UNLV’s road woes continue in 41-14 loss to Wyoming

The Rebels carried momentum into halftime, and they went deep into the third quarter with a legitimate opportunity to pull off the upset.

This game, however, ended like their previous 12 road games, another one-sided defeat, another slow walk off an opponent’s football field.

Many variables went into the latest loss — questionable coaching decisions, drive-killing mistakes, a punt return for a touchdown, banged-up running backs, a new starting quarterback who showed his inexperience, and a UNLV defense that had good moments but also gave up its share of big plays.

The Cowboys broke open the game on Chris McNeill’s 76-yard punt return for a touchdown with 2:50 left in the third quarter, putting them ahead 30-14.

"We had a chance to take it, and we didn’t and they did," Rebels coach Bobby Hauck said. "They came in and took the win from us."

UNLV (1-5, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) heads into its second bye week of the month, awaiting an Oct. 29 meeting with Colorado State that will end a 35-day stretch between games at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Junior quarterback Sean Reilly, who made his first start, completed 7 of 16 passes for 79 yards with an interception, but his receivers had at least three drops. He also was sacked four times and lost a fumble.

UNLV found most of its offense on the ground, and freshman Dionza Bradford rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries in his first start. After his 89-yard first half, the Cowboys loaded the box to stop Bradford and his backfield mates, and UNLV had only 35 yards rushing in the second 30 minutes.

Wyoming, which spread 38 carries among quarterback Brett Smith and running backs Alvester Alexander and Ghaali Muhammad, finished with 231 yards rushing.

"If we let them run the ball on us like that, it’s going to be hard for us," Hauck said. "We don’t have a lot of firepower on the offensive side of the ball, so we can’t get behind like that. We’re not going to have a lot of success coming back, especially late in the game."

The Cowboys (4-2, 1-0) appeared as if they would blow UNLV off the field by racing to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. UNLV came back to within 20-14 on Tim Cornett rushing touchdowns of 3 and 9 yards.

"I thought we showed a lot of heart when we came back," Reilly said.

Then the Rebels had the chance to steal the lead before halftime, but opted to not try to gain a fourth-and-1 near midfield in the final minute.

Hauck said previous end-of-the-half difficulties weighed on his mind, and he also knew his team would receive the second-half kickoff.

But UNLV didn’t build on its momentum to open the second half, going three-and-out on three successive drives.

"We came out the third quarter and didn’t execute … when we got the ball first, and things started to run downhill," Bradford said. "Just poor execution."

On the third three-and-out, the Rebels went conservative on third-and-5, handing the ball to Bradford, and the back was stopped for no gain.

"We base it on our plan and what we think (the defense is) going to be in," Hauck said of the play call.

The Rebels didn’t pick up their first first down of the second half until Bradley Randle rushed for 11 yards with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

On that drive, with Bradford and Cornett hampered by nagging injuries, the 5-foot-7-inch Randle was given the ball on fourth-and-1 at Wyoming’s 45. He was stopped just short, ending UNLV’s last real hope of challenging the Cowboys.

"We blew a great opportunity after we fought our way back into it," Hauck said.

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