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Late defensive stand preserves win for BYU over UNLV

Oct 26, 2008 - 1:51 AM PROVO, Utah (Ticker) -- In danger of losing its second straight game and seeing its promising season go up in smoke, Brigham Young came up big with a late fourth-quarter stand.

No. 17 BYU came up with two huge defensive plays in the final minute to preserve a 42-35 victory over UNLV on Saturday in a Mountain West Conference thriller, in the process keeping its league title hopes intact.

The Cougars (7-1, 3-1 Mountain West) saw their BCS chances derailed last week in a 32-7 loss to TCU. A second consecutive loss in conference play would have been disastrous.

"When it comes down to winning football games, there has to be grit, there has to be determination," BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "There has to be execution and there has to be enough plays made to win; that is what our team did today and I'm proud of them."

With the Rebels driving deep into Cougar territory in the final minute for a potential game-tying score, BYU's defense - so often overshadowed by its high-powered offense - stepped up. On second down, freshman lineman Matt Putnam sacked UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton with seven seconds remaining.

"He pumped faked a couple of times, but I just stayed on him and he slowed down just enough for me to catch him," Putnam said. "I just tried to make the play when I had a chance."

Moments later, sophomore safety Andrew Rich intercepted a Hail Mary pass in the end zone on the final play.

"We knew (Clayton) had to throw it to the end zone," Rich said. "There were about four of us back there who could have made the play. I (was) just fortunate enough to be there in the right place, and it landed right in my hands."

The heartbreaking loss marked the third straight week that the Rebels (3-5, 0-4) have squandered a fourth-quarter lead. They have lost four straight overall and have dropped 18 straight conference road games.

"We are absolutely never, ever, ever, ever satisfied with a loss," UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said. "On the other side of the coin, I'm very proud of our football team. We just didn't make enough plays."

Behind the impressive Clayton, UNLV answered the call practically all afternoon. Every time the Cougars scored a touchdown, the Rebels answered as the teams played to a 28-28 tie through three quarters.

The pattern broke in the final quarter, as BYU settled for field goals on back-to-back possessions. The Rebels took advantage, marching 60 yards on six plays to take their first lead. On third-and-4 from the 15, Clayton was under heavy pressure but found Ryan Wolfe on a short slant for the go-ahead touchdown.

"They came out a little more conservative," Wolfe said of BYU's defense. "Bend but not break. They moved some personnel around."

But star quarterback Max Hall marched the vaunted Cougars right back. The 6-3 junior completed seven passes on an 11-play drive, finishing with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta. Hall completed the two-point conversion to Harvey Unga to provide the final margin.

Hall completed 24-of-30 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns in the slugfest, as the teams combined for 917 total yards and 47 first downs. Unga added 84 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Clayton led UNLV (3-5, 0-4) with 321 yards passing - six short of his career high - and one touchdown and one interception. The 6-1 sophomore, in his first season as the starter, has thrown 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions this year.

"We came out with different looks, with difference packages," BYU linebacker David Nixon said. "Some of them worked and some of them didn't. (UNLV) had a great offense and we knew that coming in."

Wolfe caught 10 passes for 136 yards, while Frank Summers and Mike Clausen each had a pair of rushing touchdowns for UNLV.

The Cougars have won 11 of their last 13 meetings with the Rebels.

"We stuck to our game plan," UNLV wide receiver Phillip Payne said. "TCU did the same thing (in its win over BYU). This hurts."