Five takeaways from Saturday night’s UNLV-Hawaii game

HONOLULU — Five takeaways from UNLV’s 41-38 victory over Hawaii that ended early Sunday morning (PDT) at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium:

1. Rebels keep hope alive.

Saturday’s game was essentially a must-win for UNLV to have any realistic shot at winning six games and going to a bowl game this season. To do so, the Rebels (3-4, 2-1 Mountain West), who’ve already matched their win total from last season, need to prevail in three of their last five games. Conceding a loss at No. 15 Boise State (6-0, 3-0), UNLV must win three of the following four contests: at home against Colorado State (3-4, 1-2), Wyoming (4-2, 2-0) and UNR (3-4, 1-2) and on the road at San Jose State (2-5, 1-2). The Rams, who come to town at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, made things interesting late in Saturday’s 28-23 loss to the Broncos. Hawaii beat UNR 38-17 and San Jose State 34-17.

2. UNLV finds finishing kick.

The Rebels have now either led or trailed by a touchdown or less in the fourth quarter of 14 of 19 games under second-year coach Tony Sanchez, who has implored his team to do a better job of finishing. UNLV, which improved to 6-13 under Sanchez, finally polished off an opponent down the stretch in Oahu as it twice erased a touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter and scored the game’s final 10 points. Evan Pantels kicked a game-winning 28-yard field goal with 49 seconds left and is perfect this season on field goals (6-for-6) and extra points (30-for-30).

3. Defense delivers.

In a game that featured 79 points and 981 yards of total offense, UNLV’s defense came up with several clutch plays a week after showing signs of life and scoring a touchdown in a loss at San Diego State. Senior linebacker Tau Lotulelei turned in arguably the game’s biggest play when he forced a fumble of Rainbow Warriors quarterback Dru Brown to set up the winning kick. Darius Mouton returned the fumble 52 yards for an apparent score. It was nullified by a penalty, but the Rebels retained possession. Mouton also forced a fumble of Hawaii wideout Marcus Kemp early in the fourth quarter that was recovered by UNLV. But after reviewing the replay, officials ruled the fumble went out of bounds because Kemp touched the ball when he was out of bounds. The Rebels, who gave up 446 yards, also came up with a big stop on the Rainbow Warriors’ opening drive of the game. After Paul Harris returned the opening kickoff 75 yards, UNLV forced a three-and-out, with Jeremiah Valoaga sacking Brown for a 19-yard loss on third down that pushed Hawaii out of field goal range.

4. Dalton Sneed steps up.

The redshirt freshman quarterback bounced back in a big way after completing only 2 of 12 passes for 9 yards and an interception at San Diego State. Sneed finished 19-for-27 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, with no turnovers, and ran for 61 yards. He spread the ball around to six different receivers and helped the Rebels convert 10 of 16 third downs, including two crucial conversions on the tying touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Sneed delivered passes under heavy pressure at times and had three key completions of more than 30 yards — a 35-yarder to tight end Andrew Price that set up a score that tied the game 21-21 at halftime, a 39-yarder to tight end Tim Holt in the fourth quarter that set up a touchdown that tied it at 31-all and a 31-yarder to Devonte Boyd that set up Pantels’ winning kick.

5. Devonte Boyd, Lexington Thomas regain form.

Limited to 119 yards receiving in his previous four games, Boyd broke out with six catches for 83 yards and his first touchdown since the Sept. 1 season opener against Jackson State. Likewise, Thomas, who had been held to 46 yards rushing his previous two games, exploded for 102 yards and a 34-yard touchdown run that tied it at 38.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.