5 takeaways from UNLV’s victory over Jackson State

Here are five takeaways from UNLV’s season-opening 63-13 rout of Jackson State on Thursday night at Sam Boyd Stadium:

1. They are who we thought they were

For years, the Rebels have struggled to win games they were supposed to, with the prime examples being losses to Football Championship Subdivision schools Southern Utah in 2011 and Northern Arizona in 2012. But second-year coach Tony Sanchez is intent on making sure games against FCS opponents aren’t even close. The Rebels annihilated Idaho State 80-8 last season before scoring touchdowns on their first six possessions against the Tigers in their first season-opening win since 2009.

“All our kids came in with great respect for our opponent. We didn’t take it for granted,” Sanchez said. “We have a ways to go. We’re 1-0, so don’t put the cart before the horse, but I think we have a solid process right now, and all the things we’re doing is leading us to believe we’re going to have a lot of success for a long time.”

2. Stanton was the right choice

Johnny Stanton struggled to separate himself from fellow junior quarterback Kurt Palandech in training camp before getting named the starter on Sunday. But the former Nebraska player was on point in his first career Division I start, showing poise as a passer (10-for-12, 217 yards, three TDs) and power as a runner (four carries, 35 yards).

“He played a great game. He came in and right away was right on the money,” Sanchez said. “It looked really fluid out there.”

Built like a linebacker, the 6-foot-2-inch, 245-pound Stanton relished hitting defenders. UNLV senior cornerback Torry McTyer is glad he’s not one of them.

“Johnny’s a big dude. He’s 250 pounds. That’s a big dude,” McTyer said. “Johnny is probably always going to be the biggest person on the field. Johnny’s big.”

3. Devonte Boyd Stadium

The Rebels lost starting wide receiver Kendal Keys to season-ending knee surgery, but junior starter Devonte Boyd appears more than capable of carrying the load. The preseason All-Mountain West pick had four catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the first half before taking the rest of the night off.

Boyd, who has 14 TDs in 26 games for UNLV, recorded only the 13th three-touchdown game in school history, and his ninth 100-yard receiving game is good for third on the all-time list behind Ryan Wolfe (12) and Devante Davis (11).

Highly touted redshirt freshman wideout Darren Woods Jr. had one catch for 35 yards and a 40-yard kick return.

4. Running Rebels

UNLV, which finished 36th in the nation in rushing offense last season with 193.7 yards per game, rushed for 280 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry behind a beefed-up offensive line. Sophomore Lexington Thomas ran for 68 yards and two first-quarter TDs in his first career start, and true freshman Charles Williams led the team with 96 yards rushing on 12 carries, including a 17-yard TD run.

5. Defense doesn’t rest

Despite getting blown out, Jackson State actually ran 21 more offensive plays than UNLV (78-57), which allowed scoring drives of 14 plays and 75 yards, 16 plays and 73 yards, and 13 plays and 63 yards.

“There’s a ton of stuff we’ve got to get better at, but the great thing is the guys know that,” Sanchez said. “There was a lot of missed tackles in the first half, and that’s got to be fixed. We’ve got to be a better tackling team to have sustained success.”

The defense did deliver two touchdowns in 75 seconds in the third quarter on Nick Dehdashtian’s 28-yard fumble return and McTyer’s 43-yard interception return. The Rebels have scored five defensive TDs in their past 10 games after having none in their previous 34 outings.

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