Rebels make it look easy, pull stunner over Hawaii

UNLV looked so inept in its first two games, particularly on defense, that it became reasonable to wonder if the Rebels would win a game this season.

Life didn't figure to improve with Hawaii in town for the Rebels' home opener.

But the UNLV team that showed up Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium bore almost no resemblance to the Rebels who lost by a combined 86 points at Wisconsin and Washington State.

These Rebels took it to Hawaii from the beginning, stunning the Warriors 40-20 with an out-of-nowhere defensive performance buffeted by an offense that made its share of big plays.

The season outlook suddenly appears brighter for UNLV (1-2), which has an excellent chance to get to .500 with Southern Utah visiting Saturday.

"There are a lot of football teams that cash their chips after what happened (in the first two games)," coach Bobby Hauck said. "We came back here and whipped a good team."

UNLV has lost 11 consecutive away games, but is 3-4 at Sam Boyd going back to last season. This home victory over Hawaii (1-2) was highly unlikely for the Rebels, who were 18½-point underdogs, especially for a defense that entered giving up averages of 55 points and 554.5 yards through two games.

That defense used its often-maligned line to pressure Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz and shut down the running game. Moniz, who passed for 233 yards and two touchdowns, was sacked three times, and the rushing game totaled 6 yards. UNLV forced four turnovers.

"Our secondary had a tremendous night. That's what helped us get a lot of pressure and sacks," defensive end Matt Kravetz said. "We knew if we got pressure on (Moniz) how he would react. We jumped on him, and it went from there."

Offensively, the Rebels used three big plays to take control -- an 80-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Tim Cornett and two fabulous scoring catches by senior wide receiver Phillip Payne.

Cornett recorded his first career 100-yard game, finishing with 106 yards on 11 carries. He added a 1-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter. Sophomore Bradley Randle supplied 78 yards and a 1-yard touchdown on 19 rushes.

Payne, who also made a terrific 33-yard catch in the third quarter over Hawaii cornerback Tank Hopkins that helped set up a touchdown, caught seven passes for 98 yards.

"The (33-yard) touchdown catch was as good you'll ever see. A big-time catch," Hauck said.

Payne said, "A lot of people get down after being blown out the first two games, but we came out here and went to work Monday. We worked all week."

Quarterback Caleb Herring completed 17 of 29 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.

Special teams pitched in, too, with sophomore kicker Nolan Kohorst making a career-long 50-yard field goal.

It seemed like a special night from the start for the Rebels when Deante Purvis recovered a muffed punt to keep alive UNLV's first drive. That led to Kohorst's 40-yard field goal 5:36 into the game -- the first time the Rebels have scored first in two seasons under Hauck.

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