Here is a story from the college newspaper I write for at UNLV called the Rebel Yell (www.ryunlv.com). I put up the whole article because the school paper wishes you to register to read their content. It is from the game on September 5, 2004 in Knoxville, Tn. Peace!
Football Loses First Game of the Season
By ARNOLD KNIGHTLY
Published: Thursday, September 9, 2004
Heading into Sunday night's game, UNLV understood they would need to play mistake-free football if they were going to have a chance of defeating the 14-ranked Volunteers.
However, the Rebels made miscues at key junctures of the game and lost 42-17 before a crowd of 108,625, the largest crowd to ever see UNLV play a football game.
The first mistake came late in the first quarter, trailing 7-3. Sitting first-and-goal on the Tennessee 9-yard line, the Rebels' offense was called for an illegal motion penalty and then a holding penalty, leading to a missed 37-yard field goal. The Vols then marched the ball down the field to take a 14-3 lead.
The second miscue was the first of two UNLV turnovers in the game. Senior quarterback Kurt Nantkes, who had a solid game completing 13 of 24 passes for 175 yards, threw his only interception at the Tennessee 16-yard line. The Vols then promptly marched the ball 83 yards, helped by two Rebels penalties, to go up 21-3.
The first penalty of the drive was called on strong safety Jamaal Brimmer for a personal foul, a late hit out of bounds. On the next play, cornerback Ruschard Dodd-Masters was called for pass interference in the end zone.
Tennessee's big, strong and fast receivers caused problems all evening for UNLV's defensive backs, who often found themselves overmatched in man-to-man coverage. The Vols' passing attack racked up 241 yards and scored two touchdowns while throwing no interceptions. "I was disappointed in our pass defense," coach John Robinson said. "I think we had focused on the run probably not knowing what the quarterbacks would do or what was coming there, and maybe we focused a little too much on the run."
The Rebels also had trouble handling the run, giving up 272 yards and four touchdowns.
The next miscue happened on the UNLV's ensuing drive. Struggling to get back in game, the Rebels were marching down the field and appeared ready to bring the game to within 11 points at halftime, when senior running back Dominique Dorsey fumbled the ball on the Tennessee 5-yard line after a big gain.
Following the game, Robinson pointed to the two turnovers as being key in the loss."We had two key errors, I thought, in the game," Robinson said. "Earvin Johnson hooked up in the middle and Kurt just misread it and threw up what looked like a can of corn to the safety. Then Dominique made a real nice run and fumbled. Those two were decisive plays in terms of miscues we had."
Despite the fumble, the 5'7'', 170 -pound running back had a big game for the Rebels. Dorsey gained 121 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, his sixth 100-yard rushing game in only four starts. On top of the 121 yards rushing, Dorsey also caught two passes for 31 yards and returned two kickoffs for 78 yards."He was a great (running) back in high school," Robinson said. "Part of the time in college he's had some ups and downs. I guess we wised up and figured he was strong enough to do it. He's done a great job for us."
Dorsey also received accolades following the game from fellow teammates.
"He's just an all-around great player," senior lineman Joe Critchfield said. "Out of losses, he makes gains."
Heading into halftime, the UNLV football team was well aware of the missed opportunities and the self-inflicted mistakes that had cost them the opportunity to challenge Tennessee. "The game for us, in terms of ourselves, we didn't get the points in the first half when we had chances," Robinson said. "We came away with three instead of 14."
The Rebels did not give in and kept fighting in the second half. After the Vols scored on their second possession of the second half to go up 28-3, UNLV marched 80 yards on seven plays for their first touchdown of the season. Nantkes completed 3 of 3 passes for 46 yards before Dyante Perkins scored on a 3-yard run.
Trailing 28-10 and headed to the fourth corner, the Rebels defense was visibly tired, having been on the field for 28 of the 45 minutes played. Tennessee scored again early in the fourth to push the lead out to 35-10. UNLV and the Vols exchanged possessions before Dorsey scampered for a 17-yard touchdown. Tennessee would score one more touchdown for the final score, but the Rebels knew after the game it was the miscues that had cost them a better showing before a national television audience.
"Look at the way we played, we moved the ball," Nantkes said. "We weren't really surprised by anything they did. We didn't feel like they were better than us. They weren't more physical than us in any aspect. We just didn't finish drives."
The offensive line gave strong protection to Nantkes while breaking open big holes for Dorsey to run through. The Vols' defense only recorded three sacks and had trouble putting pressure on Nantkes, while the elusive Dorsey racked up 230 combined yards.
"We were very well coached by our offensive line coach," said Critchfield. "(Jonathan Himebauch) prepared us for everything. I thought our offensive line did everything we were prepared to do. I thought we did better than everyone thought we would do."
Critchfield also knows that the line, as well as they played against a top tier Division I program, does have room to improve."We have a couple things we need to work on in our pass protection. I think if we take the little mistakes off, our line will be awesome, our offense will be great."
Following the game, Robinson told the team that they did not have time to dwell on the game because this Saturday, the Rebels travel back to Madison to play the No. 21 Wisconsin Badgers.
"I like our football team," Robinson said. "It was tough going. I just told them, 'Hey, don't feel sorry for yourself for more than a half-hour because you have to do it again next weekend.' I am far from discouraged; it was a great experience for us."
Last season, the Rebels upset the Badgers on national television 23-5, an experience UNLV is sure Wisconsin has not forgotten about.
"They're going to be hungry," Nantkes said about the Badgers. "We went in there and played them tough. They obviously think they're better than us and that shouldn't have happened and we have to go out there and prove it wasn't a fluke."
No comments:
Post a Comment