Anthony Williams scores his first receiving touchdown of the season, this one being an 89 yarder
Off on the Right Foot, UNLV Defeats New Mexico to Open Conference Schedule
The UNLV Rebels took the field at New Mexico to embark on not only their conference schedule but also their first road trip after spending three straight weeks at the Sam Boyd Stadium to open this football season. This one ended in their favor, 42-17 in a shutout that adds another victory to the wins column; making the Rebels 3-1 moving into a marquee week six matchup against the ACC’s Pittsburgh.
This one started out slow, UNLV had issues with their offensive schemes and were forced to punt the first possession away on a fourth and long situation. New Mexico would take it from there and come out of the gates strong with a 24 yard carry from Jhurell Pressley that gave the Rebel’s defensive coordinator, JD Williams, a rough feeling knowing that he’d been preparing his players to take on the Lobo’s high powered run offense.
William’s troops would recover and force a fourth and nine situation that still ended positive as senior kicker converted on a 44 yard field goal to add the first score of the night.
UNLV would follow up with another poor drive that came down to a fourth with four yards to go, Coach Sanchez would then make the bold move to go for it— the ball was tossed to George Naufahu who struggled early in this game, he’d be taken down behind the chains but flags were thrown signaling a facemask penalty which gave UNLV the ball and another shot at punching in their first score of the contest. However, hopes of that were ended when Blake Decker saw the field incorrectly, thinking he had an open receiver in the endzone only to have the ball picked off by sophomore free safety, Markel Byrd.
New Mexico used the change of possession to score their first touchdown off a three yard run from quarterback Lamar Jordan which put the Lobos ahead 10-0 early in the second quarter. UNLV kept their composure and not only stayed in the game but owned the remainder to coast to victory.
Despite his rocky start in his starting debut, George Naufahu picked things up and played tremendous in the second half to easily make the case as to why he is and will be the starting halfback at least until Altee Tennpenny’s return in the upcoming weeks. The senior halfback had a tremendous game on the ground, rushing for 159 yards on just 20 carries that he ran in for two touchdowns including a long of 35 in the fourth quarter of action.
Naufahu and UNLV drew controversy in the University Stadium as they neglected the quarterback kneel and instead ran the score up with a 19 yard touchdown with just 8 seconds remaining in the fourth; Lobo’s fans responded with loud boos as the Rebels danced in the endzone.
“I honestly didn’t mean to run that one in,” Nafahu told reporters. “The play clock was a little behind so we were gonna run that final play and then end it there… but they didn’t touch me, so I just kept running, it’s hard to turn down a touchdown.”
Quarterback Blake Decker would also have himself a game following his mistake in the first quarter, he threw with accuracy on the night, resulting in 13-18 for 194 yards and two touchdown passes, most notably a pass up the sideline to Anthony Williams which was taken all the way for a total of 89 yards on the touchdown reception.
Tau Lotuleli led the way for the UNLV defense with eight tackles and two for a loss which are his best statistics of the season after a surprisingly sluggish start following his dominant sophomore campaign. His teammate in the secondary, Torry McTyler, would convert on his second interception of the season as he took this one for 30 yards late in the fourth quarter. Ryan McAleenan scared many Rebel fans that tuned in the regional broadcast, the linebacker who had just come off two straight MWC player of the week honors, went down with a serious injury in the third quarter and wouldn’t return, finishing the game with six tackles, two for a loss.
Despite their pitiful loss, New Mexico would continue to see success in their rushing yards category with 254 on the night but overall failed to convert in various situations score wise. Jhurell Pressley had 93 yards while Lamar Jordan contributed as a dual threat with 113 yards in the air and 68 on the ground along with two rushing touchdowns.
UNLV Rebels at New Mexico Lobos
Sep 28, 2015
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
UNLV Rebels (2-1)
0
14
7
21
42
New Mexico Lobos (1-2)
3
7
7
0
17
Team Stats Comparison
UNLV
UNM
Total Offense
442
367
Rushing Yards
248
254
Passing Yards
194
113
First Downs
14
20
Punt Return Yards
15
26
Kick Return Yards
86
115
Total Yards
543
508
Turnovers
1
1
3rd Down Converstion
3-8
7-14
4th Down Conversion
2-2
1-2
2-Point Conversion
0-0
0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
4-3-0
4-2-0
Penalties
3-35
6-67
Posession Time
12:57
19:03
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
UNLV
UNM
4:57
(UNM) Z. Rogers, 44 Yd FG
0
3
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
UNLV
UNM
7:42
(UNM) L. Jordan, 3 Yd Run (Z. Rogers Kick)
0
10
7:26
(UNLV) A. Williams, 89 Yd Pass from B. Decker (C. Perkins Kick)
7
10
1:25
(UNLV) K. Whitely, 18 Yd Run (C. Perkins Kick)
14
10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
UNLV
UNM
3:56
(UNLV) B. Decker, 19 Yd Run (C. Perkins Kick)
21
10
1:32
(UNM) L. Jordan, 3 Yd Run (Z. Rogers Kick)
21
17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
UNLV
UNM
7:12
(UNLV) D. Boyd, 22 Yd Pass from B. Decker (C. Perkins Kick)
Boyd voiced his opinions at a recent press conference
By Beast10
Date: October 2nd, 2015
Devonte Boyd had a spectacular season last year as a true freshman for the Runnin' Rebels, the three-star receiver out of Henderson, NV put on a clinic, catching 65 passes for 980 yards and 4 touchdowns-- all team leading statistic in the receiving category.
With that success, Boyd was voted to the preseason All-Conference team in the Mountain West and was expected to continue on with his role as the team's No. 1 receiver; that hasn't been the case this season.
So far he's caught 10 passes (ties 2nd on the team) for 84 yards and three touchdowns. Returning senior, Anthony Williams, has been a huge surprise after being a backup last season, he's leading the team with 17 receptions on 249 yards and a solo touchdown.
The majority of Devonte Boyd's catches came in week two against Rutgers where he had a total of six. The rest are below...
Boyd has a good case of believing he isn't being used enough.
"It just feels like I'm being tuned out the offense," he stated to reporters. "Blake [Decker] does a good job at quarterback but everybody knows I'm a more than capable receiver. I went the last few games with barely any touches and the times I do get the ball, it's a touchdown. That bothers me, I think I should more apart of the team, I was last year so I don't see the difference."
Blake Decker took the situation to Twitter and may have gave Boyd the advice he needed
Despite the 6-foot-1 receiver's tremendous athleticism and catching ability, his route running has been constructively criticized by many of the UNLV coaching staff members since his arrival on campus. If he can fix that, his wish may be granted.
I switched to Matt10's community sliders during that New Mexico game and I'll be continuing with those. I'm just trying to make things more difficult lol... and btw I start school tomorrow so updates probably won't come so often, we'll see
And also, I hope u all like the edits I did to the layouts!
Sorry I fell behind and haven't posted in a little while. Fantastic work though, and I love the layouts and articles. Very realistic feeling, especially the Boyd piece. Nice win to open conference play and one you really needed to get in my mind. Pittsburgh is going to be really tough but if you can keep it close, you never know what could happen. Great stuff my friend.
08-18-2015, 07:44 PM
