Hauck: Rebels need to ‘heal’ from loss

HONOLULU — UNLV should have known time would be a problem this past weekend when the Rebels’ flight here Friday was delayed 2½ hours because of the presence of Air Force One at McCarran International Airport.

Then the Rebels saw just how long four seconds could be in Saturday’s 37-35 loss to Hawaii at Aloha Stadium.

And time is still an issue because it’s about to run out on UNLV’s football season. The Rebels end that season when they play UNR at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

After the difficult loss to the Rainbow Warriors, UNLV (2-10, 1-6 Mountain West) will have to quickly bounce back against its chief rival.

“We’re going to have to heal a little bit after this one,” coach Bobby Hauck said. “This is pretty devastating. We have not played very well over here. We came over here and played pretty well tonight and gave ourselves a chance to win. I felt like we had the game won.

“Our rivalry game’s next week, and it’s the biggest game on the schedule every year. But that’s going to take a couple of days to get on to that.”

The Wolf Pack (6-5, 3-4) are coming off their own disappointing defeat, having fallen 40-20 at home to Fresno State (5-6, 4-3) in a game Saturday that put the Bulldogs in position to win the West Division.

Though the Rebels didn’t have such stakes to play for against Hawaii, they badly wanted to beat their second-most-heated rival and believe they would have if not for a slow finger by the clock operator.

“We got robbed a little bit,” quarterback Jared Lebowitz said.

Trailing 35-31, Hawaii had the ball at UNLV’s 20-yard line with five seconds left. Warriors quarterback Ikaika Woolsey then scrambled while looking for an open receiver and finally threw an incomplete pass.

Only four seconds went off the clock.

Hauck pleaded his case to the officials and asked for a replay, but they said it wasn’t subject to review. Later, Hauck used a stopwatch to time the play when he watched his own video and said it lasted longer than four seconds.

“I don’t agree with it,” Hauck said of the clock. “That was the clock keeper’s fault, not mine.”

He also wasn’t happy with unsportsmanlike penalties called on wide receiver Marcus Sullivan and running back George Naufahu after UNLV scored with 15 seconds left to take a 35-31 lead. Officials hit the Rebels for the infractions on the ensuing kickoff, helping Hawaii begin its winning drive from UNLV’s 42.

Now the Rebels have to move on, and the lingering question regarding quarterback Blake Decker’s health remains.

Lebowitz started at Hawaii, but Decker entered in the fourth quarter and threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Rebels from a 10-point deficit.

Decker has experienced a variety of injuries, including to his neck and hip, and Hauck said the quarterback couldn’t have played the entire game against the Warriors. How the position will be handled against UNR isn’t certain, and Hauck said Decker will have to be monitored on a daily basis.

“He’ll be able to go,” Hauck said. “It’s probably going to be like last week where we’ll have to make a decision on how much.”

■ NOTE — Devonte Boyd, who went to Basic High School, caught 91 yards in passes, giving him 912 for the season. That broke by 1 yard the UNLV freshman record set by Ryan Wolfe in 2006.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.