Rebels’ defense flailing

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UNLV football coach Mike Sanford made what seemed to be an astounding statement following Saturday’s 29-28 loss to Air Force when he said he thought the Rebels defended the option well.

This after the Falcons rushed for 346 yards.

Sanford repeated that statement Monday, saying the Falcons succeeded because of six big plays more than a game-long dominance with the option. Those six plays gained 237 yards — three rushes for 106 yards and three completions for 131 yards.

“If you can even take one of those out, we win the game,” Sanford said. “The thing that killed us is the fact that we allowed big plays. That’s the thing we’ve got to stop.”

UNLV’s defense, though, doesn’t seem to be stopping much of anything. Even if those three long rushing plays are subtracted, Air Force still wound up with 240 yards on the ground.

The Rebels (3-4, 0-3 Mountain West Conference) have allowed more than 200 yards rushing and more than 500 total yards three straight games. And now they get ready to play at No. 18 Brigham Young (6-1, 2-1) at 11 a.m. PDT Saturday.

BYU is known more for it passing game, which leads the Mountain West with 313.9 yards per game. Quarterback Max Hall has completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 2,119 yards and 20 touchdowns.

UNLV has been susceptible to deep passes, but Sanford pointed to last season’s meeting when BYU abandoned the air game and rushed 31 times for 158 yards in the second half of the Cougars’ 24-14 win.

• ANKLE PROBLEM — UNLV apparently has an issue with sprained ankles, with linebackers Ronnie Paulo and Beau Orth, offensive tackle Evan Marchal and defensive end Thor Pili struggling with such injuries.

Paulo and Orth are questionable, Marchal between questionable and probable and Pili probable for Saturday. Orth’s injury includes his calf.

Safety Daryl Forte (knee) didn’t play much against Air Force, but Sanford said he expected the player to “feel better this week.”

• ODDS AND ENDS — Casey Flair is three receptions from tying Damon Williams’ school-record 187 catches, set from 1995 to 1998. Flair has the UNLV record of 42 consecutive games with at least one catch, which also is second nationally among active streaks to Rice’s Jarett Dillard’s string of 43 games. … The Rebels have a school-record 17-game conference road losing streak. Their last victory occurred at BYU on Oct. 8, 2004. … UNLV is the nation’s only team perfect in the red zone, having converted all 20 chances, with 17 scores being touchdowns. … The Rebels are tied with Florida for the nation’s lead in fewest turnovers with five.

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