Favored UNLV looks for rare win against BYU

The stadium was quiet except for one small section of UNLV football fans, a joyful noise that remains with Sam King to this day.

He and his Rebels teammates provided those scarlet-clad supporters with the unexpected thrill of watching UNLV rally from 17 points down to defeat No. 8 Brigham Young 45-41 in 1981.

“Any time the BYU game comes up, it’s always a flashback to that situation,” said King, the former quarterback. “It was so memorable and so much fun. I don’t think any of the guys will ever forget that particular game.”

The teams meet again at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV (4-5) has never beaten BYU (2-8) in Las Vegas, but the Rebels are 4-point favorites.

It’s a series BYU leads 16-3 with seven consecutive victories, but UNLV broke through in Provo, Utah, with victories in 2002 and 2004 to go with the King-led comeback win 36 years ago.

The rally

BYU went ahead 41-24, but King said because both offenses moved the ball up and down the field, he wasn’t worried about rallying his team.

“We always felt like we had an opportunity to score if we got on the field,” King said. “The defense really came through at that particular time in the game. They made some different stops that gave us opportunities to get back on the field.”

He was going against future Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, who started because another future NFL standout, Jim McMahon, was out with a knee injury. But Young was unknown at the time, and to King just another opponent.

BYU as a team was another matter, and with the UNLV defense making the stops that King wanted, he put the offense in position. He completed a 20-yard pass to Jim Sandusky with 19 seconds remaining for the winning touchdown.

That comeback tied for the fourth largest in UNLV history, and it’s the highest-rated team the Rebels have ever defeated.

“There were (BYU) fans that came up after the game and would say, ‘Wow, what a great game,’ and congratulating us,” King said. “I think they could appreciate watching that offense because they could appreciate the offense they had for all those years. They didn’t want to lose, but they could appreciate what was going on.”

Two in three years

UNLV’s other victories over the Cougars occurred in the early 2000s under John Robinson, who had more success in this rivalry than any other Rebels coach. Not only did UNLV win those two meetings, but the Rebels had chances three other seasons under Robinson — losing 10-7 in 2000, 35-31 in 2001 and 27-20 in overtime in 2003.

“For some reason, we matched up really well with BYU,” former safety Jamaal Brimmer said.

Brimmer had one of the most memorable plays in rivalry history in the 2002 game. The Rebels were ahead 9-3 in the fourth quarter when he came on a blindside blitz and dislodged the mouthpiece and ball from Cougars quarterback Matt Berry. Brimmer picked up the loose ball and scored an easy 27-yard touchdown to break open a game the Rebels went on to win 24-3.

“I think (that play) gave the confidence that the defensive coach had for me for the next year,” said Brimmer, the 2002 and 2003 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

In 2004, an emotional UNLV team went to Provo and won 24-20, surviving three incomplete passes from the 10-yard line in the final minute. Robinson had announced two weeks earlier he would retire at season’s end.

“He talked to us about the way games went when you’re the underdog, what you had to do to keep the crowd out of it,” Brimmer said. “He was really good at getting us to buy in. That was huge for us.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.