LIVE GAME BLOG: Second half splurge propels Utah past UNLV, 42-21 (UPDATED)

By Ryan Greene

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 | 4:17 p.m.

10:43 p.m. - Postgame, Utah wins 42-21

Well, first a quick run through some final numbers of note.

-After playing relatively clean last week against Utah State in terms of penalties, the Rebels took a step back in that department at Utah, racking up 73 yards on 12 flags. A couple were bigger than others. One would be the horse collar call in the second quarter which kept a Utah touchdown drive alive. The offense was also called for a few false starts, which had something to do with the boisterous crowd.

-UNLV was outgained on offense, 440-288.

-Six different players scored touchdowns for Utah.

-Omar Clayton finished 19-of-30 for 159 yards and a late touchdon pass to Phillip Payne. Clayton now has four TD tosses and no interceptions in two starts as a sophomore.

-Frank Summers led the Rebels in rushing with 87 yards and two scores on 23 carries. While those numbers aren't bad, the Utah defense completely stifled the Tank after halftime, allowing him just five yards on five carries.

-Utah QB Brian Johnson was his typically efficient self in terms of passing (15-of-24, 18 yards, two TD), but his legs were more the story Saturday, after not rushing the ball at all against Michigan, Johnson ran the ball for 80 yards, including a 56-yard score to tie the game at 7-7.

There's really little point in looking at the things that went wrong for UNLV Saturday night. There were several, but instead, how about a look forward to next week at Arizona State?

Obviously, things get no easier from here, and that might be hard for a team that just lost two of its top defensive leaders to injury to swallow. Linebackers Starr Fuiamano (knee) and Ronnie Paulo (ankle) were both put on crutches in the second quarter, and it was apparent that the team's emotion level took a hit when they left. The defense just wasn't able to adjust.

What was promising late for UNLV was a 77-yard drive pushed by Clayton, which resulted in the game's last score. The Rebels had every reason to quit at that point, but proved that they won't.

They may need to show some type of resolve like that in Tempe next Saturday again, and that was one of the two things UNLV needed to do in this critical two-game stretch - not get broken-spirited. The other was to stay healthy, and depending on the extend of the injuries to Paulo and Fuimaono, we'll see how they are in that department. Mike Sanford said afterwards that he expects Paulo back at some point this year, but Fuimaono will be determined this week.

A couple of honors from the Sun to finish the night ...

Offensive Player of the Game: It's got to be Clayton. Stayed poised, didn't let the crowd bother him - at least not visibly. He established what a competitor he is, and what he learned late at Utah will be more than beneficial down the road ths year.

Defensive Player of the Game: Lorenzo Bursey. He played a ton in the nickel slot, especially once the two linebackers went out. He had an impressive first half pick, eight tackles and helped fill the void left in the middle of the defense as best he could.

Play of the Game: Who knows what may have happened should a horse collar tackle never taken place on third down with Utah being dragged down short of a first down deep in its own zone in the second quarter, down 14-7. The drive continued, and was capped by the tying touchdown just before the half. That certainly shifted things a bit.

9:05 p.m. - 6:13, Fourth Quarter, Utah leads 42-21

SALT LAKE CITY -- In desperate need of something positive, the Rebels orchestrated a 16-play, 77-yard drive to, if nothing else, get back under the point spread at 42-14 (the spread was 22 for those not in the know).

The drive culminated with a 10-yard TD toss from Omar Clayton to Phillip Payne (via fade pattern, of course), with just over six minutes to go.

The possession as a whole could be seen as a positive by Rebel fans, as a sign that the team didn't quit despite Utah's blitzkrieg of a 28-point run here in the second half. Clayton had a couple of nice runs and took a couple of decent shots, so sustaining his health was obviously not a legitimate concern.

With that, it's about time to head down to the UNLV locker room for postgame reactions. Be back shortly with some final numbers and words from Mike Sanford & players.

8:53 p.m. - 10:50, Fourth Quarter, Utah leads 42-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- And just when I was on the verge of giving this late-arriving crowd some credit ... they bust out ... the wave?

Wow. No words needed.

8:48 p.m. - 12:48, Fourth Quarter, Utah leads 42-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- You know things are not going your way (if you're UNLV) when ...

... Tailback Matt Asiata just threw his first career touchdown pass on, well, his first career pass attempt. The big Utah bruiser, who Kyle Whittingham lines up to take direct snaps here and there at QB, stepped back and lofted a beauty down the right sideline for Jereme Brooks for his (you guessed it) first career touchdown catch.

UNLV's responding with some spunk, though. Omar Clayton has tucked and run a couple of times, toughing out hits for extra yardage, and hit Casey Flair for the senior's first grab since early in the game ... but what UNLV really needs here at the finish is to finish in strong health, having already lost two of its top defenders.

8:36 p.m. - 1:01, Third Quarter, Utah leads 35-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- Starr Fuiamaono made a return to the sidelines for UNLV and is on crutches alongside Ronnie Paulo. An ice pack on the knee, never a good sign.

As for on the field, things continue to spin out of control for the Rebs. Colt Sampson capped the Utes' third possession of the second half with an eight-yard TD grab from Brian Johnson - his second touchdown toss of the half.

It will be interesting to see if Mike Sanford utilizes some of his reserves here in the second half to 1) prevent injury on a night were there Rebs have already been snake bitten and 2) gets some of the younger guys used to playing on the road.

On the flip side, leaving the starters in isn't the worst idea, since you'd like to try your best to avoid the spirits being broken with Arizona State on the horizon.

Some stats as we near the end of the third ...

-Frank Summers has 85 yards on 21 carries. That means just three yards on three carries in the third, and 45 yards on 15 carries since the game's first drive.

-Omar Clayton is 13-of-21 for 102 yards.

-Utah's Brian Johnson continues to build his early season case to be the league's POY. He has 170 yards passing and 2 TDs on 14 completions. He's also totaled 61 yards on the ground.

8:18 p.m. - 8:45, Third Quarter, Utah leads 28-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- Again, just like that.

The Rebels didn't try to get too inventive on the three-and-out, and John Peel made a dangerous catch on Dack Ishii's punt, then taking it down the right sideline inside the UNLV 30.

From there, Utah continued to baffle UNLV with its reverse tactics. David Reed recorded his first career TD on a change-of-direction flip from Brian Johnson, waltzing into the end zone from 15 yards out.

It's getting pretty obvious that a comeback tonight for the Rebs will take more than a mighty effort. It might be in Mike Sanford's best interests to give Omar Clayton a chance to, well, take some chances rather than running it up the middle. Get him comfortable throwing the ball on the road, especially with a trip coming up next weekend to Arizona State and a date at Provo down the road.

8:07 p.m. - 12:11, Third Quarter, Utah leads 21-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Rebels started the second half without their top two tacklers - Fuiamano (nowhere in sight; knee) and Paulo (on crutches, injury unknown), and Utah went to work against the Rebs' nickel coverage.

First, David Reed nearly broke the second half's opening kick, with kicker Ben Jaekle's arm just tripping him up at midfield. Two minutes and 49 seconds later, Brian Johnson dropped a beauty of a pass down the left side to senior wideout Freddie Brooks to give Utah its first lead at 21-14.

The vibe here (plus the uninspiring three-and-out UNLV produced in response) at Rice-Eccles indicates that this thing could get ugly after a balanced first half.

7:40 p.m. - Halftime, game tied 14-14

SALT LAKE CITY -- Talk about having your heart ripped out ... twice.

UNLV thought on two occasions on Utah's final offensive possession of the half that it would get a chance to boost its lead before the half. And in both instances, they found themselves blowing out trick candles.

First, facing a third down deep in their own territory, a short pass play was stopped shy of the sticks, but a horse collar personal foul call on Rusty Worthen (in for the injured Starr Fuimaono), extended things.

Then, when Darrell Mack had his clock cleaned and lost the ball thanks to UNLV's Geoffrey Howard, and the Rebels recovered the fumble near midfield, a booth review handed it right back to Utah.

The drive culminated with a Matt Asiata two-yard sure-thing of a TD run, tying things up at 14-14 heading into the locker room.

Some good, some bad so far for the Rebs. Here's a little bit of both ...

-While Mike Sanford was a little bit inconsistent in how he used Frank Summers, the senior running back doesn't appear to have any problems in terms of needing a consistent rhythm. He has 18 carries for 82 yards and two TDs at the half.

-Take away Brian Johnson's 56-yard TD run, and Utah only has 115 yards of total offense. Not bad, considering the Rebels are having trouble getting consistent pressure in the Utah backfield. The Utes' three-headed RB attack (Asiata-Mack-Wesson) has combined for just 31 yards on 11 carries.

-Omar Clayton is 8-of-14 for 86 yards. He hasn't had too much put on his plate tonight, and he's managed the game well, for the most part.

-Mental lapses are hurting a bit for the Rebels defensively. On top of a couple of avoidable penalties, Quinton Pointer (wearing a brace on that left elbow) dropped two wide open picks in Utah's final possession, attempting to get into field goal range for Louie Sakoda. Clinging to one of those would have been nice for momentum's sake and to give the defense a bit of a pick-me-up. The defense badly needs that. They'll have a chance to make something happen right out of the break.

So, what do the Rebels need to do to win in the second half?

-Frank, Frank, Frank. Can't say it enough.

-Rusty Worthen needs something good to happen for him on defense. As Starr Fuimaono's replacement, he's had a horse collar and pass interference called on him, and also missed a sack on Johnson which led to the 56-yard TD run. Assuming Starr (knee) is done for the night, Worthen needs something to make him feel good so the snowball doesn't get any bigger. The Rebs are also without middle linebacker Ronnie Paulo, who in the first half was all over the place making plays. His injury is still unknown.

-Some pressure on Johnson wouldn't hurt.

-You'd have to assume some of those nice breaks Utah has received would start going UNLV's way. Should they catch a couple, capitalizing is key. Again, Captain Obvious returns. But as the sun goes down in a packed stadium (the attendance of 45,587 is the third-largest in Rice-Eccles history), every little bit helps.

7:16 p.m. - 5:01, Second Quarter, UNLV leads 14-7

SALT LAKE CITY -- It all seemed so bleak just moments ago.

The Rebel drive, coming on the heels of a major defensive breakdown on a 56-yard Brian Johnson TD jaunt, started with a false start and a ball thrown out of bounds in desperation.

Mike Sanford must have handed out some kind of words in the subsequent timeout, as the Rebels then went 85 yards to re-claim the lead and again quiet Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The key play was a 45-yard completion by Omar Clayton to Phillip Payne over the middle, which was stretched for 45 yards on second-and-eight to the Utah 21.

From there, Sanford & Co. went back to what worked at the game's start, with Frank Summers.

As if the senior tailback isn't dangerous enough, he got an added boost off an eight-yard run, when Utah's Mike Wright started jawing a bit on the sideline after Summers picked up the chunk of real estate.

Following that momentarily lapse in judgement by the Ute defender, there was no stopping Summers. He plowed in from three yards out for his second TD of the game.

These guys certainly aren't playing like your two-year-old brother's Rebels.

7:05 p.m. - 8:08, Second Quarter, game tied 7-7

SALT LAKE CITY -- Well, Fuimaono's loss was big. And that was proven rather quickly.

Rusty Worthen, a senior walk-on who took over Starr's outside linebacker post, had a clear shot at Utah QB Brian Johnson on third-and-12, but whiffed, and it set off a blistering 56-yard scamper for him on the way to pay dirt. The stadium is re-energized, and the emotional edge appears to be back on Utah's side. Well, it's hard to say 'back,' since this is really the first time the Utes have had it all evening.

6:54 p.m. - 10:33, Second Quarter, UNLV leads 7-0

Dack Ishii, the third-string-quarterback-but-also-backup-punter extraordinaire relieved Brendon Lamers to 'drill' a 63-yarder following UNLV's last possession. The reason for the quote marks is that it was more of a squabbling line drive that fooled the Utah return man, who let it roll and paid the price.

Not pretty, but effective nonetheless.

On the other side of things, you know what you get with Utah's Louie Sakoda, who will be kicking on Sundays next season. Mark that.

After a holding call brought back a Utah first down pass on third-and-seven deep in its own territory, Sakoda let off a beautiful rainbow to stick UNLV at its own 40 on a fair catch. You know, he should be considered for the MWC Defensive POY honors this year. What other kicker helps his team's defense this much.

Offensively, we're at a stalemate here, as Omar Clayton just threw three incompletions, and Utah will take the ball back again.

Frank Summers hasn't been used enough, if you ask this guy. Since his six carries for 40 yards on the opening scoring drive, he's carried the ball four times on four possessions since, totaling 10 yards.

Ishii's second kick? A 45-yarder to match Sakoda's in beauty. The job appears to be his ... for now.

-Another injury note - On that last punt, the Rebels appeared to have lost outside linebacker Starr Fuimaono for the day. He went down in front of the Ute bench, and was down for a few minutes before being helped off the field, favoring his left knee. That'd be a huge loss.

Though the Rebels are back with Jacob Hales, who made his season debut in the second quarter.

6:38 p.m. - End of First Quarter, UNLV leads 7-0

SALT LAKE CITY -- The good news was that the Rebels didn't allow the Utes to answer their incredible opening drive, resulting in the Tank's two-yard TD.

The better news is that UNLV's secondary has come up huge, with Daryl Forte picking Brian Johnson already, and Lorenzo Bursey nearly came up with another over the middle.

Though when you hear the 'good news' cliché, it means some bad is coming.

That would be the Rebels' inability to pad that lead a bit given a couple of opportunities.

Forte's pick set the Rebs up at their own 33, but punting on fourth-and-one, Brendon Lamers shanked it for eight yards. The Rebs forced another three-and-out.

Summers couldn't get back into a rhythm after his big first quarter, getting the ball just twice more the rest of the quarter after his sensational initial work.

A flash of light appeared on the quarter's final play, as Omar Clayton hit Ryan Wolfe for the third time today along the left sideline on third-and-four with Rice-Eccles Stadium getting intimidatingly loud for the first time yet (seriously, a weaker crowd than expected, in both numbers and noise). That gave Sanford's group their first first down since the opening drive.

Going back to Summers might not be a bad option here. Though I feel like Captain Obvious in saying so.

-On the injury front, Utah's Lei Talamaiveo (say that five times fast), starting tonight at DT, is having his left ankle examined. Sounds like a return is questionable.

6:16 p.m. - 9:49, First Quarter, UNLV leads 7-0

SALT LAKE CITY -- Just like last week in Ann Arbor, the Utes allowed a fired-up, hurry-up offense to go ahead and do as it wished early on.

Frank Summers was the driving force behind the effort, racking up 40 yards on six carries, including a 24-yarder on second-and 15, and then a two-yard TD plunge on third-and-goal.

The Rebs tried to get a bit cute deep in the red zone after Channing Trotter got them there with a 30-yard gain, but Summers finished the job, eliminating an early let down.

Mike Sanford is obviously going with what's worked in the past against Utah, and you've got to respect that. Omar Clayton wasn't asked to do too much on the opening drive, and that might not be a bad play the rest of the way. Summers looks jacked and ready to hit triple digits.

5:54 p.m. - PREGAME

SALT LAKE CITY -- A couple of final pregame notes ...

-Quinton Pointer is penciled in to start for the Rebels. After dislocating his elbow early in fall camp, this is his first action of the season.

-On the injury front for Utah, backup quarterback Corbin Louks (shoulder), is out. That takes out a legitimate added dimension for the Utah offense, which used Louks as a change of pace with his feet out of the backfield last weekend at Michigan. Sophomore Chad Manis will serve as the Utes' backup gunslinger.

Also, starting safety Robert Johnson (hamstring) is a no-go. He's replaced by senior Terrell Cole.

5:19 p.m. - PREGAME

SALT LAKE CITY --Call it buyer's remorse.

This week, during the UNLV segment of All In, the Sun's new weekly sports show (sorry, but I feel like I'd be letting the team down without plugging it), I said there was 'no way' the Rebels could cover a 22-point spread heading up here to SLC.

Suddenly, I find it hard to speak with that same conviction.

Part of it has to do with a look around the Mountain West Conference so far today ...

-As you read, Notre Dame leads San Diego State by a point late in the fourth quarter in South Bend. That's about as off as you could have expected, considering the Aztecs lost to an FCS foe a week ago ... at home. I have a buddy who wound up watching that game from the SDSU coaches' families suite. To say it was awkward in there is beyond understating the truth.

-BYU needed a blocked extra point late in the fourth in Seattle to edge Washington 28-27. Despite being 440 miles away, I think I just felt the entire Las Vegas Bowl staff let out a sigh of relief.

So with that, how could you possibly feel safe in thinking Utah will cover a 22-point spread?

Of course, this claim needs to be substantiated.

Fair enough.

The unwritten truth in college football states that the biggest improvement a team sees all season is from games one to two. Beyond that, this holds more true for teams that aren't necessarily your traditional powers (i.e. UNLV).

That said, lets move on to this week's three big predictions ...

1) Omar Clayton will not be as pretty as a weak ago, but expect a strong game. Even if Frank Summers doesn't supplement Clayton's arm with a performance identical to last year's against the Utes, he'll still do just fine. Plus, with what that receiving corps showed last week - now a legitimate three-deep with Phillip Payne's presence - he'd have to really be off to have today be considered a failure.

2) This place isn't going to be as loud as Mike Sanford may have let on earlier in the week. At the start of the game? It could be bonkers. But, in my experience, there's something to be said about a home crowd that is hardly in the stadium 49 minutes to game time. I find that to be completely lame on the Ute Nation's part - particularly the students. Or maybe they're all just getting plastered. I don't know. Late-arriving crowds typically don't stay loud long, moving on to the wine, cheese and portfolio talk by halftime.

3) Yes, I'm backing off of that selection of Utah to cover the spread. But I'm still not predicting a win. That'd just be irresponsible. Utah 27, UNLV 23. The Rebels head to Tempe next week with some swagger, and given how this schedule lays out, that's more than most expected.

As for a quick pregame note, senior d-lineman Jacob Hales, who sat out last week with his elbow woe, is in uniform and running through warmups.

Stay here for running updates throughout tonight's contest. Looking forward to it.