Herring fails in bid to give Rebels balance on offense with pass

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- Caleb Herring completed two key passes on the final scoring drive, but by that point, the game was out of reach.

UNLV needed a passing game to complement its budding running attack, but it was nowhere to be found through the first three quarters Saturday when Herring completed 3 of 9 passes for 11 yards.

He finished 6 of 14 for 41 yards in a 45-17 loss to Air Force. His numbers were reminiscent of the Oct. 8 game at UNR in which Herring completed 1 of 14 passes for 8 yards in a 37-0 defeat.

"It's something we've got to work on and get better at and hopefully fix," the sophomore quarterback said.

He acknowledged the difficulty of not pressing after starting so poorly.

"It's really hard, especially when you see the defense going out playing hard, and we're not producing any points," Herring said. "But one of the things we're trying to discipline (ourselves) on is executing our stuff and doing everything down by down the way we should."

■ IN THE RUNNING -- Dionza Bradford left in the third quarter with an arm injury, but Bradford and Tim Cornett are fairly interchangeable.

Bradford had rushed for more than 100 yards in three of the past four games, and Cornett gained 104 yards Saturday.

Having Bradford out of the lineup helped Cornett establish a rhythm.

"Because I've been out with an ankle injury, hip injuries, suspension and stuff like that," Cornett said. "Being out there helped me get back into a rhythm."

Coach Bobby Hauck said he didn't know the severity of Bradford's injury. If the freshman returns this week, he and Cornett could have a good battle for playing time.

They have combined for 1,099 yards this season, with Bradford gaining 589 yards and Cornett 510.

"We know we'll split the carries 50-50," Cornett said. "But at the end of the day, both of us want to start. Both of us want to get out there."

And there's also Bradley Randle, who took advantage of Bradford's absence to rush for 82 yards against Air Force, giving him 418 for the season.

■ GOING BOWLING? -- Air Force took care of the first part in beating UNLV. Now the Falcons must win at Colorado State on Saturday to improve to 7-5 to become bowl eligible.

Air Force defeated two Football Championship Subdivision schools, and only one counts for postseason play.

"Our seniors made some really significant contributions tonight, and for us it was a playoff game, and we wanted to win the first round," Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@review
journal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.