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San Jose State running back Malike Roberson (20) runs against UNLV linebacker Javin White during the first half of an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018.
Published Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 | 2 a.m.
Updated Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 | 6:34 p.m.
San Jose State put 50 points on the board — the third UNLV opponent in the last four games to do so — and picked up its first win of the season with a 50-37 drubbing of UNLV.
UNLV allowed San Jose State ring up 506 total yards, including 359 passing and 147 rushing. Spartans quarterback Josh Love completed 25-of-36 attempts for 335 yards and four touchdowns, while Tyler Nevens ran for a season-high 103 yards on 22 carries.
The Rebels' offense revolved around freshman receiver Tyleek Collins, who caught seven passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns. But it wasn't enough, as San Jose State averaged 6.6 yards per play and simply out-scored the Rebels.
UNLV drops to 2-6 on the season and 0-4 in Mountain West play. With two difficult games coming up (vs. Fresno State, at San Diego State), things could get worse for the Rebels before they get better.
San Jose State leads UNLV in fourth quarter, 47-31
A field goal and an onside kick recovery gave UNLV a glimmer of hope, but Max Gilliam was intercepted for the third time and now San Jose State has the ball and a 47-31 lead with less than nine minutes to play.
After Evan Owens recovered the onside attempt, UNLV had good field position and a chance to pull within a single score with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. But Gilliam was late on a comeback route, and SJSU corner John Toussaint jumped it and ran it back into UNLV territory.
It was Gilliam's third interception of the game.
UNLV trails San Jose State in fourth quarter
Heading into the fourth quarter, UNLV trails San Jose State, 41-28.
The Rebels have freshman receiver Tyleek Collins to thank for even being that close. On a 3rd-and-6 near midfield, Collins took a short pass and weaved through defenders for a 46-yard touchdown to pull UNLV within 38-28.
On the ensuing possession, San Jose State drove into UNLV territory, but the Rebels defense got a stop on 3rd-and-long and held SJSU to a field goal.
Collins now has five catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns on the day. Max Gilliam has completed 18-of-29 passes for 290 yards and three scores.
The Rebels will have a first down at their own 35 to open the fourth quarter.=
San Jose State extends lead over UNLV
San Jose State took the opening kick of the second half and drove 75 yards for a touchdown to extend its lead over UNLV to 31-21.
On UNLV's ensuing drive, the Rebels advanced into SJSU territory but Max Gilliam's pass was knocked down on 4th-and-2, giving the ball back to the Spartans.
San Jose State is now driving at midfield, with a 10-point lead and less than six minutes left in the third quarter.
San Jose State leads UNLV at half, 24-21
Max Gilliam gave UNLV a lead late in the first half, and the Rebels defense gave it right back.
After Gilliam threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tyleek Collins to give UNLV a 21-17 lead with 1:36 remaining, San Jose State drove the length of the field, with Josh Love hitting Tre Walker for a 37-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the half. That score has given the Spartans a 24-21 lead at the half.
The encouraging news for UNLV is that Gilliam has found his groove. After a slow start, he is now 12-of-21 for 207 yards and two touchdowns, with both scoring passes going to Collins.
The bad news is that the Rebels defense has shown no signs of being able to tame the San Jose State offense. The Spartans came into the game as one of the worst rushing teams in the nation, but they've racked up 79 yards on 19 carries against UNLV.
San Jose State will receive the ball to start the second half, so we'll see if the UNLV defense is up for the challenge.
Gilliam hits long touchdown pass at San Jose State
San Jose State kicked a 50-yard field goal to take a 10-point lead over UNLV, but the Rebels answered back immediately — and in a big way.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Max Gilliam threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Tyleek Collins to pull UNLV within 17-14 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.
Collins ran past the cornerback and had miles of separation down the field, and Gilliam lofted a perfect pass into his arms. It's the second time in three weeks Collins has caught a touchdown pass of 70 yards or longer, as he also pulled in a deep score against Utah State.
San Jose State leads UNLV in second quarter, 14-7
San Jose State finished off its last drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Josh Love to Josh Oliver, and the Spartans have a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
The UNLV defense has struggled to contain San Jose State, especially on the ground. SJSU came in to today's game averaging 52.0 rushing yards per contest, but the Spartans have already racked up 56 yards on 12 carries against the UNLV defense.
Offensively, UNLV quarterback Max Gilliam is still trying to find a rhythm. He is 5-of-9 for 52 yards, and the Rebels' ground game has not helped him out much, posting just 54 yards on 16 carries.
UNLV, San Jose State tied early
We're tied at the end of the first quarter, 7-7, but San Jose State is driving and threatening to take the lead.
After Dalton Baker's interception, San Jose State targeted him immediately on the next drive. Thai Cottrell beat Baker deep for a 60-yard completion, and Tyler Nevens ran in a 4-yard touchdown on the next play to tie the game, 7-7.
UNLV was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 play on its next possession, and SJSU has driven 42 yards and will have a 1st-and-10 at the UNLV 18 to open the second quarter.
UNLV football scores first at San Jose State
UNLV has jumped out to an early lead in a must-win game at San Jose State.
With 7:39 left in the first quarter, quarterback Max Gilliam kept the ball on a zone read play and ran it in for a 6-yard touchdown, giving the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
Dalton Baker made the game's first big play, intercepting a pass from San Jose State quarterback Josh Love to give UNLV possession at midfield. It was Baker's first career interception and just the second pick for the Rebels this season. Six plays later, Gilliam scampered in for the score.
Previewing UNLV football at San Jose State with reader questions
With UNLV set to take on San Jose State in a must-win game today (3:30 p.m., AT&T SportsNet), let's preview the contest by answering some reader questions:
What time Saturday does Sanchez get fired??
@MikeGrimala
Multiple readers asked this question (with varying degrees of viciousness), so the doctor will represent all those people as well.
Losing at San Jose State in this spot would not be so egregious that it would warrant barring Tony Sanchez from the team flight back to Las Vegas. In fact, nothing that happens on the field will be bad enough to cost him his job before the end of the season. But if the Rebels do lose today, and the losing streak rolls on for a few more weeks — very possible with the schedule ahead — it will be very difficult for Sanchez to explain to his athletic director.
I think Sanchez gets through this season, and then he’ll get at least one more season after that due to a variety of factors — his fundraising efforts, his contract (which runs through 2021), and the nature of the rebuilding job at UNLV. But a loss to San Jose State would officially put him on the hot seat in my opinion, meaning the onus would be on Sanchez to do something in 2018 or 2019 to prove he deserves to stay.
If UNLV does decide to sack Sanchez at the end of the season, who realistically could they hire? Any ideas?
@MikeGrimala
Therein lies the rub for those who want Sanchez gone. What realistic options are out there, just waiting to turn UNLV into a consistent winner? What would draw a good coach to Las Vegas? It’s not a big-money job, and it’s not a high-profile job, and it’s not a stepping stone to a better job. So you’re basically stuck trying to strike gold with an unknown rising star, or a previously competent coach who is looking for a low-pressure opportunity to pad his resume and get back in the game.
This next reader has a specific candidate in mind …
Realistic replacement name: Brady Hoke. Got SDSU out of a situation similar to what UNLV is currently in.
@MikeGrimala
Hoke seems like a decent example to illustrate UNLV’s difficult position. He’s a coach with a good but not great mid-major resume; he went 34-38 at Ball State, then posted a 13-12 record in two years at San Diego State (2009-10). He then faltered when making the step up to Michigan, and now appears to be working his way back up to another head coaching job after assistant stints at Oregon and Tennessee.
The issue is money. Hoke’s last college job as the defensive line coach at Tennessee in 2017 paid him $500,000, and now he’s serving in the same role in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. UNLV is currently paying Sanchez $600,000 per year. I don’t know Hoke’s NFL salary, but would you take a pay cut to take over a program like UNLV, where failure is all but guaranteed for your first several years — and maybe longer?
If even coaches of Hoke’s ilk are out of UNLV’s price range, what does that leave? There just aren’t a lot of known quantities who would make sense. That’s a big reason why I think Sanchez gets another year to show progress.
Max Gilliam has steadily improved offensively. If this progress continues and UNLV is consistently putting points on the board, does Sanchez keep him or put Armani back in?
@MikeGrimala
There’s an old saying in sports that you can’t lose your job due to injury, but you can just go ahead and ignore it. It’s absolutely not true, as guys lose their jobs to injury all the time. The list of injury fill-ins who have gone on to claim the full-time job is too long to recite here, but trust me, it’s very, very common.
Still, I don’t see it happening with Gilliam and Rogers. This is still Armani’s team, the offense has been built around his skills, and despite Gilliam’s improved play against Air Force, the Rebels are still at their best when they are running the ball with Rogers at the center of the attack. When he’s back to 100 percent health, his starting job will be waiting for him.
Being a coach at UNLV ain’t easy, ask the graveyard of coaches who preceded him, and cracks are showing in the veneer…Do you think Sanchez is dreaming a bit about a return to Gorman vs. giving UNLV his 100 percent?
@MikeGrimala
This is a very interesting question, but I’m afraid the answer is going to be a bit boring: I don’t think Sanchez misses it all that much. He is a competitive, ambitious guy who wants to advance his coaching career to the highest levels. Say what you will about the UNLV football job, but once you’ve led a Division I program, high school ball probably seems like small potatoes.
I doubt the high school sidelines will ever give Sanchez the rush of coaching college football, especially at a place like Bishop Gorman, where blowing teams out week after week has to get a bit boring after a while. Sanchez wants a challenge, and he has spent his career seeking out difficult turnaround projects. I think he enjoys testing himself in that way.
If things don’t work out at UNLV, I’d expect him to turn up as an assistant at another DI school before I see him going back to the prep ranks.
Looking forward, will recruiting be hamstrung if Sanchez remains with no extension or no quick replacement in spite of the new facilities?
@MikeGrimala
I don’t expect recruiting to take any discernible hit if Sanchez stays on after the season. As covered earlier, he already has a contract extension that runs through the 2021 season, so he’s not a “lame duck” in terms of his deal. Sure, other schools may point out to recruits that Sanchez is on the hot seat, but they’ve probably already been doing that for the last four years. Nothing will change all that much.
What will Nunu Beck’s 3-point percentage be this season?
@MikeGrimala
Tervell "Nunu" Beck showed surprisingly good scoring touch as a freshman last season, both around the basket and from beyond the arc. He made 36.0 percent of his 3-pointers, which actually ranked second on the team behind Jordan Johnson.
The big question is, how many 3’s will Beck attempt this season? He only took 25 last year, which is a minuscule sample size. If two of his makes had rimmed out, his accuracy would have plummeted to 28.0 percent; If two of his misses had rattled in, it would have risen to 44.0 percent.
We still don’t know if Marvin Menzies plans to use Beck as a power forward, small forward, or something in between. His position will have a big impact on the type of shots he takes, so that will be one of the early storylines to monitor.
Was Kent Baer a terrible recruiter? Do you think Tim Skipper can improve the athletes coming in fast enough to save Sanchez?
@MikeGrimala
The key word there is “athletes” — UNLV simply isn’t very athletic on defense, and it shows every time an opposing team is able to stretch them out and make the Rebels play in space. In the run game, that means option plays to the perimeter, which have gashed UNLV for years. In the passing game, it means 50/50 jump balls deep down the field, where Rebels defensive backs have consistently struggled to play the ball without committing penalties or allowing long completions.
UNLV’s No. 1 priority on the recruiting trail has to be adding more athletic players on the defensive side. The Rebels need to get quicker, stronger, faster and more agile on the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. That’s obviously an extremely difficult task, as the number of huge, athletic men on the planet is limited. Whether Skipper can accomplish that in one offseason is questionable at best.
Should we expect this game against SJSU to lead to anything for the rest of the season for UNLV? Or is this just two bald men fighting over a comb?
@MikeGrimala
If the Rebels manage to win at San Jose State today, they’ll be able to celebrate for about five minutes before looking ahead to the next two weeks on the schedule. They’d be 3-5, with games vs. Fresno State (Nov. 3) and at San Diego State (Nov. 10) on the slate; Gilliam would have to win at least one of those contests in order to give UNLV a realistic chance. If he gets UNLV to 4-6 when Armani Rogers returns, he’ll have done his job and then we can talk about possibly saving the season.
Is there any way to know who was the one person who voted SDSU No. 1 in the preseason hoops poll?
@MikeGrimala
The league doesn’t release individual ballots, so unless that particular voter comes forward to defend/explain his vote, we’ll probably never know.
It wasn’t me, but I don’t think it’s such an egregious opinion that the voter needs to be hunted down and outed publicly. Yes, UNR deserves to be the runaway favorite, and the Wolf Pack’s depth will probably win out over the course of the regular season. But in the league tournament, San Diego State has as good a chance as any team to take the crown. Sophomore Jalen McDaniels had a case for Mountain West Player of the Year honors last year based on advanced metrics, and I’m really high on sophomore wing Matt Mitchell as well. The Aztecs have a really strong core and should be a safe bet to join UNR in the NCAA tournament.
If you HAD to eat one of UNLV’s unlimited dining options at games, would it be the hot dogs, the nachos, or the popcorn?
@MikeGrimala
Now this is a food question with some nuance! Food monotony is a real phenomenon — even if you love a certain dish, how many times in a row can you eat that thing and only that thing before you get tired of it? In this scenario, the hot dog is my favorite of the available items, but I don’t think I could slam dogs for three or four hours straight without getting bored. And with the popcorn, I’d have to eat a ton of it to get full. I’d pass on those options.
That leaves the nachos, which are a little bit more substantive than popcorn. And with the flavor blend of tortilla chip and cheese, it offers a little more variety than hot dog after hot dog. I think I could eat nachos for the duration of a football game and be good with that decision.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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