Rebels hoping to build on ASU win

By Rob Miech

Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 | 6:38 p.m.

UNLV football coach Mike Sanford choked up when he spoke with a sideline television reporter moments after the Rebels’ stunning 23-20 overtime victory against Arizona State on Saturday night.

Those emotions continued when the Rebels left the stadium and Sanford spoke with his son, Mike Jr., an offensive assistant coach at Stanford.

The Cardinal lost at TCU earlier Saturday, then Junior watched Senior coach against the 15th-ranked Sun Devils. Mike Jr. was a graduate assistant under his father at UNLV.

Mike Sanford Sr. won only two games in each of his first three seasons at UNLV. Saturday’s victory pumped the Rebels to 2-1, and they play host to Iowa State (2-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“He was just overwhelmed,” Sanford said of the chat with his son Sunday afternoon after practice. “He was here, so he’s seen what it was. That was a highlight for me, to hear him talk about how far the program has come.”

Sanford said the 18 hours after the big win were awesome. The team went to Arizona in chartered buses but flew back home, returning to Las Vegas at 2 a.m. Sunday.

“Awesome and exhausting,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot of text messages and phone calls from a lot of coaches in the country, NFL and college coaches I’ve coached with.

“The hard thing, and it’s a good problem to have, is I can’t return all of them. It’s back to work.”

That includes recruiting. This is a key stretch on the calendar for prospects, since college coaches can visit recruits in their homes.

Some of those who have been on UNLV coaches’ must-call lists have been calling and sending text messages to Sanford’s staff members since the Rebels’ big victory.

“That’s a positive, without question,” Sanford said. “Those are guys who have been offered (scholarships) to a lot of places, who we have offered. That’s definitely a positive.”

It will be important to follow up such an impressive victory with more positive outcomes, something UNLV failed to do last season after it beat Utah.

The Rebels followed that by losing, 27-20, to UNR, which led to a season-ending, eight-game losing streak.

“A tailspin,” Sanford said. “The big thing for us is, where do we go from here? We’ve got to build on this. We haven’t accomplished anything yet. That was a great win and all that.

“But as far as our goals, we still have a lot of goals in front of us.”

Sanford hasn’t seen any figures, but he expects a big crowd for Saturday night’s game against Iowa State.

“I think people will be interested because of what happened last night,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a Big 12 opponent, a BCS opponent, coming into our stadium.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for fans to see what UNLV football is all about in 2008, not anything in the past.”

Clayton & Co. on 'Cloud 9'

When everyone on the Rebels’ sideline started exploding after lineman Malo Taumua blocked the field goal that clinched UNLV’s victory over ASU, Rebels quarterback Omar Clayton dropped to a knee.

“I just said, ‘Thank God it’s over and we won,’” Clayton said. “The past 18 hours have been great. Family back home saw it and I talked to my grandmother. She got to see me play.”

A sophomore quarterback from Normal, Ill., Clayton went 19-for-31, for 191 yards and two touchdowns, against the Sun Devils.

Phillip Payne caught the spectacular one-handed, game-tying touchdown pass at the end of regulation that made No. 4 on ESPN’s greatest plays of the day.

Kyle Watson booted the overtime field goal that would stand as the game-winning points.

Clayton’s father in Dallas also watched the game.

“We’re just coming off Cloud 9,” Omar Clayton said. “Getting texts and phone messages from everyone. That TD being on SportsCenter was great, a real high.

“We beat the No. 15 team in the nation. That sums up everything.”

Smilin’ Summers

Frank “The Tank” Summers, a senior running back from Oakland, Calif., has had trouble wiping a smile from his face since Saturday night.

After practice Sunday afternoon, Summers, who ran 22 times for 103 yards against the Devils, still beamed.

“I can’t get the smile off my face,” he said. “It just was very exciting, very uplifting. Just a great feeling. I have had more calls on my cell phone than it would accept.

“Everyone is so proud of this team and how I played. I had to erase voice messages so I can get more.”

Like Clayton and Sanford, Summers said it is important to follow success with success.

“Exactly,” Summers said. “If we bomb this game (against Iowa State), beating Arizona State means nothing. We have to use it as a stepping stone, put it behind us and get back to work.”

Fading souvenir

Malo Taumua, a sophomore from Honolulu, didn’t need a game ball; the kick that he blocked was still imprinted on the inside of his right forearm after Sunday’s practice.

It was a red welt that he never wanted to fade. He proudly showed it off on the team flight back to Las Vegas.

“It was bigger last night,” Sanford said. “He said, ‘I want to keep it there forever.’ ”

Taumua said you could clearly see the laces and tip of the ball on his arm for a few hours after the game.

“It meant a lot to me,” he said.