Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rebels Football:

Defense can’t corral Colorado State, dropping UNLV to 3-7 overall

Rebels quarterback Blake Decker was injured again, but it didn’t matter with the Rams piling up points all night in a 49-35 UNLV loss

unlv2

Jack Dempsey / Associated Press

UNLV quarterback Kurt Palandech (14) dives into the end zone for a touchdown.

UNLV Falls to Colorado State

Colorado State running back Jasen Oden Jr. (6) runs through a hole for a touchdown against UNLV. Launch slideshow »

A late touchdown, a successful onside kick and another near touchdown back up that the Rebels don’t quit, but they never had a chance to win this game. Not really.

UNLV fielded the opening kickoff and didn’t score for only the fourth time this season. Colorado State’s first play was a 69-yard completion, and UNLV’s defense didn’t get much better from there.

“We had a few moments, not many,” said UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said. “They pretty much moved the ball on us, running the ball at will.”

On another team or in another season, the starting quarterback getting knocked out of a game in the first half would be the headline. For the 2015 Rebels it was the third time it’s happened this season, making the scene feel expected on top of disappointing, and with a defense allowing 8.2 yards per play it didn’t matter much who was at quarterback for UNLV in a 49-35 loss at Colorado State.

The defeat ends any shot at a bowl game for UNLV (3-7, 2-4), which will finish the season with a home game against San Diego State and then a trip to Wyoming.

The Rams (5-5, 3-3) scored touchdowns on five of their first six possessions and didn’t punt until midway through the third quarter. Even when it’s had bad starts this season, UNLV’s defense has generally shown bright flashes for a quarter or more. That never really happened tonight, as a unit Sanchez called “tired” gave up a ton of yards after contact and allowed the Rams to go 7-for-7 on red zone trips, all of them touchdowns.

“We had the scheme, we had the right calls, we just didn’t execute the way we needed to,” said junior linebacker Ryan McAleenan.

Colorado State’s running game was dominant, which opened things up for first-year coach Mike Bobo to go in any direction he wanted on offense. Preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Rashard Higgins played like it for the first time in weeks, catching seven passes for 102 yards and three touchdowns against a lot of single coverage.

“I felt like it was time,” Higgins said on breaking out. “I felt like I’ve been quiet in the closet a little bit, just catching two or three balls here and there.”

That’s similar to how UNLV sophomore Kendal Keys felt. Keys entered the game averaging 34.2 receiving yards per game with only one touchdown all year, and he nearly matched Higgins with six catches for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

“I wish I would have been doing this throughout the whole season but it’s something that I knew I had,” Keys said.

Keys caught his first two touchdowns from senior quarterback Blake Decker on nearly identical skinny post routes, and his third came from the arm of sophomore Kurt Palandech. Decker was hit awkwardly and had to be helped off the field in the second quarter with an apparent leg injury.

Decker finished the game 13-of-19 for 176 yards and two scores while Palandech completed 9-of-24 for 154 yards plus 22 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. It can’t be easy for receivers to go back and forth between quarterbacks, especially when one struggles with accuracy, but Keys said there’s no difference on his end.

“The ball is the same,” Keys said. “When the ball is in the air we just have to make a play, regardless of who’s throwing it.”

This certainly wasn’t on Palandech, either. On his first play the sophomore ran for a 14-yard touchdown and he had some bright spots while trying to keep pace with Colorado State. The defense just never gave an offense that needed extra help a chance.

“(Palandech) made some good plays, we dropped balls and then he missed some guys on some wheel routes that were wide open,” Sanchez said. “We had our opportunities.”

Between Keys, fellow sophomore receiver Devonte Boyd (eight catches, 131 yards) and freshman running back Lexington Thomas (118 yards, one TD on 11 carries), the talented youth was on display. But it wasn’t nearly enough, and as the season has worn on this banged-up, beleaguered defense has started to resemble the liability it was expected to be coming into the year.

Yes, in a way the Rebels fought until the end, and Aaron Criswell was inches from a touchdown that would have potentially covered the spread (a win to some). In another way the end was here as soon as the game started, leaving only the particulars of the box score in doubt.

“We needed to do things at a higher level in order to try to compete with these guys,” Sanchez said. “We’re just not where they’re at right now.”

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

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