Report Card: UNLV vs. UNR

TURNING POINT

Simply put, it was one of the biggest in UNLV's recent football history.

Leading just 13-10 with under nine minutes remaining, the Rebels received a 52-yard pick-six touchdown from junior middle linebacker Ryan McAleenan. The ensuing extra point made it 20-10 and all but ended UNR's hopes of rallying for a win.

GRADING THE REBELS

OFFENSE: B-minus.

You have to grade this area on a curve, given starting quarterback Blake Decker went down with a left shoulder injury late in the first half and didn't return. The best thing sophomore backup Kurt Palandech did — after leading the Rebels to a score in just two plays upon replacing Decker — was not turn the ball over in the second half. He managed things the best he could and didn't make the sorts of mistakes young quarterbacks thrust into pressure situations often do.

DEFENSE: A.

It made plays and stops needed to win a rivalry game. McAleenan's pick-six gave the Rebels a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and UNLV later responded with a game-clinching stop of UNR, holding on downs at the UNLV 43-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the game. The Rebels also held on both fourth-down attempts by UNR. Once UNLV lost Decker, it was on the defense to win the game. It did.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A.

McAleenan's play will be among the most talked about, but the game's other Most Valuable Player has to be UNLV senior punter Logan Yunker. He averaged 42.9 yards on eight kicks with a long of 59 and four times pinned UNR inside its own 20-yard line. Yunker was huge in the first half, continuing to flip the field and make UNR begin drives deep in its own territory. Nicolai Bornand made his only field-goal attempt (45 yards), and was likely glad his missed extra-point didn't come back to haunt the Rebels in a game decided by six points.

COACHING: A.

Tony Sanchez said he heard it immediately from fans upon accepting the head coaching job for the Rebels. Get the cannon back. Get it back. In his first time experiencing the rivalry that is UNLV and UNR, he and his staff did just that. They coaxed Palandech through a half of leading the offense, made the correct defensive calls at the biggest moments and today have UNLV at 1-0 to begin Mountain West play.