Late heroics lift Rebels

When will UNLV’s opposition finally figure it out?

Any time the team gets in a spot where it needs a score, Omar Clayton just throws the ball up somewhere near Phillip Payne and the sophomore sensation snags it out of the air.

“We practice it all the time,” Payne said. “Me and Omar basically know where we’re going to be and at what time.”

It worked twice in the second half against Hawaii, including on a second-and-goal play from the 15-yard line with just 36 seconds remaining.

The Rebels then fought off Hawaii’s desperation drive to secure a 34-33 victory.

Hawaii coach Greg McMackin was impressed.

“That guy does a great job,” McMackin said. “He did it against Oregon State (last week). He just goes up and they throw him an alley-oop.”

Payne had a 6-inch height advantage on Warriors’ cornerback Tank Hopkins, but McMackin said it just came down to athleticism.

“(Hopkins) was there and (Payne) just outplayed him,” McMackin said. “The receiver just went up and got the ball. He’s a great receiver.”

Clayton said he was surprised at the way Hawaii defensed the Rebels on the play.

“I was a little surprised they didn’t have the safety over,” said the junior quarterback who threw for 340 yards. “A lot of teams in the red zone like to put the safety over to double-team Phillip, but they didn’t. So, I saw an opportunity to put the ball up to him and he did what he does.”

What he does is catch touchdown passes on fade routes. Payne has already put together an career’s worth of highlights on that play alone just three games into his second collegiate season.

He laughed when asked if any team is going to start changing their defense to double-cover him in the red zone.

“I hope not,” he said.

He added the offense never doubted it would score, even with all the late-game collapses the team has suffered in recent years.

“Once their offense scored, we had no doubt that we were going to go down and score,” he said.

Payne’s score was the fourth touchdown of the fourth quarter and all four of them changed the lead.

“It is not good for my heart and my blood pressure, but other than that, it was good that we were put in a situation and it was good that we were successful in that situation,” UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said.

He added that he hopes the win helps build some momentum going into conference play at Wyoming next week.

“We finished at the end. We made the plays that you have to make at the end to win,” he said. “That is a very positive step for us. Obviously, that is an ongoing thing, but I know for a fact that we gained a lot of confidence tonight and took a huge step forward.

Record Output

Omar Clayton threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns. It marked the highest yardage output of his career through the air.

His previous career high was 327 last season against UNR.

Greg Alexander also set his career high with 477 yards for Hawaii.

Also, Ryan Wolfe became the first Rebel player with over 3,000 yards receiving in a career.

He was already the school’s all-time leader, but going over that mark is a significant milestone.

Saturday night was also Wolfe’s 11th 100-yard receiving game, another mark good for tops on UNLV’s all-time list.

Injury update

Rodelin Anthony may have suffered his second concussion of the season. The senior wide receiver also had one in the preseason.

The extent of the injury won’t be known until further tests are done, but he is unlikely to play next week at Wyoming.

Offensive guard Sean Tesoro did not play tonight and won’t play any more this season.

The redshirt freshman’s injured ankle turned out to be broken.

Jason Heath took over Tesoro’s starting spot for Saturday night’s game.

Tricky, Tricky

UNLV ran a trick play on a kickoff return after Hawaii went ahead 33-28.

Deante Purvis ran towards the left sideline and gained 10 yards before tossing to speedster Michael Johnson.

Johnson came all the way back across the field and appeared to have all kinds of room before getting tackled after 23 yards.

In all the return went 33 yards and set up the Rebels at their own 33-yard line with 5:16 to play and in good position to reclaim the lead.

What followed was a 14-play drive that chewed up 4:40 and gave the Rebels the lead with just 36 seconds remaining.

Quick Strike

After Hawaii reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter, it didn’t take UNLV very long to go for the big play.

Omar Clayton aired it out deep and connected on a 52-yard pass to Ryan Wolfe on the Rebels next play from scrimmage to get inside the Warriors’ 30.

Five plays later, Clayton found the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown run that put UNLV back on top.

Close Call

The 1-point victory was the first such win since a 49-48 overtime victory against Wyoming in 2002. The last time UNLV won by a single point in regulation was a 23-22 triumph over New Mexico in 1991.

Rushing Defense

Saturday night’s performance will certainly help the defensive stats against the run.

UNLV held the Warriors to just 28 yards on the ground.

Of course, Hawaii has a lot to do with that as it ran the ball just 15 times.

Still, the Rebels allowed just 1.9 yards per carry.

Work the clock

The third quarter proved very important to UNLV in the victory.

The Rebels scored just once in the period, but the touchdown gave them a lead going to the fourth quarter.

More importantly, UNLV held the ball for 12:51 seconds and wore down the Hawaii defense.

“They kept our offense off the field. I give them full credit,” Warriors coach Greg McMackin said. “Their offense played a lot better than our defense did.”