UNLV’s Dalton Sneed secures starting QB job

Dalton Sneed solidified his hold on UNLV’s starting quarterback job after the redshirt freshman rallied the Rebels to a 41-38 victory over Hawaii early Sunday morning in Honolulu.

Backup Kurt Palandech played one series, as planned, against the Rainbow Warriors that resulted in a three-and-out, and Johnny Stanton returned to practice on Tuesday. But UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said he has no plans to play either junior quarterback in Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. home game against Colorado State.

“You look at the body of work and the way Dalton played the entire game, he really settled in and made some plays at the end,” Sanchez said. “The way he executed two two-minute drills, that was huge. That’s tough to do on the road.

“He’s got the ball. There’s no plan right now to get Kurt in at a specific time.”

Stanton, who has been sidelined with a knee injury the last three games, is listed third on the depth chart and would only play Saturday in an emergency.

“He’s still not 100 percent, but you need that third guy. He’s available,” Sanchez said. “Right now he can hand the ball off and throw from the shotgun but he’s not mobile. He’s limited right now in his running ability.”

Sneed completed 19 of 27 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, with no turnovers, and rushed for 61 yards in leading the Rebels (3-4, 2-1 Mountain West) to their second win in his first three collegiate starts. He drove the Rebels 76 yards in 10 plays in 1:46 for a touchdown at the end of the first half that tied it 21-21 and marched them 45 yards in seven plays in 2:07 to set up Evan Pantels’ game-winning 28-yard field goal with 49 seconds left.

KEY PLAYS

Sanchez said he showed his team three plays when they returned to Las Vegas on Sunday morning. One was Palandech handling a bad snap on the winning field goal and another was backup right tackle J’Ondray Sanders — who replaced Nathan Jacobson for one play after his helmet came off — making a pancake block to pave the way for Lexington Thomas’ 34-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 38-38.

The other play Sanchez singled out was the opening kickoff returned 75 yards by Hawaii’s Paul Harris. Rebels backup safety Dalton Baker chased Harris down from 15 yards behind and tackled him on the 25, where UNLV forced a three-and-out and pushed the Rainbow Warriors out of field-goal range on a sack by Jeremiah Valoaga.

“It was a fanatical effort,” Sanchez said. “That’s a game-saving tackle. That’s a game-saving defensive stand. If they were able to score right away, that changes the whole emotion of the game.

“Those three plays were plays people don’t really see but they make all the difference in the world to us as a team. It just shows that no-quit attitude.”

FLOWERS IN BLOOM

Converted from cornerback to wide receiver before the game, redshirt freshman Jericho Flowers converted a key third down on the touchdown drive that tied the game at 38-all when he made an 8-yard catch on third-and-7.

“And it was a low ball and he went down and got it,” Sanchez said. “That was a huge play in the game.”

Flowers, who caught passes from true freshman quarterback Armani Rogers at Los Angeles’ Hamilton High School, said he was recruited by Hawaii as an athlete.

“I always liked having the ball in my hand but I grew up playing corner,” Flowers said. “I still like corner better but I’ll do anything to help the team.”

FOURTH DOWN CALL

In a 21-21 game with 5:10 left in the third quarter, UNLV settled for an 18-yard field goal after an 81-yard drive rather than go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

“Thank goodness we did. That comes down to being a deciding factor in a three-point game,” Sanchez said. “Our kids worked so hard to get down there. It had been back and forth all night, there was an opportunity to take the lead back and we hadn’t had it for a while at that point. It’s so important at the end of that drive to be winning the game, so that was an easy decision right there.”

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