UNLV’s Tony Sanchez getting very familiar with UCLA QB Josh Rosen

PASADENA, Calif. — For the third straight September, a football team coached by Tony Sanchez will square off against a squad quarterbacked by Josh Rosen when UNLV takes on UCLA at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

The game will essentially serve as a rubber match between the second-year coach and sophomore quarterback. Sanchez guided Bishop Gorman High School to a 34-31 win over Rosen’s St. John Bosco team in 2014, and Rosen helped the Bruins to a 37-3 rout of the Rebels last season at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“He was a heck of a high school player, arguably the best in high school football his senior year, and he was arguably the best freshman in college football last year at quarterback,” Sanchez said. “The thing that scares you the most about him is his arm strength. He can make any throw.

“You’ve got to put pressure on him. You’ve got to make him throw off his back foot. You’ve got to make him check down on different reads. If we do that, it’ll give us the best chance to be successful.”

Two years ago, Rosen and St. John Bosco came to Las Vegas as the top-rated quarterback and No. 1-ranked team in the country to play the Gaels, who were ranked No. 2.

After a slow start in which Bosco fell behind 27-3, Rosen (14-for-27, 263 yards) fired two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 34-31 with 1:12 left. Bishop Gorman recovered the subsequent onside kick and ran out the clock en route to the victory and went on to win the mythical national title in Sanchez’s sixth and final year at the school.

Last season, Rosen, coming off a sensational college debut, fired a 29-yard TD pass to give the Bruins an early 7-0 lead over the Rebels but was mostly held in check, as he completed 22 of 42 passes for 223 yards and threw an interception.

UNLV, which failed to convert a fake field goal on its opening drive, trailed 10-0 late in the first half when backup quarterback Kurt Palandech threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. UCLA scored a TD on its opening drive of the second half and it was all but over.

“The second half kind of got away a little bit, but we were able to run the ball at times, and we played defense well for a half,” Sanchez said. “We’ve got to be close in the fourth quarter somewhere. At the end of the game, we’ve got to be within striking distance. If we are, it gives us a great opportunity.”

The 6-foot-4-inch, 218-pound Rosen, from Manhattan Beach, California, threw for 3,668 yards and 23 TDs as a freshman. He opened this season by throwing for 343 yards, a TD and three interceptions under heavy pressure in a 31-24 overtime loss at Texas A&M.

“He’s still a developing guy,” Sanchez said. “It’s amazing the amount of pressure on these quarterbacks when they’re young. They’re expected to be on all the time.”

The 19-year-old Rosen — who posed for a photo last year while sitting with a woman in an inflatable hot tub in his dorm room — brought some pressure on himself at Texas A&M after saying before the game that he wasn’t concerned about the crowd noise because “after about 50,000 people it all sounds the same.”

The crowd of 100,443 repeatedly chanted “50,000” at Rosen, who at one point waved his arms imploring them to yell louder moments before throwing an interception.

“He has a lot of swagger, and he’s confident in what he does,” UNLV cornerback Torry McTyer said.

UCLA declined the Review-Journal’s request to interview Rosen. Despite his actions, Bruins coach Jim Mora said Rosen has “really matured on and off the field” since last year.

“I know things he’s said publicly will lend to people not believing that, but he’s really become a great leader on our team,” Mora said. “He’s very serious on his craft.”

The Rebels are serious about upsetting UCLA despite the fact that the Bruins are favored by 26 points and should be focused after their loss to the Aggies.

“Point spreads mean nothing,” Sanchez said. “Look at how many teams were favored to win (last) week and didn’t win. You had Power Five schools lose to I-AA schools. We had a school in our conference go to overtime with a I-AA school (in UNR’s 30-27 win over Cal Poly).

“I don’t care what the lines are. Lines don’t dictate the score. The players on the field do.”

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