Rebels punish Idaho State 80-8, break scoring marks

As UNLV ran off the Sam Boyd Stadium field at halftime, its long-suffering football fans stood and gave the football team a big ovation.

They had a lot to shout about and no reason to be nervous.

At least not about the game’s outcome. There was still some drama remaining, but even that wouldn’t last until the fourth quarter.

With 2:59 remaining in the third quarter — third quarter! — Troy Hawthorne returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown, and with Nicolai Bornand’s extra point, UNLV reached a school-record 73 points.

And a Mountain West record.

The Rebels’ 80-8 victory made a statement Saturday night, one to be heard in Reno and all the Mountain West cities. UNLV’s 72-point victory was the largest in school history.

This was first-year coach Tony Sanchez’s first victory, and it broke a nine-game losing streak for the Rebels.

"Really, at the end of the day, I wish we wouldn't have gotten there (to 80 points)," Sanchez said. "We played well. The biggest thing is we won the game. I don't care if we won by one. I don't care if we won by 50. For as long as I'm here, and I hope to God that's a long, long time, we want to win by one single point, and I don't care who we're playing."

For at least one night, UNLV (1-3) affirmed the promise it hinted during the first three games of a demanding schedule that included Northern Illinois, UCLA and Michigan.

— UNLV’s 72-point margin of victory beat the previous mark set in a 69-0 victory in 1968 over Caltech.

— The Rebels’ 35 points in the first quarter broke the school record for any quarter, which had been 33 in the fourth in that Caltech game.

— Their 52 points at halftime broke the record of 38 set in 1977 in the first half against Western Illinois and in 1980 in the second half against New Mexico.

— Also falling was the 72-point total the Rebels hung on the Lobos in the 1980 game. UNLV also broke the Mountain West record of 72 points that Air Force scored against Nicholls State in 2009 and New Mexico put on Texas State in 2003.

— UNLV's 517 yards rushing was second in school history to the 523 against Santa Clara in 1973. The Rebels' six touchdowns on the ground were just one behind the mark established in 1974 against Prairie View A&M.

"We challenged our (offensive) line and our backs this week," Sanchez said. "I don't know if anybody knew it, but going into this game, we had not had a rushing touchdown by a running back, and that irks you a little bit."

Now, for UNLV, it’s a matter of carrying this performance forward, and next up is the team’s most intense rival. The Rebels play at UNR on Saturday as Sanchez introduces himself to the series. He will try to have more success than his predecessors, who lost nine of 10 meetings against the Wolf Pack.

"I think anybody's that going to turn on the film these next couple of weeks and watch tonight's game is going to be a little scared to come up against us," UNLV quarterback Blake Decker said.

Including UNR?

"I would think so, yeah," Decker said.

If UNLV plays like it did against Idaho State (1-3), the Rebels will get back the Fremont Cannon. The Wolf Pack, of course, are a considerable step up in competition from Idaho State.

For a UNLV program, however, that has been on the wrong side of so many one-sided scores, the Rebels will take this kind of night no matter the caliber of opponent.

They took control from the start when Aaron Criswell returned the opening kickoff 58 yards, and two plays Decker completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to running back Keith Whitely.

Midway through the first quarter, Dominic Baldwin blocked a field-goal attempt, and Tim Hough picked up the ball and ran this way and that way and the other way and finally found his way 44 yards down the field to the 23-yard line to set off a scoring avalanche.

"I saw a green light, and our coach always preaches about getting into the end zone every chance we can," said Hough, who went to Desert Pines High School. "You don't know normally get a chance to recover a field goal, so I tried my best to get in the end zone."

He didn't get there, but plenty of his teammates did in scoring four touchdowns in the final 5:54 of the quarter to take a 35-0 lead. The Rebels led 52-8 at halftime and 73-8 after the third quarter.

Players from both sides of the ball had starring roles, with Hough intercepting two passes to go with that crazy return of a blocked kick.

The Rebels also intercepted four passes. UNLV last had that many in 1993 against Louisiana Tech. With eight interceptions through four games, the Rebels already have topped their total of seven from last season.

Offensively, UNLV's strong run games was led by freshman backs Xzaviar Campbell (139 yards, two touchdowns) and Lexington Thomas (106 yards, one TD) each breaking 100 for the first time.

"It was unbelievable," Campbell said. "You think about practice. Coach always says the practice is going to be harder than the real games."

UNLV’s passing game did its part, with Decker and Kurt Palandech each throwing for two touchdowns.

This was far from the struggle UNLV has experienced in recent seasons against Football Championship Subdivision teams. The Rebels lost twice and struggled to beat Northern Colorado by a point.

The only drama late in this game involved what records would be broken.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him: @markanderson65