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*Game 11: BYU (2-8) vs. UNLV (4-5)****When*: Friday, 8:30 p.m. MST
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KSL Newsradio/KSL.com
PROVO — Three times in the history of a series that dates back to 1978, UNLV football has defeated BYU.
All three wins have come in Provo; the Rebels have never defeated the Cougars—through an assortment of conferences and affiliations—in Las Vegas.
Friday night is as good a time as any to make history.
The Cougars (2-8) will kick off against UNLV (4-5) at 7:30 p.m. PST at Sam Boyd Stadium. Friday is UNLV’s final home game of the season, and the club needs to win two of its final three games—against BYU, at New Mexico and at Nevada—to clinch its first bowl-eligible season since 2013.
In true Vegas fashion, the Rebels opened as five-point favorites after stunning victories over Fresno State and Hawaii. But third-year coach Tony Sanchez doesn’t feel like the favorite.
“We’ve got our hands full with BYU,” Sanchez said during his weekly press briefing. “BYU is having a tough season right now, but I know Kalani (Sitake, BYU head coach) well and that he really cares about that program. He’s a strong guy, and he’ll get the program ready to go.
“I think there’s an opportunity to get a win, but there’s also an opportunity for them to get a win.”
BYU, which hasn’t faced UNLV in Las Vegas since 2009, hasn’t been in the position of not preparing for a bowl game since 2004. With an eye to the future and developing young talent—as well as establishing a quarterback for the final three games of the season—Sitake’s focus is on one motif.
“All I really care about is winning this game,” the second-year head coach said. “I’m not really thinking about anything other than that right now. It’s all I’m trying to focus on; we’ve got to get our third win.”
One of UNLV’s senior-night honorees will be starting quarterback Johnny Stanton. The former Nebraska commit opened the season as the team’s third-string quarterback, moved to special teams and linebacker searching for playing time and moved back to quarterback after starter Armani Rogers was injured in a loss to Utah State.
Besides Stanton, the Rebels rely on a healthy run game—paced by workhorse running back Lexington Thomas. The junior hasn’t been a starter all season, but he ranks 16th nationally with 118.1 yards per game.
“Defensively, this should be something they are looking forward to—facing a team that wants to run the ball down their throats. It will make us men at defensive tackle,” said Sitake, a defensive coach by nature. “They’ve got to be the big factors in this game.”
Offensive coordinator Ty Detmer has plenty to work on in the quarterback room as well. He’s hosting the three-way competition between Beau Hoge, Joe Critchlow and Kody Wilstead to replace injured starter Tanner Mangum.
Detmer indicated that Hoge should be the likely contender for the spot “if he’s healthy”—but also indicated that winning now is as important at the position as future quarterback opportunities.
“No. 1 is that we’ve got to win,” Detmer said. “We’re still going to play to win. The seniors aren’t done, and that’s not our mentality as coaches.”
If an opportunity for developing young talent comes, the coaches will take it. But Detmer hardly expects it from a Rebel squad fighting for a postseason berth. Five Mountain West Conference schools have already garnered bowl eligibility, meaning any more bowl-eligible teams from the conference will be either left out or moved to a non-MWC affiliated bowl game.
“We’re going to see a spirited bunch,” Detmer said. “They’re playing for bowl contention, have to win 2 of 3 at the end; we’re step No. 1 for them. I’m sure they are excited to play and coming off a couple of good wins.”
One player who really wants to win is Trajan Pili. The sophomore defensive lineman grew up in Las Vegas, prepped at nearby Centennial High School and will face a coach in Sanchez who led local private school Bishop Gorman to dominance when Pili was in high school.
“That’s always your dream when you go to college is to go back to your hometown,” Pili said. “It’s exciting, and I expect a lot of people there. It’s Vegas, and it’s a fun place.”
