UNLV runs all over UTEP, 52-24
The end of the first half Saturday told the story.
UNLV, which was deep in its territory, didn’t appear interested in trying to tack on one more score while already holding a substantial lead. Texas-El Paso even called a timeout to get the ball back.
All UNLV did was run. And run. And run.
“We were kind of in between,” Rebels coach Tony Sanchez said. “Once we got the first first down, we said, ‘All right, let’s go into that hurry-up offense.’ We were pinned back on our 10. We didn’t want to do anything stupid. College football is a crazy deal. These games are really long. You see it every week. Guys that have big leads end up losing them when teams come back.”
That wouldn’t happen in this game.
Running right through UTEP, the Rebels quickly found themselves at the Miners’ 22-yard line. Then quarterback Armani Rogers threw his only pass of the drive, a touchdown to Darren Woods Jr.
That gave the Rebels a 28-point lead in what would become a 52-24 victory, with UNLV piling up 414 yards rushing.
The Rebels (1-1) carried over a promising performance from a week ago at Southern California. UNLV trailed 19-14 entering the fourth quarter against the Trojans before losing 43-21.
UNLV hosts Prairie View A&M on Saturday and will need a similar effort before a tough trip to Sun Belt Conference power Arkansas State to close nonconference play.
The idea is to get to six victories and become bowl eligible, and more performances on the ground like this one against UTEP (0-2) will help the Rebels reach that destination.
UNLV’s rushing total was the sixth highest in school history and the most since gaining 517 yards against Idaho State in 2015, Sanchez’s first season.
Lexington Thomas finished with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, but he ran only twice after halftime. His 2,747 yards moved him into fourth place on the Rebels’ career rushing chart and closer to leader Tim Cornett’s 3,733 yards from 2010 to 2013.
Thomas was hardly alone in producing strong numbers.
Rogers rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries for his third career 100-yard game. Only Jason Thomas, who played from 2000 to 2002, had as many 100-yard games for a quarterback.
Charles Williams (12 carries for 80 yards) and Xzaviar Campbell (10 for 72) also turned in productive nights.
“It’s a luxury that we have, and we’re going to need it if we’re going to sustain for a season that hopefully goes beyond 12 games,” Sanchez said. “We’re going to need all those guys.”
The running attack took pressure off the passing game. Rogers completed just 6 of 13 passes for 119 yards but threw three touchdowns. One of those was a 51-yarder to Mekhi Stevenson for the game’s first touchdown.
“From watching film, I knew exactly what they were doing,” Rogers said. “When the nickel came up, I knew the routes that we had. As soon as he came up, I knew (Stevenson) was going to be wide open right there.”
UNLV’s offense clicked from the beginning as the defense initially struggled to find its footing. But the Rebels began to leave no doubt late in the first quarter, beating a team easily that wasn’t expected to cause much trouble.
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Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.
