3 takeaways from UNLV’s victory at Idaho

MOSCOW, Idaho — Three takeaways from the UNLV’s 44-16 victory over Idaho on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome:

1. What a response.

They had nothing but criticism — deservedly so — thrown at them after losing 43-40 to Howard a week earlier as 45-point favorites. But the Rebels showed what they were made of against Idaho, taking all that negativity and turning it into a performance that will be long remembered.

“We went in on Sunday, and we were tough on them,” UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said. “They were tough on themselves. Monday’s a day off, and I told them when they come back in the building on Tuesday, I want to see my guys, and I’ve got good guys. They came back in on Tuesday, and they recommitted themselves to going back to work. It’s as simple as that.

“We all got a little embarrassed in that first game, and we came back tonight and we got a win. So we’re sitting at 1-1. We’ve got a ways to go. We’re not where we need to be, but I don’t think anybody is Week 2. We’ve just got to go back to work and keep doing what we’re doing.”

UNLV kept alive its goal of making a bowl. That’s a goal that was made more difficult to reach with the loss to Howard, but if the Rebels had lost to Idaho, it would have been impossible.

“We had to win this game,” said running back Lexington Thomas, who rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns. “Everybody knew in the locker room, you could tell. The meetings were totally different. In practice, everybody was going hard. There was less goofing around. We came out, and we were ready to play.”

2. A game to build the defense’s confidence.

UNLV’s defense was especially poor against the Bison, surrendering 309 yards rushing. The Rebels faced a much more balanced offense in Idaho and responded by allowing just a field goal in the first half.

It’s true the Vandals blew two big scoring opportunities with wide-open receivers — don’t expect Ohio State to fail on those chances in two weeks — but the Rebels also made their share of plays. On one fourth-down play in the third quarter, safety Evan Austrie blitzed and pressured Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan, and cornerback Tim Hough then dived to break up the hurried pass.

The Vandals’ offense began to find a rhythm midway through the third quarter, but UNLV was in control by then, mostly because of its defense.

“The whole emphasis throughout the week for the defense was getting off the field, getting three-and-outs, tackling better than we did last week,” said UNLV safety Chauncey Scissum, who intercepted a pass. “Last week, we didn’t show that we were a great tackling team.”

3. Sanchez is right — the Rebels can strike from just about anywhere.

Thomas rushed for touchdowns of 1, 60 and 62 yards, and Armani Rogers threw a laser to Devonte Boyd for a 94-yard TD.

That big-strike capability is effective enough to make just about any defensive coordinator think twice about being too aggressive.

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