Rebels topple Hawaii, finally get elusive third win

UNLV was sputtering and tied with a Hawaii football team playing for an interim coach and mired in a season going nowhere.

The Rebels, in other words, were in a bad spot.

“We needed a big play,” wide receiver Aaron Criswell said.

Thanks to Criswell and quarterback Blake Decker, the Rebels got it.

Decker dropped back and connected with Criswell racing down the field for an 85-yard touchdown to give the Rebels the lead and life.

They never gave back the advantage, building on another long touchdown pass and a rushing game that produced 289 yards and two 100-yard running backs to beat the Rainbow Warriors 41-21.

The victory Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium lifted UNLV (3-6, 2-3 Mountain West) to the difficult-to-reach three-victory mark. The Rebels, who play at Colorado State next Saturday, had finished eight of the past 11 seasons with two victories, including last year when they went 2-11.

“We’ve been in search of it and close to it for a long darn time,” UNLV first-year coach Tony Sanchez said. “That’s a benchmark. It’s not the goal by any means. Now we can show it on paper because we’re improving.”

UNLV players thought they hit the three-win mark last season in Hawaii, but lost 37-35 after a series of controversial decisions by the officials. That set up one of the storylines for this week, even if the 2014 loss wasn’t discussed much by the players.

“It was just in our minds to try to get them back,” said linebacker Tau Lotulelei, a Hawaii native who led the Rebels with 12 tackles, including two for loss and a sack.

Officiating didn’t come into play in the rematch with the Warriors (2-8, 0-6), who were coached by interim Chris Naeole after Norm Chow was fired the previous weekend.

Hawaii gave UNLV a competitive game, but couldn’t stop the Rebels on the ground. UNLV had two 100-yard backs for the second time this season, with Keith Whitely rushing for 124 yards on 21 carries and Lexington Thomas for 120 yards on 17 attempts. Each scored a touchdown in what was a career game for both players.

Decker did his part, too, after he was listed as questionable with an injured throwing shoulder. He didn’t appear affected in completing 15 of 24 passes for 258 yards. In addition to the 85-yarder, he also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Boyd for a 24-14 lead in the third quarter.

Boyd finished with six receptions for 120 yards.

It was the 85-yarder to Criswell, his only catch of the game, that put the Rebels ahead for good. Until that time, UNLV had gone three-and-out on three consecutive drives, and Hawaii took advantage to even the game at 7 midway through the second quarter.

Then Decker found Criswell for the second-longest completion in UNLV history. It was 2 yards short of the record set in 1977 when Carlton Kelley threw a touchdown pass to Henry Vereen against Northern Arizona.

“(Criswell) had his guy by two or three steps,” Decker said.

UNLV not only finished the first half strong but also came out in the third quarter with a 15-play, seven-minute drive. Nicolai Bornand’s 31-yard field goal gave the Rebels a 17-7 lead.

That proved to be a crucial edge, as the Warriors twice cut UNLV’s lead to one possession, but the Rebels responded each time, and in the fourth quarter, they made sure this ending would be different from the recent ones.

UNLV lost fourth-quarter leads to San Jose State and Fresno State and let a close game against Boise State get away.

“We’ve had issues finishing,” Sanchez said. The Warriors are “scrappy, and we got what we thought we would from them. We felt like we let them hang around a little longer than we should. That’s college football, and our guys made some plays and eventually we pulled away. It was great to see them finish in the fourth quarter.”

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