Live Blog: UNLV shows promise in defeat at Northern Illinois in opener

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Published Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 | 2:30 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 | 7:55 p.m.

The UNLV football team has something to build on. It nearly won a game nobody expect it to.

The Rebels put up a valiant fight today in their season opener at Northern Illinois, battling until the end in a 38-30 defeat in the first game of the Tony Sanchez coaching era.

The Rebels, who in the first half led by two touchdowns, couldn’t slow down the Northern Illinois offense in the second half. The Rebels were clearly exhausted on defense, missing easy tackles and blowing assignments in pass coverage as Northern Illinois went on long scoring drive after long scoring drive.

But the Rebels didn’t quit.

They trailed 38-23 with eight minutes remaining and kept playing, using a 41-yard touchdown pass from Blake Decker to Aaron Criswell to trim the deficit to 38-30 with five minutes to play. The Rebel defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and got the ball back at their 27 with 3:17 remaining.

If you would have asked Sanchez before the game, he surely would have taken that scenario: The 23-point betting underdog Rebels had a chance to tie the game late.

The Rebels drove the ball into Northern Illinois territory but turned it over on downs after a dropped pass by Devonte Boyd near the 30-yard line of a fourth-down play.

Decker completed 20 of 36 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns, including a 64-yard scoring strike to Boyd less than three minutes into the game.

Check back later for more coverage, and comments from players and Sanchez.

Northern Illinois takes first lead against UNLV

The UNLV football team’s lack of player depth is starting to show.

The Rebels have fallen behind at Northern Illinois late in the third quarter, surrendering a 93-yard scoring drive in less than three minutes to give the Huskies their first lead of the night, 24-20.

The drive featured some missed tackles and blown assignments in pass coverage for the Rebels, whose defensive players are clearly exhausted.

But at least the Rebels are in the game. Anything is possible in the final quarter — a scenario most didn’t expect in the opener.

Rebels retake lead at Northern Illinois on field goal, 20-17

The Rebels aren’t fading.

After allowing Northern Illinois to score the game-tying touchdown on a four-play drive to open the second half, UNLV quickly answered to retake the lead on a 33-yard field goal from Nicolai Bornand.

UNLV has never trailed and leads 20-17 midway through the third quarter. It’s shaping up to be a great start to the Tony Sanchez coaching era.

UNLV surrenders quick touchdown to open second half; game tied

That was fast.

Northern Illinois needed just four plays to open the second half with a scoring drive, evening the score at 17 against the UNLV football team with 13:48 to play in the half.

Desroy Maxwell had a 16-yard rushing touchdown for the Huskies to cap the 63-yard drive. On the first play, they completed a 41-yard pass.

UNLV leads Northern Illinois at halftime in opener, Sanchez debut

The UNLV football team, at least through the first half of the first game in the Tony Sanchez coaching era, have equaled the preseason hype.

They are exceeding expectations in the season opener at Northern Illinois, scoring less than three minutes into the game and building a two-touchdown lead for a 17-10 halftime advantage.

Whether they win or lose, one thing is obvious: This is a different program. They are headed in the right direction.

The Rebels opened the scoring on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Blake Decker to Devonte Boyd. Decker, who has been knocked down multiple times, has completed 8 of 17 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Backup quarterback Kurt Palandech played one series and made the most of his opportunity, rushing for an 18-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.

UNLV, though, has showed some signs of poor play. It dropped two passes in the end zone that would have extended the lead to 21-3, but it instead had to settle for a short field goal.

Then, at the end of the half, Northern Illinois drove relatively easily down the field for a touchdown to trim the deficit to 17-10. On the play, UNLV linebacker Matt Vea rushed on the field late, and two Northern Illinois receivers were wide open.

But, it could be worse. Last year, at halftime against Northern Illinois, UNLV trailed 21-5 at home.

Rebels on the board again, leads 14-3 against Northern Illinois

Tony Sanchez seems to be making all the correct calls in his first game as the UNLV football coach.

In a scripted move, he inserted backup quarterback Kurt Palandech for a series at the end of the first quarter. Palandech responded with an 18-yard quarterback keeper to extend the Rebels’ lead over Northern Illinois to 14-3.

The sophomore Palandech, a junior college transfer, also had an 11-yard rush and 10-yard completion on the scoring drive.

The Rebels are about to get the ball back, forcing Northern Illinois into a three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

UNLV’s defense holds strong, helps Rebels lead 7-3 after first quarter of opener

So far, so good for the UNLV football team.

The Rebels are leading 7-3 at Northern Illinois after the first quarter of their season opener, striking for a 64-yard touchdown from Blake Decker to Devonte Boyd just two minutes into the game.

The UNLV defense has done the rest. It had defensive stops twice on fourth down plays to force turnovers in UNLV territory. And on the first NIU drive of the game, the Rebels held strong to force a field goal attempt after the Huskies brought the ball to around the UNLV 20-yard line.

It’s gets even better for the Rebels. They have the ball at the NIU 18 to open the second quarter, going with backup quarterback Kurt Palandech for a series in a scripted move by first-year coach Tony Sanchez in an attempt to develop depth.

Rebels lead opener early on long TD reception from Devonte Boyd

The UNLV football team won the coin toss today in its season opener at Northern Illinois and elected to receive. Turns out that was a great decision by first-year coach Tony Sanchez.

The Rebels needed seven plays to score their initial touchdown of the season, with Blake Decker hooking up with Devonte Boyd for a 64-yard touchdown on a third-down play for a quick 7-0 lead just 2 minutes, 25 seconds into the game.

UNLV went 84 yards on seven plays in the initial drive on the Sanchez era, picking up three first down and possibly setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Now the UNLV defense, which last season ranked as one of the worst nationally, has to hold up its end of the bargain.

UNLV football tries to equal hype after winning offseason

The UNLV football program clearly won the offseason. The Rebels, and new coach Tony Sanchez, have grabbed your attention.

Starting today when they begin against Northern Illinois as 23-point betting underdogs, they hope to continue to stir your interest. And, of course pull off an upset.

The brilliant two-word marketing strategy we’ve seen throughout Las Vegas proclaiming a “New Era” of Rebel football. The never-seen-before hype surrounding the program with national media flocking to town to document Sanchez, a high school coach putting his stamp on the college game. The new uniforms, stadium and training complex upgrades, and small spike in season ticket sales. UNLV football has never looked better.

Now, they have to shown similar improvements on the field — a makeover that won’t come as easy. Experts again predict UNLV will be one of the worst teams in the Mountain West and say they struggle to win more than two games.

It could be the same UNLV team, just better dressed.

“All the talking ends Saturday. All the this, all the that, all the speculation, all the picks; they mean nothing,” Sanchez said earlier in the week. “You go out and you play the game. There’s a winner and a loser and that’s fantastic. It’s America.”

Sanchez built a dynasty at Bishop Gorman, taking the Las Vegas school from being competitive locally to last season winning the mythical national championship. He won six state championships and 85 games, and lost just five times in six seasons.

If the experts are correct, he’ll lose that many games at UNLV in the next two months.

The Rebels’ inexperienced and unproven lineup, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, was a formula for disaster last season. They ranked as one of the nation’s worst defensive teams and quarterback Blake Decker rarely had time to pass.

Partly because of the instability on the offensive line, Decker had more interceptions than touchdowns in 2014, and was also knocked out of a few games. If Decker goes down — today or at any time during the season — the Rebels won’t have an adequate solution.

The same can be said at other positions. In remaking the program, they’ll be little room for injuries, game day errors or moments of poor effort. Sanchez has micromanaged the program the past eight month to today. Now, he’ll rely on the players to do the rest. We’ll shortly get our first sample of the New Era.

I’ll keep everyone posted once the game begins. Follow my Twitter feed @raybrewer21.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21