Up and down the field
The action has been fast and furious in the first quarter, as neither defense has shown the ability to make a stop.
Omar Clayton has thrown two touchdown passes to give UNLV a 17-7 lead at the end of one period, but UNR has a 70-yard scoring pass of its own from Colin Kaepernick to Chris Wellington.
The Wolf Pack is also threatening to score deep in UNLV territory as the second quarter begins.
Haven’t we seen that before?
The Rebels got into the red zone and threw a fade pass to freshman Phillip Payne.
Of course, he caught it for a touchdown by outfighting the cornerback and going up high for the catch.
Do teams even watch film anymore?
Memo to future UNLV opponents: When the Rebels are in the red zone and Payne is lined up on the outside, the fade pass is coming.
You might want to try to roll a safety over to that side or something. Maybe try to back off the coverage at the line. There are plenty of ways to defend it. Maybe some team in the future will try one of them.
So far it has worked every time. It’s safe to assume UNLV will keep calling it until it gets stopped.
Instant Redemption
Ben Jaekle had a 42-yard field goal attempt blocked at the end of UNLV’s opening drive, but it won’t show up in the box score.
The Rebels had jumped before the snap. The false start penalty created a dead ball, meaning the field goal attempt never happened.
The try moved back 5 yards, and Jaekle kicked it through.
His family must be feeling a bit conflicted tonight.
After all, Jaekle’s brother Brett is the place-kicker for UNR.
Late-arriving crowd
The empty seats have mostly disappeared as the partyers from the parking lots have mostly made their way inside. It has turned out to be a fairly sizeable crowd.
Lee making plays
UNLV junior safety Terrance Lee has already forced a key fumble and made a huge hit on a punt return.
Fans still behaving
So far, no fights have been spotted from the press box.
So at the very least, the skirmishes have been kept to a minimum.
Maybe the key to limiting fighting is to have scoring every three minutes, keeping fans eyes and minds on in the game.
