Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Live blog: Colorado State ends Rebels’ bowl hopes with 37-17 beating

UNLV-CSU 2

David Zalubowski / Associated Press

Colorado State wide receiver Warren Jackson, top, pulls in a pass for a first down over UNLV defensive back Jericho Flowers in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Fort Collins, Colo.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 | 4:42 p.m.

The clock has run out here in Fort Collins, and UNLV will head home dejected after taking a 37-17 beating from Colorado State.

UNLV has three games left on the schedule, but they are fairly meaningless now. Today's loss drops the Rebels to 2-7 on the season, meaning they will not be eligible to play in a bowl game.

There were issues in all three phases today, as UNLV struggled on offense, defense and special teams. In addition to being knocked out of bowl contention, the Rebels are also staring at going winless in conference play, as they're now 0-5 against Mountain West opponents with three games to play.

With postseason hopes put to bed for good, the focus will now turn to coach Tony Sanchez. He was given a bowl-or-bust ultimatum by athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois before the season, so the next four weeks could be spent waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Rebels trail 30-3 in fourth quarter at CSU

Colorado State just put the final nail in the coffin of UNLV's 2019 season, as Max Poduska hit a short field goal to make it 30-3 in favor of the Rams with 10:08 remaining.

The Rebels have simply wilted on both sides of the ball today. The offense has gone 4-of-12 on third downs and 1-of-3 on fourth downs, while gaining just 4.5 yards per play. Colorado State has chewed up the UNLV defense to the tune of 6.3 yards per play.

The most recent drive highlighted UNLV's inability to get off the field on defense, as Colorado State drove 60 yards in 12 plays, taking 5:16 off the clock in a game where the Rebels need to save as much time as they can.

Now trailing by four scores, a comeback appears impossible. Ten minutes from now, UNLV will fall to 2-7 on the season, officially eliminating the Rebels from postseason contention.

Colorado State maintaining big lead over UNLV

UNLV finally got on the board with a 37-yard field goal to open the second half, but Colorado State acted responded with its own field goal on the ensuing possession, and it's now a 27-3 game with 3:16 left in the third quarter.

The Rebels took the kickoff and drove 51 yards in 11 plays before Daniel Gutierrez made a 37-yarder to give UNLV its first points of the game. UNLV has actually managed back-to-back productive drives, but they've yielded just three points, since their 2-minute drill at the end of the first half came up empty.

UNLV battered in first half, down 24-0 at break

The first half ended on a down note for the Rebels, as Giovanni Fauolo was tackled at the Colorado State 2-yard line as time expired. CSU leads at the break, 24-0.

The Rebels were attempting to go into the locker room with some momentum, and a 10-play drive to close out the half looked like it might put some points on the board. Kenyon Oblad lofted a 31-yard pass that Fauolo caught on the run, but the tight end was dragged down short of the end zone as the final seconds ticked off.

On their six first-half possessions, UNLV punted four times, turned it over on downs once and saw the final drive ended by the clock. The Rebels have gained 179 yards so far, with 82 yards coming on the last possession.

Colorado State has had no such trouble moving the ball against the overmatched UNLV defense. The Rams are averaging 5.8 yards per play, and quarterback Patrick O'Brien is 11-of-15 for 106 yards.

UNLV staring at big deficit at Colorado State

Things are looking grim for UNLV at the end of the first quarter, as Colorado State has already built a 21-0 lead.

Jaylen Thomas just ran in an 11-yard touchdown for CSU, stiff-arming Rebels cornerback Myles Plummer to the turf in the process. For the game, Colorado State has accumulated 121 total yards, while UNLV has gained just 41.

The passing game has sputtered early, as freshman quarterback Kenyon Oblad is 2-of-6 for 12 yards. He has been sacked twice.

Rebels down early at CSU

Tony Sanchez said that his team needed to avoid a slow start this week against Colorado State. The Rebels were able to stick to that game plan for all of 14 seconds.

After winning the coin toss and deferring, UNLV kicked to CSU to open the game. Rams returner Anthony Hawkins hauled it in at the 1-yard line and ran it back untouched for a 99-yard touchdown to put UNLV in a very early 7-0 hole.

UNLV's ensuing offensive possession ended with a sack of Kenyon Oblad on third down, and CSU wasted no time in driving 54 yards for another touchdown, this one on an 18-yard run by Marcus McElroy. Less than five minutes into the game, Colorado State now leads, 14-0.

Three keys for UNLV football at Colorado State

An hour before kickoff here in Fort Collins, the Rebels are trying to keep their season a live with a road win. Three keys to watch:

No slow starts

UNLV fell into a 17-0 hole last week against San Diego State before fans had a chance to settle into their seats, and the Rebels had to spend the last 40 minutes of the game trying to dig out of it—unsuccessfully. This team's blueprint for winning almost always involves a healthy dose of the run game, as well as a rested defense that gets to play with good field position. Falling behind by two scores in the first quarter is antithesis to that plan.

The Rebels have to play clean in the opening minutes and not make things too hard on themselves by getting into an early deficit. That means no quick three-and-outs on offense, no turnovers and no special teams gaffes that could lead to fast scores for Colorado State.

Stuff the run

The Rebels have had a hard time stopping opposing running backs this season, but they acquitted themselves nicely against San Diego State last week, limiting SDSU to 150 yards on 37 carries (4.1 yards per carry). It helps that SDSU's offense is conservative and predictable, but it still took a strong, physical performance by the UNLV defense to not get eaten up on the ground.

Can they turn in a similar performance today? Colorado State averages 149.4 rushing yards per game, and the rushing attack ranks 66th in the country at 4.1 yards per carry. The Rams suffered a setback earlier this week, however, when leading rusher Marvin Kinsey (703 yards, 5.8 per carry, six touchdowns) was dismissed from the team. That could play into UNLV's favor if the front seven is as strong at the point of attack as they were last week.

Chill factor

With temperatures expected to be in the mid-30's at kickoff, this will count as UNLV's first cold-weather game of the season. Tony Sanchez said it shouldn't be a factor for his squad, as the low temps in Las Vegas this week helped prepare the players for uncomfortable conditions. But with the way the Rebels' receivers struggled to catch last week, racking up five drops, it'll be interesting to see if they can hold on to the ball in a near-freezing environment.

Previewing UNLV football at Colorado State with reader questions

For UNLV football, elimination season is here.

The Rebels currently sit at 2-6, knowing that one more loss will cement a sub-.500 record (for the sixth straight season) and knock them out of the running for a bowl berth. Winning the final four games would keep their postseason hopes alive, but it won’t be easy — starting with today’s matchup at Colorado State (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West).

Let’s preview UNLV’s must-win matchup by sorting through some reader mail:

@sirmattheus

Who are realistic coaching options if Sanchez is let go at year’s end?

@MikeGrimala

It’s probably time to start answering this question, which has been the most-asked question since the beginning of the season. I’m not sure which specific names would be on the short list if UNLV decides to move on from Tony Sanchez, but we can probably speculate on the type of coach Desiree Reed-Francois would be looking for.

I think we can rule out established, working head coaches right away; I know fans want a big name heading into the first year at the new stadium, but anyone currently helming a successful team will probably be too expensive to fit into the Rebels’ budget. And considering how the Bobby Hauck situation turned out, I don’t think a lower-level coach making the jump to Division I is a viable option, either.

That leaves young, up-and-coming coaches, which is more in line with Reed-Francois’ profile anyway. Maybe someone like a Group of Five coordinator who is ready to take the next step. Here’s what the résumé of the next coach could look like: Group of Five coordinator experience, history of sustained success on his side of the ball (2-3 years), leadership qualities, proven ability to recruit to his system.

Obviously, this is pure speculation, but I think there’s a good chance the next coach—if UNLV makes a move—could look a lot like that.

@KonaSimon

Fill in the blank: If “blank” doesn’t happen, UNLV will have the same lack of success with the next coaching staff, and we’ll be here again in four or five years.

@MikeGrimala

Simply put, recruiting. Recruiting is the life blood of every college program, at every school, in every sport. You need good players to win, and UNLV football has lagged way behind the rest of the Mountain West when it comes to bringing in good players.

If you look back at the last three decades of UNLV football, the reason so many coaches have failed to win is because they fielded undermanned rosters every year. Sanchez has struggled in that area as well, with recruiting classes that have consistently ranked in the bottom half of the MWC. Unless a new coach is able to make significant progress on the recruiting front, the results on the field won’t change.

@jondavid17

Who do you think will be in the starting lineup for UNLV basketball and how deep will they go on the bench? Do you think the Rebels will press on Tuesday as they did in the exhibition?

@MikeGrimala

T.J. Otzelberger surprised a lot of people by leaving Amauri Hardy out of the starting lineup for last week’s exhibition game. The player we thought was going to be the centerpiece of the offense is now looking more like a microwave sixth man, and that raises more questions about the rotation.

Otzelberger has since said that he doesn’t expect to use a set starting lineup throughout the season, instead mixing and matching his nightly rotation based on matchups. That’s a departure from former coach Marvin Menzies, who preferred to pick his five starters and roll with them for the entire season.

I think there’s a good chance Hardy works his way into the starting lineup for most of the season, if he can prove that he can adapt his dribble-heavy, isolation game to fit more into Otzelberger’s ball-movement system. When it’s all said and done, I think the five guys are:

PG: Elijah Mitrou-Long

SG: Amauri Hardy

SG: Jonah Antonio

PF: Donnie Tillman

C: Mbacke Diong

As for the press defense, I don’t think we’ll see too much of it. Very few teams in college basketball employ a full-court press with any regularity; last year, only 25 teams played press on more than 20 percent of defensive possessions, according to Synergy Sports Data. At South Dakota State, Otzelberger only called for the press on 25 total possessions for the entire season (1.1 percent). It was probably just something they wanted to throw out against West Coast Baptist College in order to keep the pace of the game accelerated. Otzelberger wants to play fast, and a bible school coming in and holding the ball for 30 seconds would not have made for an ideal exhibition.

TV: AT&T SportsNet, 12:30 p.m.

Betting line: Colorado State minus-7.5; over/under 65

UNLV (2-5, 0-4 Mountain West)

Coach: Tony Sanchez

Leading passer: Kenyon Oblad (51.9 percent, 1,251 yards, 10 touchdowns, 6 interceptions)

Leading rusher: Charles Williams (793 yards, 5.9 yards per carry, 7 touchdowns)

Leading receiver: Randal Grimes (31 receptions, 474 yards, 5 touchdowns)

Leading defender: Javin White 47 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions)

Colorado State (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West)

Coach: Mike Bobo

Leading passer: Patrick O'Brien (60.8 percent, 1,716 yards, 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions)

Leading rusher: Marcus McElroy (240 yards, 4.7 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns)

Leading receiver: Warren Jackson (49 receptions, 719 yards, 6 touchdowns)

Leading defender: Jan-Phillip Bombek (23 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 5 sacks)

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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