Clayton, Rebels down Aggies

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UNLV did what it was supposed to do Saturday night.

The Rebels opened the football season by beating Utah State fairly convincingly, doing enough on both sides of the ball to erase most of the drama by midway through the third quarter.

Utah State tried to rally but never got close enough to make the Rebels truly nervous in a 27-17 victory before a quiet Sam Boyd Stadium crowd that was announced at 18,818.

UNLV, which faces much tougher tests the next two weeks at Utah and Arizona State, had to win this game. The Rebels were 121/2-point favorites against probably the worst team on their schedule.

If they were to justify talk about the team being improved entering coach Mike Sanford’s fourth season, the Rebels couldn’t let this game get away.

They didn’t, ending an eight-game losing streak. Now the challenge is to surpass two victories in a season for the first time since 2003.

UNLV, though, has won its last three season openers, including two in a row over Utah State.

Even down just two touchdowns in the third quarter, Utah State never seemed capable of coming back against UNLV. The Rebels outgained Utah State 353 yards to 314 but held a more decisive 314-216 edge through the first three quarters.

"You’ve got to be able to put a team away, and we let them linger around," Sanford said. "We should’ve put them away in every phase. In that regard, I’m not pleased."

UNLV sophomore Omar Clayton threw three touchdown passes and completed 17 of 29 passes for 192 yards.

"I was actually as comfortable as I’ve ever been, I think even more so than high school, which was a big surprise for me," Clayton said.

It didn’t hurt having tailback Frank Summers to hand off to. Summers rushed for 87 yards on just 14 carries.

Perhaps UNLV could have used Summers to shorten the game in the fourth quarter, but Rebels coaches called passes on all four plays of one drive that resulted in a 42-yard field goal by Bonanza High graduate Ben Jaekle.

"I really have no control over that," Summers said. "Coaches call the calls, and I just the run the plays. Whatever they give me, as long as we’re winning and we’re putting points on the board, I can’t complain."

Utah State threatened to strike first, driving to UNLV’s 32-yard line before running back Marquis Butler fumbled without being touched and Rebels cornerback Will Chandler recovered.

UNLV capitalized with Clayton connecting with Ryan Wolfe for a 9-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

The Aggies reached the end zone on their next drive, but UNLV answered to retake the lead. Clayton threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Phillip Payne, a freshman from Western High.

A 20-yard field goal by Kyle Watson with five seconds left in the first half gave the Rebels a 17-7 lead.

They made it 24-7 with 9:44 remaining in the third quarter on Clayton’s swing pass that Wolfe turned into a 32-yard touchdown. Wolfe finished with seven catches for 103 yards.

Instead of building on the momentum, however, the Rebels seemed to stop playing. They scored just three points the rest of the game.

Next the Rebels face a Utah team coming off a 25-23 win at Michigan.

"That’s a big game, a very important game, and Utah looked very good (Saturday)," Sanford said. "We have great respect for them, but we’re also very excited about going into Salt Lake City to play."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.