Loss has coach in foul mood

LARAMIE, Wyo. — UNLV coach Mike Sanford has sat down players and is considering further punishment after the Rebels committed six personal fouls in Saturday’s 29-24 loss to Wyoming.

The game was tightly officiated — each team had more than 10 penalties for more than 110 yards — and the Cowboys were hit with three personal fouls. But that didn’t matter to Sanford.

“Those are going to be corrected,” Sanford said. “That’s what I just told the team. We played hard enough, we played competitively enough, we just didn’t play smart.

“We are not going to be a stupid football team.”

One player facing possible discipline is UNLV center Joe Hawley, who picked up his fifth personal foul of the season. Sanford already suspended Hawley for the first quarter of the Oct. 20 game against Colorado State.

“I think (officials have) got my number even before the game,” Hawley said. “It was a questionable call. It wasn’t like I hit anybody late.

“It was illegal hands to the face, so I accidentally hit the guy in the face while I was trying to block him.”

Hawley’s infraction was a big one. UNLV was at Wyoming’s 23-yard line late in the first half and looking to add to its 10-9 lead. The penalty and subsequent 9-yard sack of quarterback Omar Clayton pushed the Rebels out of field-goal range.

• HURTIN’ UNIT — Rebels wide receiver Ryan Wolfe was listed as probable with a sprained ankle, but it didn’t heal properly, and Wolfe’s early effort to give it a go was ditched.

“We thought he was going to be better by game time,” Sanford said. “We attempted one pass to him, and he couldn’t get out of his break.”

Wolfe entered the game with 52 receptions for 633 yards this season.

In stepped Casey Flair, who caught 10 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. It was his first 100-yard receiving game since posting 126 on 10 catches Sept. 8 against Wisconsin.

“Ryan’s a big part of our offense, and he wasn’t going to be able to go today, so someone else has to pick up the slack,” Flair said. “I try to be as consistent as possible, and people were asking me to step up, so I felt like I had to step up.”

• ODDS AND ENDS — Rebels tailback David Peeples reinjured his foot late in the week and was scratched for the travel squad. … UNLV linebacker Beau Bell has three interceptions in three games. His three tackles for loss against Wyoming give him seven for the season. … The Cowboys tied the series at 8-all with their fourth straight win over the Rebels.

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