Rebels bounce back in third

Rebels get back in the game

UNLV outscored Utah 9-0 in the third quarter to cut the Utes lead to 28-15 entering the fourth quarter.

The Rebels defense led the way, forcing two three-and-outs and a turnover on the three Utah possessions in the period.

On the negative side, UNLV again got into the red zone three times in the quarter and came away with a touchdown, a field goal and a turnover on downs. The Rebels continue to hold a 274-166 edge in total yards entering the final period. Utah has only rushed for 73 yards through three quarters, far less than what the Rebels have allowed the last few weeks.

Utah has the ball at its own 19-yard line as the fourth quarter begins.

Questionable decision

The turnover on downs came in the closing seconds of the third quarter when the Rebels tried a fake field goal. It may have been a decent risk until UNLV called a timeout. With the play clock running down, the Rebels were forced to call the timeout, which gave the Utah coaching staff plenty of time to think about the situation.

The Utes had the play read perfectly and holder Ben Jaekle had no chance to complete a pass on the rollout. Even if UNLV had completed the pass, it would not have counted as several linemen were ineligible down field.

What a surprise!!

UNLV scored its third quarter touchdown on a fade pass from Mike Clausen to Phillip Payne.

The play works just about every time. Either Payne is able to come down with the ball or the defender is forced to interfere with him. Both scenarios happened on the play.

Payne caught the pass and the defender was called for pass interference. Obviously, you can’t run the play every time you get in the red zone, but UNLV had six chances inside the 10-yard line in the first half and did not try it once. They settled for two field goals.

You have to catch the defense when there is no safety help and there are several other factors that dictate when you can and can’t run the play, but the bottom line is, if it works so frequently, why not run it more?

You have a play that almost always works. Don’t mess with success.