Cougars show dominance

Cougars pull away

UNLV got within 10 points of BYU on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Omar Clayton to Michael Johnson on its first offensive play of the second half, but the rest of the quarter was all Cougars. BYU responded with three straight touchdowns to take a 45-14 lead into the fourth quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Harvey Unga leads the BYU offense with 149 yards rushing and three touchdowns thus far. Max Hall has thrown for 320 and a pair of scores for a Cougar offense that has 558 total yards. Omar Clayton has thrown for 249 yards and a touchdown, but also has two costly interceptions. Mike Clausen also came into the game and threw a pick.

UNLV is however driving and has the ball inside the 5-yard line as the fourth quarter begins.

Not a good sign

After the defense appeared to quit in the fourth quarter last week against UNR, it may be happening again. UNLV got back within 10 points early in the third quarter, but BYU quickly responded for two quick scores that appeared to take the fight out of the Mike Sanford’s team.

The Rebels went three-and-out and then the Cougars took just two plays to go 53 yards for a touchdown. UNLV’s defense showed no signs of life on two drives after a Mike Clausen interception. This can not be a good sign for Sanford’s future as the head coach.

Huh?

Omar Clayton struggled for much of the first half, but Mike Sanford stuck with his starting quarterback through the struggles. Sanford was rewarded for his persistence when Clayton started the second half with a 75-yard touchdown pass. So what happened next?

Sanford inserted Mike Clausen into the game for the next series. And, of course, Clausen threw an interception. You hate to pile on, but it just seems like every decision Mike Sanford makes works out wrong.

Quick Strike

UNLV scored on its first offensive play of the second half when Omar Clayton launched a pass to Michael Johnson, who had gotten behind the BYU defense, for a 75-yard touchdown pass. It was the longest pass of Clayton’s career and the longest for UNLV since 2006. It also got the Rebels back within 10 points with plenty of time left in the game.

Same old story

The Rebels were not able to get much of a boost from the play. As they had done in the first half, the Cougars were quick to answer after a big play by UNLV. BYU took just 1:40 to put the ball in the end zone as Dennis Pitta caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Max Hall. Mike Clausen then entered the game and threw an interception and the Cougars were back on track for the rout.