Blog: Overtime field goal sends Rebels past Fresno State, 30-27

By Taylor Bern

Published Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 | 6 p.m.

Updated Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 | 11:08 p.m.

UNLV 30, Fresno State 27

Game over

Nicolai Bornand nailed a 33-yard field goal in overtime and UNLV snapped a four-game losing streak with a back-and-forth 30-27 overtime victory against Fresno State.

The Rebels are now 2-5 overall and 1-2 in Mountain West play.

UNLV dominated the first half, looked lost a few times in the third quarter and then came up with enough plays to overcome a brief deficit and pull out the win. Quarterback Blake Decker was 29-of-40 for 332 yards with one touchdown and one interception while running back Keith Whitely compiled 87 yards on 18 carries.

Devonte Boyd caught seven passes for 77 yards and the Rebels won the yardage battle 478-473.

UNLV heads into a bye this week with some much-needed momentum before traveling to Utah State in two weeks. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

It’s getting difficult to look for the positives with this UNLV football team. Entering tonight’s homecoming game against Fresno State — kickoff at 7:04 p.m. on CBS Sports Network — the Rebels have lost four in a row by an average of 22 points per game to teams that are a combined 10-10.

UNLV isn’t getting beat up because of the schedule. The Rebels are getting blown out because outside of their first drives of the game the offense hasn’t produced bupkis and an already shaky defense has been left out to dry until it’s tattered and torn.

Based on what we’ve seen there is so much that needs to go right for the Rebels that certain people, myself included, are starting to wonder if they’ll win another game this year. I still think it will happen, but I can’t confidently say when, how or why. Every matchup that looked promising even a couple of weeks ago appears more and more daunting as most teams have shown at least some reason to be optimistic.

Not UNLV. Not yet.

Tonight is a good example. Fresno State could not have looked worse in the opening three weeks as it got blown out against three Big 5 opponents. After it was done, the Bulldogs dusted themselves off and started getting to work, winning three in a row.

It wasn’t exactly a murderer’s row of opponents — Southern Utah, New Mexico, San Diego State without its starting quarterback — but the Bulldogs won every game by at least 11. That’s taking advantage of your opportunities, something UNLV hasn’t accomplished.

At 10 points, this line is a little inflated for how good both of these teams actually are, but given UNLV’s 1-5 ATS record it’s hard to fault anyone doubting the Rebels right now. Entering the game there are a handful of starting spots, including quarterback, that right now I’m not sure who’s going to be playing there. Add those injury concerns to the general ineptitude and it could be another long night for the Rebels.

Bern’s prediction: In my ESPN1100 picks I tried to go with all Mountain West underdogs this week, but in this space I can’t in good conscience back the Rebels. If they cover tonight it means they’ve finally done some things that we haven’t seen them do all year. Fresno State 37, UNLV 17

Season: ATS 4-2, O/U 4-2

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