2008 UNLV Rebels football
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record5–7 (2–6 MW)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTodd Berry (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorDennis Therrell (1st season)
Home stadiumSam Boyd Stadium
Seasons
← 2007
2009 →
2008 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Utah $   8 – 0     13 – 0  
No. 7 TCU   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 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 (MW) 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 (MW: 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

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Utah State*
W 27–1718,815
September 65:00 p.m.at No. 22 Utah
MWSNL 21–4245,587
September 137:00 p.m.at No. 15 Arizona State*
FSNW 23–20 OT59,852
September 206:00 p.m.Iowa State*
  • Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Whitney, NV
MWSNW 34–31 OT25,567
September 277:00 p.m.Nevada*
MWSNL 27–4933,078
October 411:00 a.m.at Colorado State
MWSNL 28–4119,703
October 187:00 p.m.Air Forcedagger
  • Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Whitney, NV
MWSNL 28–2921,055
October 2511:00 a.m.at No. 18 BYU
L 35–4264,081
November 15:00 p.m.No. 12 Texas Christian
  • Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Whitney, NV
L 14–4416,121
November 87:00 p.m.New Mexico
  • Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Whitney, NV
W 27–2013,154
November 136:00 p.m.Wyoming
  • Sam Boyd Stadium
  • Whitney, NV
CBSCSW 22–1418,154
November 225:00 p.m.at San Diego State
L 21–4217,846
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

References

  1. ^ UNLV 2008 Archived 2012-10-13 at the Wayback Machine, College Football Data Warehouse, Retrieved June 28, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c 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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