5 players to watch in Saturday’s UNLV-Colorado State game
Five players to watch when UNLV’s football team plays Colorado State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium:
The sophomore rushed for 102 yards and a 34-yard touchdown run at Hawaii that tied the game at 38-38 en route to the Rebels’ 41-38 win. He also had two catches for 43 yards and a score, turning a short shovel pass from Dalton Sneed into a 37-yard touchdown that tied the score at 14-all in the second quarter. The Houston product is 28th in the country in rushing yards (601) and has eight rushing touchdowns. The Rams are ranked 90th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 191.6 yards per game.
The redshirt freshman turned in his second stellar performance in three collegiate starts against the Rainbow Warriors. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, with no turnovers, and ran for 61 yards while getting knocked around by Hawaii’s defense. Sneed is 30-for-56 (53.6 percent) overall for 423 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and has rushed for 264 yards and a 91-yard touchdown.
The junior opened the scoring at Hawaii with a 2-yard touchdown catch that was his first since putting up three touchdown catches in the first half of the Sept. 1 season opener against Jackson State. He then helped set up Evan Pantels’ game-winning 28-yard field goal with a 31-yard catch from Sneed. After being held to 119 yards receiving in his previous four games, Boyd finished with six catches for 83 yards. He has 26 receptions for 421 yards and four touchdowns this season.
4. Nick Stevens, QB, Colorado State
The junior completed 17 of 31 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns Saturday in the Rams’ 28-23 loss to Boise State. Stevens threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help Colorado State cut a 28-3 deficit to 28-23. He’s 27-for-59 for 266 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Stevens broke Kelly Stouffer’s 31-year-old school record for passing yards by a sophomore, with 2,679, last season and threw for 21 touchdowns. After struggling in the season opener against Colorado, Stevens was replaced as starter by true freshman Collin Hill but reclaimed the job after Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury Oct. 8 against Utah State.
5. Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State
The junior had four catches for 91 yards and a 53-yard score against Boise State and leads the team in receptions (29), receiving yards (479) and touchdown catches (four).
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 Twitter.
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