UNLV’s late push for bowl bid resumes against BYU Friday

Offensive left tackle Kyle Saxelid sat in his usual spot three weeks ago to coach Tony Sanchez’s right, and said with a determination in his voice that UNLV’s football team could go on a strong run to bowl eligibility.

Every remaining game on the schedule, Saxelid said, was winnable.

The Rebels lost that week to Utah State, but he clearly wasn’t the only player who held that belief. They are coming off back-to-back victories for the first time in two years entering a 7:30 p.m. Friday game against Brigham Young at Sam Boyd Stadium with an opportunity to reach .500.

“I’ve always been a competitive player, and this is definitely a competitive team,” Saxelid said Tuesday. “You can feel it in the locker room. You can see it out at practice. You see it in the games, especially later in the games. I still hold firm with that belief. The rest of these games are all winnable games, and we’re going to go out there with the attitude we’re going to get wins in these games.”

UNLV (4-5) is a 4-point favorite over the Cougars (2-8), and a victory would be a major step toward bowl eligibility. After BYU, the Rebels close the regular season at New Mexico and UNR and need to win two of the three.

The Cougars, who will finish with a losing season for the first time in 13 years, will be without quarterback Tanner Mangum, who injured his Achilles in Saturday’s 20-13 loss at Fresno State. Sophomore Beau Hoge will start if an injured ankle doesn’t stand in his way, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. He has completed 19 of 39 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns and three interceptions.

“He’s athletic,” UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said. “He can run fairly well, and I’m sure with an entire week of prep and practice going in, he’ll be even more prepared for this game. They weren’t running too much read-zone and quarterback runs the last couple of weeks because of the injury (Mangum) had. Now with a healthy guy that is kind of a dual threat, I think you’ll see a little bit more of that.”

UNLV’s change at quarterback helped jump start the push toward a potential postseason berth. With Armani Rogers sidelined with a concussion two weeks ago at Fresno State, Johnny Stanton took over and led the Rebels to victories over the Bulldogs and Hawaii. Stanton will start against BYU, but Rogers is likely to see playing time.

The recent improved play goes beyond quarterback, though that’s an important part of it. Sanchez decided the week of the Fresno State game to use Thursday as a true walk-through practice, which gave the Rebels more energy on game day.

He also said several players have improved with game experience, leading to the team’s improvement. But just as key, Sanchez said, was the decision to stay with the plan.

“I think when all this noise happens and you’re sitting there and you’re struggling and not where you want to be, it’s real easy to panic and start changing everything and breaking everything apart,” Sanchez said. “We just kept coaching. We stayed consistent with the messaging.

“I think we’ve just grown up and matured, and at the end of the year for the first time, we’re actually becoming a better football team as we come to the close.”

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJRebels on Twitter.

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