2008 UNLV Rebels football team

2008 UNLV Rebels football
Conference Mountain West Conference
2008 record 5–7 (2–6 MWC)
Head coach Mike Sanford
Home stadium Sam Boyd Stadium
(Capacity: 36,800)
2008 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#2 Utah $   8 – 0         13 – 0  
#7 TCU   7 – 1         11 – 2  
#25 BYU   6 – 2         10 – 3  
Air Force   5 – 3         8 – 5  
Colorado State   4 – 4         7 – 6  
UNLV   2 – 6         5 – 7  
New Mexico   2 – 6         4 – 8  
Wyoming   1 – 7         4 – 8  
San Diego State   1 – 7         2 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. UNLV competed as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. The Rebels were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Sanford. UNLV finished the season with a 5–7 record (MWC: 2–6),[1] narrowly missing bowl eligibility.[2]

UNLV won three of their four out-of-conference games, including overtime upsets of both of their opponents from Bowl Championship Series conferences: 15th-ranked Arizona State of the Pac-10, 23–20, and Iowa State of the Big 12, 34–31.[2] The Rebels led Colorado State in the fourth quarter, 28–27, but the Rams scored with 0:09 left to play and then on the ensuing kickoff recovered a fumble and scored again.[3] UNLV led Air Force in the fourth quarter, 28–20, but lost by one point after the Falcons scored a touchdown and made a field goal.[4] The Rebels were tied at half and the end of the third quarter against 18th-ranked BYU. In the final period, UNLV took a 35–34 lead, but lost after yielding a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to play.[5] Despite losing starting quarterback Omar Clayton to an injury, the Rebels still managed victories over New Mexico and Wyoming. UNLV entered the regular season finale with five wins and needed one more victory to attain bowl eligibility and, with it, very likely a bowl game invitation. The Rebels, however, surrendered 21 points in the fourth quarter against a "woeful" San Diego State team.[2]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
August 30 7:00 PM Utah State* Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV W 27–17   18,815
September 6 5:00 PM at #22 Utah Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT The Mtn L 21–42   45,587
September 13 7:00 PM at #15 Arizona State* Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ FSN W 23–20 OT  59,852
September 20 6:00 PM Iowa State* Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV The Mtn W 34–31 OT  25,567
September 27 7:00 PM Nevada* Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV (Battle for Nevada) The Mtn L 27–49   33,078
October 4 11:00 AM at Colorado State Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, CO The Mtn L 28–41   19,703
October 18 7:00 PM Air Force Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV The Mtn L 28–29   21,055
October 25 11:00 AM at #18 BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT L 35–42   64,081
November 1 5:00 PM #12 Texas Christian Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV L 44–14   16,121
November 8 7:00 PM New Mexico Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV W 27–20   13,154
November 13 6:00 PM Wyoming Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NV CBSCS W 22–14   18,154
November 22 5:00 PM at San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA L 42–21   17,846
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time.

References

  1. ↑ UNLV 2008, College Football Data Warehouse, Retrieved June 28, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Phil Steele's 2009 College Football Preview, vol. 15, p. 180, 2009.
  3. ↑ UNLV 28, Colorado State 41, ESPN, October 4, 2008.
  4. ↑ Air Force 29, UNLV 28, ESPN, October 18, 2008.
  5. ↑ BYU rallies to thwart UNLV; QB Hall has 4 TDs through air, ESPN, October 25, 2008.
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