	Kansas State		109 Car, 689 Yds, 12 Rec, 149 Yds, 9 Total TD
Braxton Miller	QB	Ohio State		83-147, 1109 Yds, 86 Car, 442 Yds, 14 Total TD

[NeverEnough]

Week 8 - Continuing trend for Nevada
Week 7 - More space for Nevada
Week 6 - Nevada increases their lead
Week 5 - Nevada continues to climb as they jump Utah to #1
Week 4 - After successful upset, Nevada closes gap on Utah
Week 3 - Nevada closes gap on Utah, others fall
Week 2 - Nevada and Colorado jump into top 3, 3 offers given
Week 1 - Utah is the early favorite with Arizona (-170), Nevada (-230), Oregon State (-269), and Colorado (-319) also in the list


Week 2 - Made quick decision and committed to Boise State
Week 1 - Boise State starts as the favorite with Utah (-145), Oregon State (-239), Washington (-284), Oregon (-350), and BYU (-469) also on his list


Week 8 - Burns seems to be leaving the door open for Michigan
Week 7 - Michigan climbs a little bit closer to Clemson
Week 6 - Clemson still increasing, Miami added to list (?)
Week 5 - Clemson slightly increases their lead
Week 4 - Michigan comes in with an offer for Burns
Week 3 - Michigan jumps to #2, while all others fall greatly making it a 2 team race
Week 2 - Clemson jumps to #1 and gives Burns an offer
Week 1 - Ohio State is the early fav with Michigan (-155), Clemson (-195), Stanford (-314), and Florida State (-409) on the list


Week 8 - Will he sign anywhere?
Week 7 - Some more of nothing
Week 6 - Barely any movement
Week 5 - Washington and Boise State close gap slightly on Oregon
Week 4 - Boise State makes a slight move
Week 3 - Oregon slightly increases lead
Week 2 - Very slight increase for Oregon
Week 1 - Oregon is the early favorite with Washington (-145), Boise State (-300), and California (-460) also on the list


Week 8 - Can he just say Ole Miss yet?
Week 7 - Auburn pulls their offer
Week 6 - Same story, different week
Week 5 - Once again Ole Miss slightly pushes their lead
Week 4 - Ole Miss continues to slightly pull away
Week 3 - Ole Miss starts to pull away
Week 2 - Pitt jumps all the way to #2, offers given from top 3 + Washington
Week 1 - Ryans has a huge list with Ole Miss as the early favorite followed by Tennessee (-140), Auburn (-170), Arkansas (-290), Washington (-390), USC (-409), Nebraska (-465), and Pittsburgh (-564) gaining favor

[NeverEnough]

Following Drubbing of Hawai'i Simon Gains 7 Commits

UNLV Rebels Recruiting - 2013
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Bo Johnson	MLB	HS	Boulder City, NV	6'2	225
Eric Phillips	FS	JUCO	DeSoto, TX	5'11	171
Matt Smith	CB	HS	Highland, UT	6'1	198
Bryant Lambert	FS	HS	Waimalu, HI	6'1	197
Elliott Herring	CB	HS	Inglewood, CBA	6'1	178
Craig Slaughter	CB	JUCO	Temple City, CA	6'0	190
Ryan Watson	CB	HS	Orange, CA	6'0	173

LAS VEGAS, NV - Last week the UNLV Rebels ran all over Hawai'i showing impressive stuff both on offense and defense and it got even better now that 7 players have committed to the team following the game. Now what makes this a little bit odd is that 6 of the 7 targets haven't even visited the school, while the 7th was a recruit that came with the first group of recruits that came to the school; none were from the 20 something in attendance for the Hawi'i game.

What is even more odd is that 4 of the 7 are cornerbacks and 2 are free safeties, which is going to make some work for coach Simon deciding how to use them. Most likely the bigger defensive backs will become linebackers and/or redshirt and lay in wait for the 4 juniors and 1 senior corners to graduate.

The lone non-secondary player, middle linebacker Bo Johnson, will come in and look to compete to be a starter as both the starting middle linebacker and the backup middle linebacker are graduating following this season

[NeverEnough]

Matchup Preview *|* October 19, 2013
	@
UNLV Rebels (4-2, 1-1 Away)		Fresno State Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 25.2 Points Per Game 27.5 356.3 Total Yards 399.2 143.5 Rushing Yards 142.3 212.8 Passing Yards 256.8 Defensive Stats Comparison 353.8 Total Yards Allowed 293.5 167.5 Rushing Yards Allowed 120.8 186.3 Passing Yards Allowed 172.7 -10 Interceptions 1 Injury Report QB - Caleb Herring Broken elbow - Out for Season QB - Brian Burrell Forearm fracture - Out for Season RE - Jordan Sparkman Broken hand - 8 Weeks RG - James Le'au Dislocated elbow - Questionable SS - Marc Phillipi Upper arm fracture - 6 Weeks DT - Tyeler Davison Strained achilles - Probable MLB - Tani Maka Strained back - 5 Weeks DT - Mark Garrick Broken tailbone - 3 Weeks Game Notes Passing ----------------------- Troy Hawthorne (UNLV) - 36/65, 547 Yds, 7 TD, 3 INT Derek Carr (FS) - 114/209, 1526 Yds, 13 TD, 4 INT Rushing ---------------------- Tim Cornett (UNLV) - 152 Car, 687 Yds, 4.5 Avg, 6 TD, 114.5 YPG Josh Quezada (FS) - 87 Car, 414 Yds, 4.7 Avg, 4 TD, 69.0 YPG Receiving ---------------------- Jake Phillips (UNLV) - 27 Rec, 475 Yds, 17.5 Avg, 6 TD, 79.1 YPG Davante Adams (FS) - 36 Rec, 519 Yds, 14.4 Avg, 5 TD, 86.5 YPG Game Notes ------------------- This week will probably be their biggest test up there with Arizona, who the Rebels lost to 34-17. The Bulldogs have NFL prospect Derek Carr behind the helm of this offense, who will look to have a huge again against this terrible UNLV secondary. The Rebels will most certainly have their hands full with the passing attack they face, but as we've already seen on the season, when teams somehow bottle up Carr the Bulldogs have been able to rely on Josh Quezada to gain some momentum on the ground. This definitely won't be the an Idaho/New Mexico/Hawai'i, etc. type of opponent for UNLV, but rather a much tougher one. Last Week the UNLV Rebels played host to Hawai'i and 20+ recruits so they knew they had to have a big win and they got just that. After a terrible start for Troy Hawthorne, he finally started to settle in as he focused mainly on his security blanket, tight end Jake Phillips. When the passing game just wasn't working, coach Simon switched to focus mainly on Tim Cornett and the run game and while his fullback was having a terrible game, Cornett still managed to bust out 151 yards. Most likely the Rebels will have to have a well balanced game plan going into this game and hopefully have both aspects working if they want to get ahead in this game, but at the same time the defense will have to step up big in order to stop the even more powerful Fresno State offense. For Fresno State, they're coming off a bye week which followed a game in which they went up to Idaho and absolutely smashed the Vandals to a tune of 42-13. Now they've had a week's rest and are playing host to a UNLV Rebels team that ranks below them in basically every category imaginable. They should look to pass the ball and do it often as the Rebels secondary is less than desireable and Carr should be able to find a lot of holes.

[NeverEnough]

Simon's 2nd Half Adjustments, Run Game Propel UNLV To 5 Straight

LAS VEGAS, NV - Coming into this game it was one that was looking like it might be a lock for the Fresno Bulldogs, but somehow coach Simon has managed to turn the UNLV Rebels around from a team that only knew how to win 2 games a year, into a team that is currently riding a 5 game win streak thanks to some great adjustments and a little luck.

For the first time this season the UNLV Rebels managed to actually win a coin toss and decided to give the Bulldogs the ball to start. The Bulldogs came out and started doing exactly what we thought they would and passed it a decent amount down the field, but the Rebels were able to get a stop on 3rd down and force a field goal. A false start would push the Bulldogs back and their freshman kicker would proceed to miss the field goal. As the Rebels came out on offense they tried running the ball, but wouldn't be able to find much of any room and be forced to punt. This would go back and forth for a while until Troy Hawthorne threw a bad pass on a quick slant that would land in the hands of a Bulldogs defensiveman. This would put Fresno State in great field position and after a couple runs and a pass, Derek Carr would take it on a read option play and find the endzone on a 17 yard run.

Things would then shift back into the back and forth game where the Bulldogs would end up missing two more field goals, while the Rebels would not be able to find any running room and Hawthorne wouldn't be able to connect on very many passes. Finally the tennis match would end as Tim Cornett would finally be able to find some space on a few runs and UNLV would kick a field goal with 6 seconds left in the half.

Now I don't know what kind of speech coach Simon or any of the players made in the locker room during half time, but it must have been one for the ages. As both teams made their way back to the field and UNLV was set to get the ball, their confidence seemed a lot different than when they headed to the locker rooms. The Rebles would get set out on offense and basically abandon the pass and focus solely on Tim Cornett and Adonis Smith. Together these backs would take their team down the field and Cornett would be the one to take it in from 14 out. On the ensuing drive for Fresno State, Carr would begin work hitting his check downs and working his team down the field. All of a sudden on a short comeback route, Kenny Keys would somehow make an unbelievable one-handed grab for an interception and since it was such a short route there was no one ahead of him as he proceeded 55 yards for a PICK SIX!!!

If that kind of pressure wasn't enough for Derek Carr and the Fresno State Bulldogs being down 10 on their own field, the defensive line started to awaken for the Rebels and Tyler Gaston, the man who had 6 sacks last week, would find Carr Twice and his tag team partner, Alex Klorman, would get him once. This would shake Carr to the point that he was having some problems making passes and would rush his reads. This would literally be all that UNLV would need as they would tack on a field goal and Cornett would get his second touchdown in the 4th to go on a 26 unanswered point run and put it out of reach.

UNLV Rebels at Fresno State Bulldogs
Oct 19, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
UNLV Rebels (5-2 (3-0))	0	3	14	9	26
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-4 (1-2))	7	0	0	0	7

Team Stats Comparison
	UNLV	FRES
Total Offense	305	301
Rushing Yards	192	92
Passing Yards	113	209
First Downs	16	18
Punt Return Yards	36	11
Kick Return Yards	50	171
Total Yards	391	483
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Converstion	6-13 (46%)	5-14 (35%)
4th Down Conversion	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
2-Point Conversion	0-0 (0%)	0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-2-1 (100%)	3-1-0 (33%)
Penalties	0 - 0	3 - 15
Posession Time	20:09	11:51

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		UNLV	FRES
5:07	(FRES) TD FS: D. Carr, 17 Yd run (C. McGuire kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		UNLV	FRES
0:06	(UNLV) FG UNLV: N. Kohorst, 32 Yd FG	7	3
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		UNLV	FRES
6:45	(UNLV) TD UNLV: T. Cornett, 14 Yd run (N. Kohorst kick)	7	10
5:54	(UNLV) TD UNLV: K. Keys, returned interception 55 Yds (N. Kohorst kick)	7	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		UNLV	FRES
7:56	(UNLV) TD UNLV: N. Kohorst, 43 Yd FG	7	20
2:36	(UNLV) TD UNLV: T. Cornett, 2 Yd run (missed kick)	7	26

UNLV Rebels PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Troy Hawthorne 8/18 113 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tim Cornett 30 153 5.1 2 Adonis Smith 7 35 4.9 0 Troy Hawthorne 2 4 2.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Devante Davis 2 26 13.0 0 Marcus Sullivan 2 26 13.0 0 Jake Killian 1 21 21.0 0 Jake Phillips 1 20 20.0 0 William Vea 1 11 11.0 0 Adonis Smith 1 9 9.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Ron Scoggins 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Tau Lotulelei 7 0.0 0 0 Peni Vea 7 0.0 0 0 Eric Tuiloma Va'a 6 0.0 0 0 Kenneth Penny 6 0.0 0 0 Tyler Gaston 3 2.0 0 0 Alex Klorman 3 1.0 0 0 Kenny Keys 3 0.0 1 1 Parker Holloway 2 0.0 0 0 Brandon Baker 2 0.0 0 0 Fred Wilson 2 0.0 0 0 Jeremiah Valoaga 2 0.0 0 0 David Green 2 0.0 0 0 Mike Horsey 1 0.0 0 0 John Therrell 1 0.0 0 0 Tajh Hasson 1 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Nolan Kohorst 2/2 2/3 8 43 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Logan Yunker 5 200 40.0 2 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Sullivan 2 50 25.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Marcus Sullivan 4 36 9.0 0

Fresno State Bulldogs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Derek Carr 26/40 209 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Derek Carr 13 20 1.5 0 Josh Quezada 8 72 9.0 0 Marteze Waller 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Josh Quezada 7 28 3.9 0 Isaiah Burse 6 48 8.0 0 Marcel Jensen 3 36 12.0 0 Greg Watson 3 23 7.6 0 Josh Harper 2 26 13.0 0 Aaron Peck 2 11 5.5 0 Marteze Waller 2 5 2.5 0 Davante Adams 1 32 32.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Cody WIchmann 3 3 Lars Bramer 1 0 Davante Adams 1 0 Austin Wentworth 1 0 Isaiah Burse 1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Derron Smith 6 0.0 0 0 Karl Mickelsen 6 0.0 0 0 Jamal Ellis 5 0.0 1 0 Nat Harrison 5 0.0 0 0 Charles Washington 5 0.0 0 0 Andy Jennings 3 0.0 0 0 Nikko Motta 3 0.0 0 0 Tyeler Davison 3 0.0 0 0 LJ Jones 3 0.0 0 0 Shannon Edwards 3 0.0 0 0 Kyrie Wilson 3 0.0 0 0 Rodney Matthews 2 0.0 0 0 Donavon Lewis 2 0.0 0 0 Brandon Hughes 1 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Colin McGuire 0/3 1/1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Garrett Swanson 5 207 41.4 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Isaiah Burse 4 111 27.7 0 LJ Jones 1 33 33.0 0 Dillon Root 1 27 27.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Isaiah Burse 1 11 11.0 0

Kenny Keys makes the insane 1-handed interception for a pick 6


Derek Carr did what he could, but it wasn't close to enough

[megarover]

Wow that did not expect you to beat Fresno so convincingly.

Looks like Gaston at it again.

[Maize08]

Nice win over Fresno. I started a UNLV dynasty, and it is definitely a fun roster to play with. It didn't hold my attention, but I like what you've done. Keep it up.

[NeverEnough]

Quote: Originally Posted by megarover

Wow that did not expect you to beat Fresno so convincingly. Looks like Gaston at it again.

Yeah me either, I thought I was going to get it handed to me, especially the way the game started....and yeah gaston had the pleasure of facing their backup rg so that played into it

Quote: Originally Posted by Maize08

Nice win over Fresno. I started a UNLV dynasty, and it is definitely a fun roster to play with. It didn't hold my attention, but I like what you've done. Keep it up.

Thanks, it's definitely interesting with what they do and don't have on the team