UNLV defense hopes to taketh away more often

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008 | 2:10 a.m.

With so much focus being put on the 500-plus yards of total offense UNLV has allowed in each of its last three games, it's easy to overlook something else missing from the final stat sheets.

Takeaways.

And for a defense needing to build some steam, an interception or fumble recovery wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

"I'm not gonna say it deflates our defense, but it surely helps us to win," senior cornerback Geoffery Howard said. "We need them to get that momentum going."

The Rebels are tied for 115th out of 119 FBS teams in turnovers gained this season, with just six of them. The defense is responsible for five of those, with the special teams unit having grabbed a loose ball on a kick return at Colorado State. It's quite the disparity when you compare it to where the UNLV offense ranks in the nation in turnovers lost. The unit is tied with Florida for the top spot, having given up possession just five times this year.

Howard is right in terms of how much just one turnover gained can change a game's final outcome. The Rebels' last interception -- a Beau Orth pick on Sept. 13 in a 23-20 overtime win at Arizona State -- set up a key second-quarter touchdown pass from Omar Clayton to Phillip Payne, and helped get the UNLV offense up and moving just before halftime. It played a key role in turning a 10-3 deficit into a 10-10 tie.

But since then, games have turned into marathons for the Rebels defense. In each of the losses, which followed a 3-1 start to the season, UNLV has lost the time of possession battle, most recently with Air Force on Saturday night in a 29-28 defeat. The Falcons kept the ball for 31:47 and ran 10 more offensive plays than the Rebels.

"We haven't gotten many (turnovers), and that's affected our defense not being able to get off the field," coach Mike Sanford said of a defense hurting in terms of depth in several spots just past the season's midway point. "I think there's no question that would help."

Even with all of the injuries and lineup shuffling the defense has experienced, that might not heavily factor into the takeaway equation. Of course, it factors in some, but so does luck.

"It's right place, right time, breaking on the ball, just doing things correctly," Howard said. "Sometimes we cause fumbles and we just don't get to them. If you win a turnover battle, you usually win the game."

The turnover battle remaining so close plays a role in how close UNLV has been able to play most of its opponents this season. The Rebels' opponents have coughed up the ball 11 times through seven games, but only three of them have resulted in a change of possession.

The luck factor, however, doesn't mean that the defense doesn't have to make some changes in its approach or execution. Sitting back won't get anything accomplished. In fact, the Rebels need the opposite.

"I think it's more causing havoc -- we need to do more of that I think on defense," junior linebacker Jason Beauchamp said.

Pressure on opposing quarterbacks can force errant passes and such. The Rebels are tied for 93rd in the nation in sacks this season with just nine.

"Anytime you're playing conservative, you can really give the offense a chance to set up and run everything correctly," Beauchamp added. "So just interrupting everything, getting in the backfield is the way to cause turnovers."

It's something that's proven to work against UNLV's upcoming opponent, 6-1 BYU.

The Cougars suffered their first loss in somewhat embarrassing fashion last Thursday at TCU, as the Horned Frogs stuffed BYU's BCS hopes for the most part by a 32-7 margin. In that game, BYU fumbled the ball four times, lost two of them, and quarterback Max Hall threw a pair of picks to boot.

Can UNLV's defense play like TCU's overnight on the heels of three leaky showings? Probably not. After all, the Horned Frogs, who come to Sam Boyd Stadium in a week, are tied for the FBS lead in turnovers gained with Ohio State, having forced 21 takeaways this year.

But some of that wouldn't hurt. If for nothing else, it would give the Rebels' defense a chance to hoot, holler and come off the field in jubilation, which hasn't been the case very often as of late.

"We've had it, it's just not consistent," Beauchamp said of those moments. "This Saturday, even with Air Force, we had a couple. We need more of it and we need to capitalize on it."

Paulo update

Walking off the practice field at Rebel Park Tuesday evening, sophomore middle linebacker Ronnie Paulo presented a sight which was a positive for a defense badly needing depth in several areas.

Paulo, second on the team in tackles this season with 57, seriously sprained his left ankle for the second time this season Saturday night in the loss to Air Force. He was helped off the field and even had to have the injury X-rayed. No fractures were revealed, and Sanford said on Monday he'd be questionable for Saturday in Provo.

He came off the field Tuesday without any sign of a limp, as the ankle wasn't heavily taped. He said he feels good, and could be ready to go come kickoff at BYU.