UNLV cruises to 35-7 win over New Mexico
New Mexico was always going to get its rushing yards. For UNLV, that wasn’t even the point. With a blitzing, hard-hitting defense, the Rebels made sure the Lobos would get little else Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
And on the other side, the Rebels used their own strong ground game to take control and dominate the Lobos.
Bradley Randle and Tim Cornett became the first UNLV running backs in a decade to rush for more than 100 yards in the same game, and they combined for four touchdowns to lead the Rebels to a 35-7 victory and strong beginning to the key final stretch of the season.
UNLV (2-8, 2-3 Mountain West Conference) plays at Colorado State this week, and the Rebels’ soft late schedule finishes with games against Wyoming and at Hawaii.
“When we go into a game like we did today with a real legitimate chance to match up with someone, we need to win it,” UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said. “There have been times this year, a couple of them, when we didn’t. So for our guys to go out and finish and play four complete quarters, I’m proud of them, and it shows a lot of character.”
The Rebels did it with Randle rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns - he also caught a TD pass - and Cornett finishing with 107 yards and a score.
It was the first time two UNLV backs had gone over 100 yards in a game since Nov. 30, 2002, at Colorado State when Larry Croom rushed for 222 yards and Joe Haro for 126.
“We’re putting it together,” Randle said. “We have three games left, and we know what we need to do, and we’re going to finish strong for our seniors because the seniors deserve it.”
Cornett went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,042), the first Rebel to top that mark since Dominique Dorsey in 2004.
“It means a lot, especially with a win,” Cornett said. “It would’ve been devastating to hear about me having 1,000 yards without having a win.”
New Mexico (4-6, 1-4) rushed for 307 yards, slightly above its season average, but running back Kasey Carrier (52 yards) and quarterback Cole Gautsche (35 yards) were held well below their averages. The loss didn’t help the Lobos’ bowl hopes.
“We can look at the stats all we want, but they whipped us,” New Mexico coach Bob Davie said.
UNLV never allowed the Lobos’ running game to dictate the tone, sending vicious blitzes and putting repeated shots on Gautsche. The Rebels made 11 tackles for loss, while allowing their fewest points in a game since beating Sacramento State 38-3 on Sept. 5, 2009.
“It’s rare that you get an opportunity to blitz into a triple option team, but they gave you opportunities,” UNLV defensive coordinator J.D. Williams said. “The hard part about New Mexico is they’ll throw some traditional offense at you. So any time we get one of those formations, we had to make sure we pressured it, so now they’re thinking about us pressuring.”
The Lobos threatened to make it competitive after UNLV took a 21-0 lead into halftime. New Mexico scored midway through the third quarter to cut the deficit to two touchdowns.
UNLV gave away two 21-point leads in its most recent home game, a 42-37 loss to UNR on Oct. 13.
This time, the Rebels faced a critical moment: third-and-5 from their 25-yard line.
“Before the game, we said at some point in the game, there’s going to be a right-here, right-now moment where we’ve got to make a play,” Hauck said.
Nick Sherry threw a 10-yard pass to Devante Davis, who quickly shook Lobos cornerback Devonta Tabannah’s attempted tackle and heard his teammates on the sideline let out a big, “Wooooh!”
“I looked forward, and I saw nothing, so I just started running,” Davis said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to score here.’ “
Davis, who gained 145 yards on seven catches, flew down the field for a 75-yard touchdown to all but put away the game.
“Devante’s a great player, so if we get the ball in his hands, he can do great things,” said Sherry, who completed 17 of 27 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. “That pushed our offense over the top.”
UNLV next will try to break a 20-game road losing streak, but the Rebels erased a couple of other ugly marks Saturday. They won for the first time this season against a backup quarterback after going 0-4. They also won for the first time as favorites since beating New Mexico two years ago, ending a three-game losing streak in that role.
The Rebels certainly had plenty to celebrate in their locker room after a season of heartbreaking losses.
“It was crazy,” Cornett said. “You would think we won the Super Bowl.”
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.