WHAT LETDOWN?

Thus far, UNLV is showing no signs of the dreaded “letdown” some teams experience after a big win.

The defense has been superb in the first quarter as Iowa State’s offense has looked every bit as anemic as its 5-point output from last week would indicate.

Omar Clayton ran for a touchdown and threw one to Frank Summers to give the Rebels a 14-0 advantage after the first quarter.

WHAT WAS HE DOING?

Iowa State Backup cornerback Leonard Johnson drilled UNLV receiver Casey Flair well after the whistle away from the ball to give the Rebels 15 yards and a first down after what would have been a third-and-long.

It caught everyone’s attention. Four referees threw their flag in Johnson’s direction.

The drive eventually resulted in a long Omar Clayton touchdown run. On the score, Johnson laid out Clayton long after the quarterback crossed the goal line and was ejected from the game.

Clayton was very slow to get up, but did return for the next series.

Johnson didn’t play like he wanted to be here very long. Perhaps he had reservations for a table at a club on the Strip.

Hey, how often do the Iowa State players make it to Las Vegas?

STILL TURNOVER FREE ... BARELY

Iowa State leads the nation in forcing turnovers, while UNLV still has not committed one this season.

Something has to give, and it was nearly UNLV’s run of protecting the ball.

Casey Flair fumbled the ball deep in Rebel territory, but Ryan Wolfe was able to recover it for UNLV.

Then, Clayton overthrew everyone and hit Iowa State safety Brandon Hunley right between the numbers, but Hunley was unable to come up with the ball.

Hunley later missed a tackle on the sideline on Summers’ touchdown.