DENTON, Texas — They really stood up and performed aboriginal successful this messiness of a game. They really made immoderate plays to support things respectable (very) aboriginal on.
But it wasn’t meant to beryllium for UNLV’s shot squad oregon its antiaircraft players, who followed a reasonably beardown commencement with a forgettable 2nd half.
The Rebels fell astatine North Texas 44-6 connected Saturday, and it’s not arsenic if the team’s discourtesy did its counterparts immoderate favors.
We’re talking 4 turnovers — 3 fumbles and an interception.
The discourtesy did nothing.
Things fell wholly isolated implicit the last 30 minutes.
“We came retired fired up defensively and playing good and past played unspeakable successful the 2nd half,” UNLV manager Dan Mullen said. “Our discourtesy ne'er got thing going. We person a batch to hole arsenic a team.”
North Texas would full 444 yards and beryllium balanced capable to summation 261 done the aerial and 183 connected the ground.
It averaged astir 7 yards per play.
Its quarterback, who UNLV knew was a unsafe subordinate coming in, didn’t disappoint those astatine DATCU Stadium.
Tayven Jackson played his part, throwing for 233 yards and 2 scores portion rushing for a touchdown.
A bully team
“(Mullen) said the small things adhd up, and they did,” UNLV linebacker Cam Santee said. “Once the 2nd fractional began, they were capable to physique their pb beauteous fast, and we weren’t capable to make immoderate large plays connected our end.
“They’re a bully squad that played truly well. At the extremity of the day, we request to beryllium amended and they played much arsenic a team. We started good successful the opening arsenic a defence but person to proceed that done the full game.”
It didn’t assistance the defense’s origin that North Texas began its archetypal 3 possessions wrong UNLV territory. It didn’t assistance that the Rebels’ discourtesy couldn’t determination the shot a lick.
Santee and his teammates volition present participate the team’s archetypal bye week of the season.
It’s a accepted question to inquire pursuing specified a defeat: Would the Rebels similar the clip disconnected oregon get close backmost astatine it and play adjacent week?
“I ever privation to spell play again and redeem ourselves,” Santee said. “This is going to beryllium a pivotal infinitesimal successful our play during this week. We truly request to travel unneurotic arsenic a squad and look astatine ourselves and determine what we privation to marque of this season.
“We tin truly absorption up this week, truthful erstwhile we get to Akron (on Sept. 26) we’re flying connected each cylinders, each phases of the game.
“Things conscionable snowballed for america here. We tin ever person a amended attraction to detail. We conscionable can’t travel retired level similar that successful the 2nd half.”
The crippled was (unofficially) implicit erstwhile North Texas took the second-half kickoff and went 75 yards successful six plays for a people that would marque it 27-3.
All of a sudden, a UNLV defence that did its champion to clasp up successful the archetypal fractional was missing tackles and not capable to incorporate overmuch of anything. It conscionable got worse.
All the mode around.
And it’s not arsenic of the discourtesy did its part.
Contact Ed Graney astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney connected X.
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