Las Vegas Bowl
2000
UNLV 31
Arkansas 14
LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- John Robinson was hired last season to build a
winner at Nevada-Las Vegas and it has not taken him long to get a once
moribund program headed in the right direction. The Rebels, who were at
the bottom of the NCAA heap following an 0-11 season in 1998, took
another step forward by rolling past Arkansas, 31-14, in the Las Vegas
Bowl.
Jason Thomas threw three touchdown passes, including a 56-yard strike to
Troy Mason that snapped a 14-14 tie with 2:21 left in the third quarter.
Dillon Pieffer kicked a 26-yard field goal with 13:53 remaining before
the Rebels clinched the victory on Kevin Brown's 18-yard TD run with
5:39 to go. "The victory is about all these guys and not about me," said
Robinson, who improved to 8-1 in bowl games. "There were 18 seniors who
have been here and played their very best game tonight."
Thomas said the Rebels gained confidence after falling to Southeastern
Conference member Mississippi, 43-40, in overtime in October. "We knew
after that game that our season was going to turn around and we showed
in the Mississippi game that we could play against the SEC," Thomas
said. "We saw Mississippi beat Arkansas shortly after we played them and
there was never any doubt in the team's mind we would be able to play
with them on the field."
Making just its third bowl appearance and first since 1994, UNLV (8-5)
reached the eight-win mark for the first time since going 11-2 in 1984.
The Rebels have five more wins (11-13) in Robinson's first 24 games than
its previous four seasons combined (6-39). UNLV struck a blow for the
Mountain West Conference, outscoring Arkansas, 17-0, in a dominant
second half and rolling up 476 total yards. "This game was a very big
game for the university," Robinson said. "It will enable us to go for
bigger and better things. We won a championship with our heart. It
wasn't the arena that was important, it was the event."
The Rebels overcame 12 penalties to close the season with their first
four-game winning streak in 16 years. They also went unbeaten at home
for the first time since 1977. The loss capped a disappointing campaign
for Arkansas (6-6), one of nine SEC teams that earned bowl bids. The
Razorbacks endured a four-game losing streak before winning their final
two contests to become bowl eligible.
Robby Hampton, who completed 18-of-40 passes for 183 yards, tossed two
touchdown passes in the first half to give Arkansas a 14-7 lead. But the
Rebels responded with 24 unanswered points, starting with Thomas'
five-yard TD toss to Nate Turner with 3:12 left in the first half.
Arkansas had a chance to take the lead early in the third quarter but
Brennan O'Donohoe missed a 29-yard field goal and it was all downhill
from there for the Razorbacks. "I was very disappointed in our team's
play, especially late in the third quarter," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt
said. "I felt that the missed opportunity early in the second half was
very critical to the way the game went. That changed the mind set of the
defense and UNLV began to gain more and more confidence as the game went
on."
UNLV rushing for 259 yards, with Jeremi Rudolph gaining 92 yards on 14
carries. Thomas completed 12-of-17 passes for 217 yards. Brandon Holmes
amassed 99 yards on 26 carries for Arkansas, which was limited to just
115 on the ground.
In a scheduling quirk, Arkansas and UNLV will open next season in Little
Rock on September 1. "I was proud of the effort we showed," said
Arkansas wide receiver Boo Williams, who had seven receptions for 97
yards. "I hate to lose. We're just gonna have to work harder next year
and we'll get another shot at them real soon."]
UNLV's Amar Brisco brings down Boo Williams
Robinson brought respectability to UNLV
Attendance- 29,113
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UA- Stinson 7 pass from R Hampton (Odonohoe kick)
UNLV- Turner 19 pass from Thomas (Pieffer kick)
Second Quarter
UA- B Williams 25 pass from Hampton (Odonohoe kick)
UNLV- Turner 5 pass from Thomas (Pieffer kick)
Third Quarter
UNLV- Mason 54 pass from Thomas (Pieffer kick)
Fourth Quarter
UNLV- FG Pieffer 26
UNLV- Brown 18 run (Pieffer kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
UA- Holmes 26-99, Howard 1-12
UNLV- Rudolph 14-92, Brown 13-78, Wofford 4-44, Thomas 10-32, Turner
1-18, J Johnson 2-12
Passing
UA- R Hampton 18-40-183
UNLV- J Thomas 12-17-217
Receiving
UA- B Williams 7-97, R Smith 4-26, Snowden 4-20, S Hamilton 2-33
UNLV- Turner 8-126, Mason 3-89
