Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV Football:

Former Rebel remembers fondly 1981 victory at BYU

Steve Young BYU

Associated Press

Steve Young warms up before a game for BYU in 1983.

The Rebel Room

UNLV's Got (Don't Say) Talent

On this episode of UNLV's Got Talent, Rebels beat writer Taylor Bern tells colleagues Ray Brewer and Case Keefer why they need to stop using that word as the go-to for UNLV's basketball program.

The silence was deafening. That’s what Sam King remembers on a Thursday afternoon when asked about a game that’s 23 years old and still stands as one of the best victories in UNLV football history.

On Saturday the Rebels (2-8, 1-5) travel to BYU (5-4) to play the Cougars for the first time since they left the Mountain West. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Las Vegas time and the game will air on ESPNU.

This is the 19th all-time meeting between the programs and it’s been a one-sided affair with BYU holding a 15-3 advantage. However, all three of UNLV’s victories have come on the road, including a 45-41 upset against then-No. 8 BYU.

King was UNLV’s quarterback that season, during which he compiled a UNLV single-season record 3,778 passing yards. That was only the third meeting with BYU in program history and at the time there wasn’t the same animosity between programs that exists now, due at least in part to Las Vegas’ large Mormon population.

“It wasn’t a strong rivalry,” said King, who works in Las Vegas as a State Farm agent. “It was just two really entertaining teams that you’d want to go watch.”

Years later, the game is a fascinating intersection of five quarterbacks.

On the Friday night before the game, King and the Rebels went to cheer on their JV team, which was quarterbacked by future four-time Pro Bowler Randall Cunningham. King’s backup on Saturday was Kenny Mayne, who went on to host ESPN’s SportsCenter, among other things.

“I always thought he was an incredible character,” King said of Mayne. “His sense of humor was great. We all love him.”

On the other sideline there was some concern because starter Jim McMahon, who would go on to win a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears, was injured a couple of weeks earlier. That meant a second start for a backup by the name of Steve Young, who called McMahon’s Super Bowl and raised him two with the San Francisco 49ers.

Young settled into the starter’s role pretty well that day, leading the Cougars out to a 41-24 lead in front of a packed Homecoming crowd. Most teams on the road against a top-10 team facing that kind of deficit would fold, but that Rebels team felt like nothing was ever out of reach.

“It was a great shootout and you’re just hoping your defense could get a stop here or there,” King said.

A long pass set up one touchdown, then came one of those stops and another bomb and short touchdown run. Injuries on defense would help derail the season — UNLV lost four straight after the victory — but on that night UNLV’s defense did enough to give the high-powered offense a chance.

With time running out and UNLV trailing 41-38, the Rebels had one last chance to tie or win the game. Young and King combined for eight interceptions, so it’s not like there weren’t missed opportunities, but with the game on the line King found his target, Jim Sandusky, for a 20-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left.

When the team left Cougar stadium, King remembers some of the BYU fans offering congratulations. It was the kind of game that gives fans their money’s worth, even if their team doesn’t win.

Still, memories feel a little brighter when you’re the winner. A little more than 23 years later, King can still see the small pack of Rebel fans in the northwest corner and still hear the cheers halt when Sandusky hauled in the pass.

“It was the total silence of that crowd,” King said, “and that little section of UNLV fans that went off.”

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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