2017 UNLV Rebels football team

The 2017 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rebels were led by third-year head coach Tony Sanchez and played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 5–7 and 4–4 in Mountain West play to finish in third place in the West Division. Following the season, head coach Tony Sanchez released Kent Baer (defensive coordinator/linebackers) and Andy LaRussa (special teams/safeties) from their contracts.

2017 UNLV Rebels football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	West Division
Record	5–7 (4–4 MW)
Head coach	Tony Sanchez (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Barney Cotton (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Kent Baer (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Sam Boyd Stadium

2017 Mountain West Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 22 Boise State xy$		7	–	1					11	–	3
Colorado State		5	–	3					7	–	6
Wyoming		5	–	3					8	–	5
Utah State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Air Force		4	–	4					5	–	7
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
Fresno State xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
San Diego State		6	–	2					10	–	3
UNLV		4	–	4					5	–	7
Nevada		3	–	5					3	–	9
Hawaii		1	–	7					3	–	9
San Jose State		1	–	7					2	–	11
Championship: Boise State 17, Fresno State 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Howard*	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	Stadium	L 40–43	15,667
September 9	4:00 p.m.	at Idaho*	Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	ESPN3	W 44–16	10,156
September 23	9:00 a.m.	at No. 10 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	BTN	L 21–54	106,187
September 30	7:30 p.m.	San Jose State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ESPNU	W 41–13	15,009
October 7	7:45 p.m.	No. 19 San Diego State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ESPN2	L 10–41	19,770
October 14	11:00 a.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ATTSNRM	L 30–34	26,679
October 21	3:00 p.m.	Utah State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ATTSNRM	L 28–52	18,157
October 28	7:00 p.m.	at Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	ATTSNRM	W 26–16	27,922
November 4	3:00 p.m.	Hawaii	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV (Island Showdown)	Stadium/SPEC HI	W 31–23	16,278
November 10	7:30 p.m.	BYU*	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ESPN2	L 21–31	19,811
November 17	6:30 p.m.	at New Mexico	Dreamstyle Stadium Albuquerque, NM	ESPN2	W 38–35	14,744
November 25	12:00 p.m.	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (Battle for the Fremont Cannon / Governor's Series)	ATTSNRM	L 16–23	17,359
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Schedule Source: 2017 UNLV Rebels Football Schedule

Game summaries

Howard

Howard at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • Bison 7 14 7 15 43 Rebels 6 13 14 7 40 Date: September 2, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 6:06 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 29 minutes Game attendance: 15,667 Game weather: Temperature: 108 °F (42 °C) • Weather: Clear and Hot • Wind: ESE 5 MPH Referee: Vidal Jones TV announcers (Stadium): Tony Cordasco and Joe Arrigo

Scoring summary 1 13:26 HOW Caylin Newton 52–yard run (Dakota Lebofsky kick) HOW 7–0 1 11:23 UNLV Evan Pantels 44–yard field goal HOW 7–3 1 05:36 UNLV Evan Pantels 28–yard field goal HOW 7–6 2 12:56 HOW Kyle Anthony 1–yard pass from Caylin Newton (Dakota Lebofsky kick) HOW 14–6 2 09:14 UNLV Evan Pantels 26–yard field goal HOW 14–9 2 05:56 HOW Devin Rollins 75–yard fumble recovery (Dakota Lebofsky kick) HOW 21–9 2 01:27 UNLV Lexington Thomas 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) HOW 21–16 2 00:00 UNLV Evan Pantels 30–yard field goal HOW 21–19 3 12:20 UNLV Devonte Boyd 25–yard pass from Armani Rogers UNLV 26–21 3 06:45 UNLV Charles Williams 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 33–21 3 01:17 HOW Anthony Philyaw 3–yard run (Dakota Lebofsky kick) UNLV 33–28 4 14:09 HOW Anthony Philyaw 11–yard run (Caylin Newton rush) HOW 36–33 4 10:12 UNLV Lexington Thomas 3–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 40–36 4 07:34 HOW Caylin Newton 4–yard run (Dakota Lebofsky kick) HOW 43–40

See also: 2017 Howard Bison football team

UNLV's season-opening loss to Howard represented the largest upset in college football history in terms of point spread. Howard was a 45-point underdog to UNLV and pulled the upset on the back of quarterback Caylin Newton, brother of NFL quarterback Cam Newton, who had 330 total offensive yards in the game.

At Idaho

UNLV at Idaho

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 7 3 24 10 44 Vandals 0 3 7 6 16 Date: September 9, 2017 Location: Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID Game start: 5:05 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 6 minutes Game attendance: 10,156 Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Weather: Played Indoors • Wind: None Referee: Jason Autrey TV announcers (ESPN3): Peter Young and Darius Walker

Scoring summary 1 06:59 UNLV Armani Rogers 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 7–0 2 09:32 UNLV Evan Pantels 40–yard field goal UNLV 10–0 2 03:37 IDAHO Cade Coffey 40–yard field goal UNLV 10–3 3 13:56 UNLV Lexington Thomas 60–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 17–3 3 12:17 UNLV Lexington Thomas 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 24–3 3 07:51 UNLV Evan Pantels 22–yard field goal UNLV 27–3 3 03:51 IDAHO Matt Linehan 1–yard run (Cade Coffey kick) UNLV 27–10 3 01:36 UNLV Lexington Thomas 62–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 34–10 4 14:51 IDAHO Reuben Mwehla 4–yard pass from Matt Linehan (Cade Coffey kick failed) UNLV 34–16 4 13:53 UNLV Devonte Boyd 94–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 41–16 4 02:16 UNLV Evan Pantels 27–yard field goal UNLV 44–16

See also: 2017 Idaho Vandals football team

At Ohio State

UNLV at Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 0 7 7 7 21 • No. 10 Buckeyes 16 28 10 0 54 Date: September 23, 2017 Location: Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Game start: 12:01 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 17 minutes Game attendance: 106,187 Game weather: Temperature: 93 °F (34 °C) • Weather: Clear Skies • Wind: ENE 8 MPH Referee: Ron Snodgrass TV announcers (BTN): Kevin Kugler, Matt Millen and Lisa Byington (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:49 OSU Parris Campbell 69–yard pass from J. T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 7–0 1 05:15 OSU Johnnie Dixon 16–yard pass from J. T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 14–0 1 01:02 OSU Team safety OSU 16–0 2 14:50 OSU Binjimen Victor 3–yard pass from J. T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 23–0 2 12:39 OSU Terry McLaurin 4–yard pass from J. T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 30–0 2 08:58 OSU K. J. Hill 11–yard pass from J. T. Barrett (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 37–0 2 03:32 UNLV Lexington Thomas 2–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) OSU 37–7 2 01:32 OSU C. J. Saunders 28–yard pass from Dwayne Haskins (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 44–7 3 08:46 UNLV Lexington Thomas 55–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) OSU 44–14 3 05:36 OSU Sean Nuernberger 30–yard field goal OSU 47–14 3 02:55 OSU Rashod Berry 38–yard pass from Dwayne Haskins (Sean Nuernberger kick) OSU 54–14 4 13:00 UNLV Javin White 65–yard interception return (Daniel Gutierrez kick) OSU 54–17

See also: 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

San Jose State

San Jose State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total Spartans 3 10 0 0 13 • Rebels 14 21 6 0 41 Date: September 30, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:30 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes Game attendance: 15,009 Game weather: Temperature: 86 °F (30 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: SW 9 MPH Referee: Kevin Hassell TV announcers (ESPNU): Roy Philpott and Tom Ramsey

Scoring summary 1 11:28 UNLV Armani Rogers 7–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 7–0 1 09:16 SJSU Bryce Crawford 28–yard field goal UNLV 7–3 1 03:50 UNLV Armani Rogers 7–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 14–3 2 08:53 SJSU Bryce Crawford 23–yard field goal UNLV 14–6 2 07:50 UNLV Lexington Thomas 56–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 21–6 2 03:36 UNLV Brandon Presley 44–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 28–6 2 02:20 UNLV Lexington Thomas 1–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 35–6 2 00:09 SJSU JaQuan Blackwell 11–yard pass from Josh Love (Bryce Crawford kick) UNLV 35–13 3 03:29 UNLV Trevor Kanteman 1–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Daniel Gutierrez kick failed) UNLV 41–13

See also: 2017 San Jose State Spartans football team

San Diego State

San Diego State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 19 Aztecs 3 17 7 14 41 Rebels 3 7 0 0 10 Date: October 7, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:50 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 19,770 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Calm and Clear Skies • Wind: E 2 MPH Referee: Kevin Boitmann TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick and Kirk Morrison

Scoring summary 1 02:57 SDSU John Baron II 27–yard field goal SDSU 3–0 1 00:26 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 35–yard field goal TIE 3–3 2 11:57 SDSU Christian Chapman 14–yard run (John Baron II kick) SDSU 10–3 2 10:04 SDSU Juwan Washington 34–yard run (John Baron II kick) SDSU 17–3 2 05:48 UNLV Kendal Keys 6–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Daniel Gutierrez kick) SDSU 17–10 2 00:21 SDSU John Baron II 33–yard field goal SDSU 20–10 3 07:29 SDSU Rashaad Penny 3–yard run (John Baron II kick) SDSU 27–10 4 07:11 SDSU Rashaad Penny 2–yard run (John Baron II kick) SDSU 34–10 4 01:40 SDSU Chase Jasmin 8–yard run (John Baron II kick) SDSU 41–10

See also: 2017 San Diego State Aztecs football team

At Air Force

UNLV at Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 17 10 3 0 30 • Falcons 0 7 13 14 34 Date: October 14, 2017 Location: Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO Game start: 12:08 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 7 minutes Game attendance: 26,679 Game weather: Temperature: N/A • Weather: N/A • Wind: N/A Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Brad Thompson, Sherdrick Bonner and J. J. Raterink (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 13:02 UNLV Lexington Thomas 55–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 7–0 1 01:28 UNLV Xzaviar Campbell 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 14–0 1 00:16 UNLV Evan Pantels 40–yard field goal UNLV 17–0 2 08:37 UNLV Evan Pantels 27–yard field goal UNLV 20–0 2 03:28 UNLV Armani Rogers 3–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 27–0 2 00:42 AF Arion Worthman 14–yard run (Luke Strebel kick) UNLV 27–7 3 12:00 UNLV Evan Pantels 34–yard field goal UNLV 30–7 3 08:02 AF Arion Worthman 1–yard run (Luke Strebel kick) UNLV 30–14 3 03:21 AF Arion Worthman 5–yard run (pass failed) UNLV 30–20 4 12:52 AF Arion Worthman 6–yard run (Luke Strebel kick) UNLV 30–27 4 02:14 AF Arion Worthman 1–yard run (Lake Strebel kick) AF 34–30

See also: 2017 Air Force Falcons football team

Utah State

Utah State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • Aggies 7 21 7 17 52 Rebels 14 14 0 0 28 Date: October 21, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 3:08 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 18,157 Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Breezy and Clear Skies • Wind: N 6 MPH Referee: Michael VanderVelde TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Caleb Herring (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 06:49 UNLV Lexington Thomas 14–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 7–0 1 02:32 UNLV Armani Rogers 6–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 14–0 1 01:56 USU Savon Scarver 70–yard pass from Jordan Love (Dominik Eberle kick) UNLV 14–7 2 13:58 UNLV Lexington Thomas 41–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 21–7 2 12:51 USU LaJuan Hunt 13–yard run (Dominik Eberle kick) UNLV 21–14 2 06:05 UNLV Armani Rogers 7–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 28–14 2 05:54 USU Jordan Nathan 75–yard pass from Jordan Love (Dominik Eberle kick) UNLV 28–21 2 02:28 USU LaJuan Hunt 1–yard run (Dominik Eberle kick) TIE 28–28 3 06:38 USU Jordan Love 5–yard run (Dominik Eberle kick) USU 35–28 4 14:15 USU LaJuan Hunt 30–yard run (Dominik Eberle kick) USU 42–28 4 10:53 USU Dominik Eberle 24–yard field goal USU 45–28 4 00:59 USU Justen Hervey 7–yard run (Dominik Eberle kick) USU 52–28

See also: 2017 Utah State Aggies football team

At Fresno State

UNLV at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 3 6 7 10 26 Bulldogs 9 0 7 0 16 Date: October 28, 2017 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:08 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 2 hours and 50 minutes Game attendance: 27,922 Game weather: Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Weather: Clear and Crisp • Wind: 2 MPH Referee: Daniel Romeo TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 09:50 FS Jordan Mims 3–yard run (Jimmy Camacho kick failed) FS 6–0 1 05:58 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 38–yard field goal FS 6–3 1 02:58 FS Jimmy Camacho 34–yard field goal FS 9–3 2 10:18 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 27–yard field goal FS 9–6 2 00:06 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 23–yard field goal TIE 9–9 3 09:31 UNLV Johnny Stanton 7–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 16–9 3 03:38 FS Jordan Mims 5–yard run (Jimmy Camacho kick) TIE 16–16 4 14:53 UNLV Lexington Thomas 2–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 23–16 4 05:00 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 25–yard field goal UNLV 26–16

See also: 2017 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

Hawaii

Hawaii at UNLV
(Island Showdown)

1 2 3 4 Total Rainbow Warriors 0 6 7 10 23 • Rebels 7 0 21 3 31 Date: November 4, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 3:00 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 35 minutes Game attendance: 16,278 Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Beautiful and Clear • Wind: S 16 MPH Referee: Kevin Hassell TV announcers (Stadium/SPEC HI): Robert Kekaula and Rich Miano

Scoring summary 1 11:01 UNLV Johnny Stanton 4–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 7–0 2 06:16 UH Alex Trifonovitch 31–yard field goal UNLV 7–3 2 00:17 UH Alex Trifonovitch 38–yard field goal UNLV 7–6 3 09:53 UH Dylan Collie 20–yard pass from Dru Brown (Alex Trifonovitch kick) UH 13–7 3 08:22 UNLV Brandon Presley 52–yard pass from Johnny Stanton (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 14–13 3 01:40 UNLV Kendal Keys 10–yard pass from Johnny Stanton (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 21–13 3 00:23 UNLV Lexington Thomas 3–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 28–13 4 11:46 UH Diocemy Saint Juste 2–yard run (Alex Trifonovitch kick) UNLV 28–20 4 04:53 UNLV Evan Pantels 32–yard field goal UNLV 31–20 4 02:15 UH Alex Trifonovitch 27–yard field goal UNLV 31–23

See also: 2017 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

BYU

BYU at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • Cougars 0 14 14 3 31 Rebels 0 7 7 7 21 Date: November 10, 2017 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:30 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes Game attendance: 19,811 Game weather: Temperature: 67 °F (19 °C) • Weather: Breezy and Clear • Wind: SSW 8 MPH Referee: Scott Campbell TV announcers (ESPN2): Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek and Molly McGrath (sideline)

Scoring summary 2 09:06 BYU Brayden El-Bakri 1–yard run (Rhett Almond kick) BYU 7–0 2 04:25 UNLV Lexington Thomas 1–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) TIE 7–7 2 00:27 BYU Aleva Hifo 11–yard pass from Joe Critchlow (Rhett Almond kick) BYU 14–7 3 13:04 BYU Squally Canada 2–yard run (Rhett Almond kick) BYU 21–7 3 04:23 UNLV Brandon Presley 18–yard pass from Johnny Stanton (Evan Pantels kick) BYU 21–14 3 01:40 BYU Austin Kafentzis 11–yard run (Rhett Almond kick) BYU 28–14 4 10:46 UNLV Devonte Boyd 13–yard pass from Johnny Stanton (Evan Pantels kick) BYU 28–21 4 05:39 BYU Rhett Almond 28–yard field goal BYU 31–21

See also: 2017 BYU Cougars football team

At New Mexico

UNLV at New Mexico

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 10 14 3 11 38 Lobos 0 14 7 14 35 Date: November 17, 2017 Location: Dreamstyle Stadium Albuquerque, NM Game start: 7:35 p.m. MST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 20 minutes Game attendance: 14,744 Game weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Weather: Mostly Cloudy • Wind: W 17 MPH Referee: Stephen Baron TV announcers (ESPN2): Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek and Molly McGrath (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 10:50 UNLV Evan Pantels 40–yard field goal UNLV 3–0 1 03:11 UNLV Lexington Thomas 14–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 10–0 2 12:00 NM Romell Jordan 8–yard run (Jason Sanders kick) UNLV 10–7 2 03:26 NM Daryl Chestnut Jr. 1–yard run (Jason Sanders kick) NM 14–10 2 02:43 UNLV Lexington Thomas 60–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 17–14 2 01:12 UNLV Armani Rogers 83–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 24–14 3 12:23 NM Lamar Jordan II 40–yard run (Jason Sanders kick) UNLV 24–21 3 06:39 UNLV Evan Pantels 22–yard field goal UNLV 27–21 4 09:17 NM Tyrone Owens 2–yard run (Jason Sanders kick) NM 28–27 4 06:11 UNLV Evan Pantels 40–yard field goal UNLV 30–28 4 01:11 NM Lamar Jordan II 41–yard run (Jason Sanders kick) NM 35–30 4 00:25 UNLV Kendal Keys 14–yard pass from Armani Rogers (pass) UNLV 38–35

See also: 2017 New Mexico Lobos football team

At Nevada

UNLV at Nevada
(Battle for the Fremont Cannon / Governor's Series)

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 0 13 3 0 16 • Wolf Pack 6 3 7 7 23 Date: November 25, 2017 Location: Mackay Stadium Reno, NV Game start: 12:08 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 56 minutes Game attendance: 17,359 Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: SE 4 MPH Referee: Michael VanderVelde TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 14:03 NEV Wyatt Demps 21–yard pass from Ty Gangi (Spencer Pettit kick blocked) NEV 6–0 2 14:47 UNLV Armani Rogers 12–yard run (Evan Pantels kick) UNLV 7–6 2 08:56 UNLV Evan Pantels 24–yard field goal UNLV 10–6 2 02:03 UNLV Evan Pantels 37–yard field goal UNLV 13–6 2 00:21 NEV Spencer Pettit 35–yard field goal UNLV 13–9 3 10:57 UNLV Evan Pantels 53–yard field goal UNLV 16–9 3 00:41 NEV Trevion Armstrong 6–yard pass from Ty Gangi (Spencer Pettit kick) TIE 16–16 4 07:34 NEV Kelton Moore 1–yard run (Spencer Pettit kick) NEV 23–16

See also: 2017 Nevada Wolf Pack football team and Fremont Cannon