Colorado State’s opening drive still haunts UNLV players

Scared money never wins.

That old gambling expression certainly held true for UNLV’s football team Saturday, when it played tight while falling behind 35-0 in the first half of a 42-23 loss to Colorado State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Coming off a comeback win over Hawaii, the Rebels (3-5, 2-2 Mountain West) let the Rams open the game with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that UNLV nose tackle Mike Hughes Jr. said drove a psychological stake into the heart of the defense.

“I believe we let the first drive dictate what we did for the rest of the half. We kind of played not to win but rather not to mess up, and that’s where our energy went,” he said. “We can’t play like that. We’ve got to play to win.”

Likewise, Rebels center Will Kreitler said the offense was thrown off on its opening possession after David Greene was stopped for no gain on third-and-1 before Evan Pantels missed a 41-yard field goal.

“All year, we’ve been so good at those short-distance plays. There was just kind of a miscommunication, and we had a couple guys get off the ball late,” he said. “That was really a big determinant in how we played the rest of the game. It really affected us.”

Colorado State scored a touchdown on its next possession — and five of six first-half possessions — and the Rebels never recovered. UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said his team is still learning to handle adversity.

“In order to be successful, you’ve got to have a little looseness to you. You’ve got to have fun doing it. You’ve got to maintain the swagger,” Sanchez said. “You see it in every sport. As soon as you get tight, your execution starts to fade. It’s not that you’re not playing hard, you’re just not playing smart. You’re playing tight. You’re not playing loose.”

While the Rams tried to control the ball and run the clock in the second half, the Rebels outscored them 23-7 and outgained them by 119 yards (288-169).

“They just loosened up and worried about executing one play at a time,” Sanchez said. “They weren’t overwhelmed trying to win the game on every snap.”

LATERAL DAMAGE

UNLV turned the ball over at its 11-yard line late in the first half when Dalton Sneed’s apparent incompletion to Lexington Thomas was ruled a lateral and a fumble that was recovered by Colorado State. The Rams scored three plays later to make the score 35-0.

Sanchez said he doesn’t think it was a lateral and sent video of the play to the league office.

“They said the ball was released on the 12 and it was touched on the 12,” he said. “That’s not a lateral. But it is what it is. That turnover just absolutely killed us.”

CLIMBING THE CHARTS

Robert Jackson will make his first start at cornerback in Saturday’s game at San Jose State (2-6, 1-3) over Darius Mouton, who is listed as a co-starter and also will see action.

Jackson, a 6-foot-2-inch, 205-pound junior, is a midyear junior college transfer from College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California. Mouton, a 5-10, 170-pound sophomore, has started all but one game this season.

“Darius has done well and at times he’s struggled,” Sanchez said. “Robert has done well in practice and is a bigger body. We’ll get Robert out there a little bit and see what he can do.”

REBELS KNOW WAY TO SAN JOSE

UNLV senior captain linebacker Ryan McAleenan started his college career at San Jose State, where he redshirted in 2012 before playing one season for College of the Canyons.

UNLV defensive coordinator Kent Baer coached at San Jose State from 2008 to 2012, when, as interim head coach, he guided the Spartans to a win in the Military Bowl.

INJURY REPORT

Javin White, a redshirt freshman reserve defensive back, is out for the season with a fractured clavicle.

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