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PROVO, Utah -- UNLV scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from BYU and record only its second-ever victory over the Cougars, 24-3, on Saturday. The UNLV victory also ended a BYU 10-game home win streak, dating back to Oct. 26, 2000.
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The UNLV defense held firm all night, holding BYU to just three points on the night. The Cougars' point production marked the lowest point total at home since being held to 3 points against Arizona State back in 1970, over 32 years ago. The Cougars' point total also marked the fewest points scored since being held to just 3 points against Florida State in the 2000 season-opener in Jacksonville, Fla.
"I'm disappointed with the loss, obviously," BYU head coach Gary Crowton said. "I felt like we practiced well all week, and at times, I thought we looked pretty good.
"I believe we are a young team, but we are learning. At some point we will be pretty good. I think the youthfulness of our team showed up tonight."
In his first start as a Cougar, redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Berry completed 14-of-27 attempts for 186 yards, one interception, and no touchdowns. The Cougar offense managed 408 yards of total offense, compared to UNLV's 319 total yards.
Berry became the first redshirt freshman to start a game since Ty Detmer back in 1988.
"I am going to go with Berry next week," Crowton said. "I think Matt did some really good things and you have got to understand that is the first whole game he has had in four years."
Despite the inexperience, the Cougars had a couple of excellent efforts from their more experienced athletes.
Senior wide receiver Reno Mahe recorded his fifth 100-yard game of his career, racking up 124 yards on 8 receptions, a 15.5-yard average. It is the second time this season Mahe has had more than 100 yards receiving.
Sophomore running back Marcus Whalen ran for over 100 yards, totaling 105 yards on the night on 22 carries. It was the fourth time this season, and in his career, that he has rushed for more than 100 yards.
UNLV senior quarterback Jason Thomas led the Rebel attack with 139 yards passing, connecting on 10-of-13 attempts.
"It's hard to single out any particular player, but we did give the game ball to Jason Thomas," UNLV head coach John Robinson said. "I thought he played a great football game."
UNLV scored first on a 27-yard field goal, capping a 7-play, 67-yard drive to start the game. After being held scoreless in the first quarter for the fifth time this season, the Cougars managed to score on Matt Payne's 24-yard field goal, ending a 7-play, 46 yard drive with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter. The drive was set up after defensive tackle Scott Young recovered a UNLV fumble. The Cougars got in field goal position after Berry hooked up with Mahe for a season-high 46-yard reception.
With 4:13 remaining in the first half, the Cougars attempted a fourth-down conversion, needing just one yard at the UNLV 9 yard line. BYU was stopped for a 1-yard loss, ending any chance for the Cougars to add any points before halftime.
In the second half, UNLV shut out the Cougars and reeled off 21 unanswered points, including 14 points off BYU turnovers.
With the game still within reach, Berry was sacked and fumbled at the UNLV 27 yard line. Jamall Brimmer picked up the offering and rumbled 27 yards for the touchdown.
With time running out, and the Cougars needing to pick up quick yardage, Crowton inserted Bret Engemann into the lineup. After completing 4-of-6 attempts, Engemann's pass was intercepted by Chameio Sutton and returned 38 yards for clinching touchdown.
Robinson said, "It is a team victory and the team is celebrating it. We've got five more to go and nobody knows how we are going to fare the next few weeks."
After the game Crowton was optimistic about the Cougars' future. He said, "We have a chance to go on and win more games. We have to win that fourth game before we can win a fifth, I can tell you that. That's what we are trying to do is get a fourth win and move forward."
The Cougars (3-4, 0-2) will have a short week to prepare for Colorado State (6-2, 2-0). BYU will travel to Fort Collins, Colo., taking on the Rams on Thursday, Oct. 24. The game will be broadcast to a national television audience on ESPN2. Game time is slated for 8 p.m. (MT).
(Written by BYU Athletic Media Relations)
NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
UNLV 3 0 6 15 24
BYU 0 3 0 0 3 FINALSCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: UNLV - FG, DILLON PIEFFER 27 YD, 3:36. UNLV 3-0 2ND QUARTER: BYU - FG, MATT PAYNE 24 YD, 6:50. UNLV 3-3 3RD QUARTER: UNLV - TD, JASON THOMAS 6 YD RUN (TWO-POINT CONVERSION FAILED), 2:44. UNLV 9-3 4TH QUARTER: UNLV - TD, JAMAAL BRIMMER 27 YD FUMBLE RETURN (JASON THOMAS PASS TO EARVIN JOHNSON FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION), 4:54. UNLV 17-3 UNLV - TD, CHAMEION SUTTON 38 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (DILLON PIEFFER KICK), 11:59. UNLV 24-3
UNLV-FG, D Pieffer 27 YD 3:36 1st Qtr
BYU-FG, M Payne 24 YD 6:50 2nd Qtr
UNLV-TD, J Thomas 6 YD RUN (TWO-POINT CONVERSION FAILED) 2:44 3rd Qtr
UNLV-TD, J Brimmer 27 YD FUMBLE RETURN (J Thomas PASS TO E Johnson FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION) 4:54
4th Qtr
UNLV-TD, C Sutton 38 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (D Pieffer KICK) 11:59 4th Qtr
<font size="1">
UNLV BYU
First downs 19 24
Rushed-yards 45-164 39-133
Passing yards 155 275
Sacked-yards lost 2-15 2-8
Return yards 67 11
Passes 12-16-0 23-43-2
Punts 5-37.2 3-43.7
Fumbles-lost 3-3 4-2
Penalties-yards 2-13 10-84
Time of possession 31:49 28:11
<p>
</p></font>Individual Statistics
RUSHING: UNLV-Joe Haro 19-48, Jason Thomas 9-47, Larry Croom 4-40, Dominique Dorsey 6-21, Steven Costa 4-18, - Team 2-MINUS 2, Kurt Nantkes 1-MINUS 8. BYU-Marcus Whalen 22-105, Curtis Brown 2-13, Matt Berry 6-13, Lance Pendleton 6-11, Bret Engemann 3-MINUS 9.
PASSING: UNLV-Jason Thomas 10-13-139- 0, Kurt Nantkes 2-3-16- 0. BYU-Matt Berry 14-27-186- 1. Bret Engemann 7-11-75- 1. Lance Pendleton 2-5-14- 0.
RECEIVING: UNLV-Earvin Johnson 8-121, Michael Johnson 3-29, Larry Croom 1-5. BYU-Reno Mahe 8-124, Andrew Ord 4-50, Marcus Whalen 3-27, Spencer Nead 2-21, Rodney Wilkerson 2-13, Justin Anderson 1-13, Justin Kukahiko 1-12, David Christensen 1-11, Toby Christensen 1-4.
Att: 62,543
