REBELS MAKE A GAME OF IT
UNLV fell behind Air Force 14-0 early in the second quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium, but the Rebels refused to go away.
C.J. Cox scored on a 5-yard run midway through the second, and then Phillip Payne caught a 28-yard pass from Omar Clayton in the end zone in the closing seconds to get UNLV to within a field goal at 17-14 at halftime.
Between the two Rebel scores, Air Force had a 16-play, 79-yard drive that ate up 6:31. The possession featured zero pass attempts.
In fact, the Falcons tried just two passes the entire first half.
One was incomplete. The other went for a 28-yard touchdown from freshman quarterback Tim Jefferson to Josh Cousins.
Clayton completed 9 of 10 passes in the half for 115 yards. Cox ran for 30 yards.
BAD OMEN
Air Force is 10-1 under coach Troy Calhoun when a Falcons player rushes for more than 100 yards.
Fullback Todd Newell had exactly 100 in the first half.
FLAIR BREAKS ONE RECORD, EYES ANOTHER
Casey Flair made a spectacular catch on the sideline on UNLV’s first drive of the second quarter.
It marked his 42nd straight game with a reception, breaking the school record of 41 previously held by Earvin Johnson.
Flair has caught a pass in every game of his UNLV career. Rice’s Jarrett Dillard currently has a 43-game streak, the only current stretch longer than Flair’s.
Next up is the all-time receptions record at the school.
Johnson is second on that list with 183 catches. Damon Williams has the record with 187.
Flair now has 181 in his career.
MORE CAREER BESTS
The 52-yard touchdown run by Todd Newell in the first quarter was the longest of his career, and the superlatives just kept coming for Air Force in the second quarter.
Jefferson, making just his second start running the Falcons offense, connected with Cousins on a 28-yard touchdown pass early in the period. It was the first-career scoring pass for the quarterback. The completion also marked the longest of Jefferson’s young career.
HAVEN'T WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
UNLV continues to rely on the same play every time it needs to make a big play.
For some reason, Rebel opponents can’t figure out a way to stop it.
UNLV runs the fade pattern to Payne in every game. The play essentially involves Clayton throwing up a jump ball and letting the talented freshman make a play on it.
With time running out in the first half, it worked again and got the Rebels a touchdown just before heading to the locker room.
The touchdown was Payne’s seventh of the season in just seven games. He leads the nation in touchdown catches by a freshman and is already just one short of the UNLV freshman record for touchdown receptions, currently held by Len Ware.
