Bowl goal still in Rebels’ reach

This time was different, and don’t bother telling the Rebels they faced a subpar opponent and not Brigham Young or Texas Christian.

That’s not important to them. What’s important is they were the ones who did what it took, keeping alive their bowl hopes with a 27-20 victory over New Mexico on Saturday night.

Playing before an announced crowd of 13,154 — the smallest in 12 years at Sam Boyd Stadium — UNLV ended not only its five-game skid but a string of 12 consecutive Mountain West Conference defeats.

The Rebels (4-6, 1-5 MWC) also equaled their victory total from the two previous seasons combined and remained alive for a bowl bid while eliminating the Lobos (4-7, 2-5) from contention. UNLV must beat Wyoming on Thursday and San Diego State on Nov. 22 to become bowl eligible.

"We have three games here at the end of the year, and we had to win them all. We have won the first one," coach Mike Sanford said. "Now we’ve got a huge game on a short week."

To defeat the Lobos, the Rebels put the ball in the hands of redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Clausen for his first career start. Replacing injured starter Omar Clayton, Clausen completed 17 of 34 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

"Mike Clausen did a great job controlling our offense. He’s a calm guy," receiver Casey Flair said. "He learned a lot from (Clayton). It’s his first start and he got a ‘W’, and now he knows he needs to get another ‘W’ next week."

Clausen was mostly satisfied with his performance.

"I got more comfortable as the game went on," he said. "I made some mental mistakes, but overall I guess I’d (give myself a grade of) B."

UNLV also trusted its defense to make big plays, something it failed to do in close losses to Colorado State, Air Force and BYU. The unit stood up to force a New Mexico field goal with 6:34 left and made two other stops after that. Defensive back Ryan Tillman’s interception with four seconds left clinched the victory.

The Rebels’ defense still had trouble against the run, allowing 232 yards, including 121 to tailback Rodney Ferguson. It is the sixth game in a row UNLV has allowed more than 200 yards on the ground.

But UNLV held the Lobos to 380 total yards, the first time an opponent hasn’t broken 400 since Iowa State on Sept. 20.

The Rebels caught a major break in the final four minutes when New Mexico quarterback Brad Gruner’s potential game-tying pass to wide-open wide receiver Jermaine McQueen was badly overthrown down the left side.

This time, it was the Rebels who made the crucial plays, beginning with a game-saving interception midway through the second quarter. New Mexico appeared ready to take a 21-3 lead and grab complete control, but UNLV cornerback Quinton Pointer’s interception and 77-yard return set up a UNLV field goal.

His pickoff was UNLV’s first in their last 28 quarters.

Two bold fourth-down decisions changed the momentum.

The first occurred late in the first half. Facing fourth-and-2 from their 46-yard line, the Rebels barely picked up the first down on tailback Frank Summers’ second effort. That led to Clausen’s 10-yard TD pass to Rodelin Anthony to bring UNLV to within 14-13 with three seconds left.

In the third quarter UNLV had fourth-and-3 at New Mexico’s 4. Just before getting smacked by Lobos safety Ian Clark, Clausen tossed a swing pass to the right side to Summers, who eluded linebacker Zach Arnett and scored the touchdown for UNLV’s first lead, 20-17 with 5:52 left.

The Rebels added to the lead when Deante Purvis blocked a punt early in the fourth quarter, and Anthony picked up the ball and ran it in from 11 yards to make the score 27-17.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.