What started as an exciting Saturday night in the Kibbie Dome quickly became a lifeless game in a lifeless stadium. Following a mediocre win over Sacramento State, promises were made of a stronger team coming into UNLV, promises of a team that learned from its mistakes and would only continue to get better with each game.
In week one fans saw an offense that could get the job done and a defense that could hold the opponents. Naturally, it was expected that a faster, more efficient offense would hit the turf with help from the same defense that kept the Hornets out of the end zone.
The only team on the field with a defense capable of slowing any plays and an offense capable of moving the ball was that of the Rebels. It took the opponents seven minutes to put the first points up on the board and grab the lead. Seven points is not much of a deficit, but the Vandals looked like a team that didn’t know how to come from behind even when “behind” was only a single score.
But it wasn’t due to lack of opportunity. Idaho had numerous chances to get the ball in the end zone and stay in the game but opportunities were repeatedly allowed to slip away. Late in the second quarter junior linebacker Ed Hall intercepts UNLV’s Armani Rogers at the Idaho 20-yard line. Idaho was down 10-3 and had the chance to build some momentum and even the score before heading in to the half. Instead of taking what seemed to be a wide-open opportunity to make the game, senior quarterback Matt Linehan failed to convert on third down with a pass attempt that nearly ends in another interception. Idaho’s chance and the subsequent momentum was gone.
Every time the UNLV offense took the field, it seemed as if it was a pin slowly poking away at an Idaho balloon. Each time UNLV running back Lexington Thomas broke tackles and ran the length of the field to score, Idaho deflated. Each time Linehan was intercepted, the team deflated until all that was left was an empty Kibbie Dome and a Vandal squad merely trying to survive.
Several Vandals rose above to stand out despite an abysmal final score. Senior wide receiver Jacob Sannon finished the night with a career high 11 catches and 109 yards, his first 100-yard game. On defense, Hall also had a solid performance with 13 tackles and his first career interception.
Their standout performances weren’t enough against the Rebels, but it is still early. Sannon and Hall improved from game one. Idaho proved the first week the defense is capable of holding its own and the offense can make the plays necessary to get the win. That same team may not have come prepared to take on a potentially underrated UNLV team, but an early season loss is just that an early season loss. Summer kinks are still being smoothed out and the team still has an entire season ahead to fill the gaps made apparent after week two.
Last year no one expected anything more than a 44-16 defeat from the Vandals, in fact it was the norm. Last season was all about defying expectations and a 9-4 season certainly did just that. A tough loss to UNLV may have lowered the bar once again, but it just brings more motivation to the table for the Vandals to do what they have done best — raise the bar once again.
Meredith Spelbring can be reached at [email protected]