Keys: Cannon stays red as Rebels rout Pack

A look at the key moments, players and plays from the Nevada Wolf Pack's 38-14 loss to the UNLV Rebels on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas:

KEY PLAY

The play that basically eliminated all realistic thoughts of a stunning Wolf Pack upset took place in the first minute of the second quarter. Wolf Pack quarterback Brendon Lewis was sacked by UNLV's Jarvis Ware on 3rd-and-17 from the Nevada 13-yard line. Lewis fumbled and UNLV's Jackson Woodard recovered the ball in the end zone for a 17-7 Rebel lead. The Wolf Pack never recovered.

KEY DRIVE

Already up 17-7, the Rebels went 72 yards on 11 plays for a 1-yard touchdown run by Jai'Den Thomas for a 24-7 lead with just under six minutes to go before halftime. Thomas, who finished with 135 yards and a touchdown on just 15 carries, also had runs of 14 and 10 yards on the drive. Rebel quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams also completed back-to-back passes of 10 and eight yards to Jacob DeJesus. The drive basically turned the entire second half into a UNLV parade to the Mountain West title game Friday at Boise State as the Fremont Cannon extended its Las Vegas lease for another year.

KEY PACK MISTAKES

Lewis' fumble early in the second quarter was the mistake that set the tone for the bulk of the game. Lewis also was intercepted later in the second quarter near the UNLV goal line but the score was already 24-7. Kitan Crawford was called for pass interference early in the third quarter and the Rebels later scored on the same drive for a 31-7 lead. So, when the Pack was supposed to be busy putting up a fight and showing UNLV it was ready to take back the cannon, it was actually busy making mistakes and handing the game to the Rebels.

KEY PACK PERFORMER

Brendon Lewis certainly wasn't perfect with a lost fumble and an interception. He was also sacked six times for 44 yards in losses as the Rebel defense basically pushed the Pack offensive line around when it wanted to. And he did, at times, look like a frightened cat jumping out of the window of a burning building.

But Lewis did put up impressive numbers in the one-sided rout. The Pack quarterback was 27-of-37 for 292 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 78 yards on 10 carries when he wasn't getting sacked. Yes, a large chunk of those numbers came on a meaningless final drive when he was 8-for-8 for 62 yards and a touchdown and also ran twice for 27 yards, but he played the game without much help in front of him by the offensive line or behind him by the running backs (37 yards on 12 carries).

KEY REBEL PERFORMER

UNLV quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams toyed with the Wolf Pack the entire game. Williams was an efficient 14-of-21 through the air for 168 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 104 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries. Williams, who didn't play after tossing a 17-yard touchdown to Ricky White with 12 minutes left in the game, basically did what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it for the most part with little resistance from the Pack.

KEY STAT

UNLV basically won the game on the ground on both defense and offense. The Rebels ran the ball 42 times for 351 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 8.4 yards a carry. The only time UNLV lost yardage on the ground was when quarterback Hall-Malik Williams was sacked for a 6-yard loss in the third quarter and when the Rebels took a knee for a 1-yard loss on the final play of the game. UNLV's 351 yards rushing are the most the Wolf Pack has allowed since Air Force had 461 on Sept. 23, 2022. UNLV's average gain of 8.4 yards is the most against Nevada since USC ran for 10.8 a carry (215 yards, 20 carries) on Sept. 2, 2023. UNLV also held the Pack to just 67 yards on 28 carries, 2.4 a carry. The 67 yards are the second-fewest for Nevada this year (58 yards on 31 carries against Minnesota on Sept 14). UNLV had 16 first downs rushing to the Wolf Pack's five.

KEY TURNING POINT

The opening kickoff. The Rebels dominated right from the start and never looked back. DeAngelo Irvin returned the opening kickoff 29 yards, quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams completed a 30 yard pass to wide receiver Jacob DeJesus on the game's first play from scrimmage and Williams went for 29 yards on the ground on the second play. The Rebels scored on their sixth play of the game on a 1-yard pass to a wide open tight end Kaleo Ballungay for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. It was 24-7 by halftime, 31-7 in the third quarter and 38-7 three minutes into the fourth. The Pack offense scored a gift touchdown on a broken coverage by UNLV's defense five minutes (a 45-yard pass to Cortez Braham) into the game and then didn't score again until the Rebel starters were on the bench celebrating with a red Fremont Cannon with 79 seconds to go in the game. This is not how you compete in a rivalry game you insist is important to you.

KEY HISTORICAL NOTE

This is the Rebels' biggest rout in this rivalry game since a 48-13 win in 2004. UNLV has now won the last three games, five of the last seven and seven of the last 12 (since Nevada coach Chris Ault, for some reason, retired after the 2012 season).

The Wolf Pack still leads the rivalry, 28-22, but the bulk of the Wolf Pack damage was done against overwhelmed coaches Jim Strong, Jeff Horton, Mike Sanford and Bobby Hauck, who went a combined 2-17 between 1990 and 2014. Hall of Fame coach John Robinson went 5-1 against Nevada in the middle (1999-2004) of all of that Strong-Horton-Sanford-Hauck slop, proving that coaching does matter even with an inept administration. Current Rebel coach Barry Odom (2-0) is proving that once again, winning his two games by an average of 21 points the last two seasons.

UP NEXT

Next for the Wolf Pack, which ended its first season under coach Jeff Choate at 3-10 overall and 0-7 in the Mountain West, is the 2025 season. The Pack, as the schedule stands now, will take a six-game losing streak into Penn State on Aug. 30, 2025.