UNLV 31, Arkansas 14
L A S V E G A S, Dec. 22, 2000 -- UNLV is not a bunch of hapless losers anymore.
With quarterback Jason Thomas playing a near flawless game, UNLVcompleted its turnaround under John Robinson by beating Arkansas31-14 on Thursday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.
A team that went 0-11 two years ago and lost 16 straight at onepoint dominated the bigger but slower Razorbacks in the second halfto give Robinson his first bowl win since Southern California beatNorthwestern five years ago in the Rose Bowl.
UNLV fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts incelebration as fireworks exploded over field. Happy fans danced asArkansas players filed silently off the field.
Thomas gave UNLV (8-5) a lead it would not give up with a54-yard pass to Troy Mason with 2:21 left in the third quarter, andUNLV added a field goal and a final touchdown on an 18-yard run byKevin Brown with 5:39 left.Arkansas: No Rhythm
Arkansas (6-6), which had not allowed an offensive touchdown innine consecutive quarters, could not contain Thomas, who passedwith precision and picked apart the Razorbacks defense in thesecond half.
Thomas, a sophomore transfer from USC completed 12 of 17 passesfor 217 yards and three touchdowns, and UNLV’s small but speedyrunning backs romped through big holes in the Arkansas defense inthe second half.
Two of the touchdowns went to Nate Turner in the first half,including a 5-yard toss that tied the game with 3:12 left in thehalf.
UNLV’s defense, meanwhile, allowed a touchdown on the openingdrive and another in the second quarter but stiffened in the secondhalf and did not give up a point. Robby Hampton threw for twofirst-half touchdown passes for Arkansas, but was largelyineffective in the second half.
The game was tied 14-14 at halftime, and Arkansas had a chanceto take the lead on its first possession of the second half whenUNLV muffed a punt snap and Arkansas took over on the Rebels’ 30.
UNLV’s defense stiffened, however, and after Arkansas missed a29-yard field goal with 9:33 left in the third quarter, theRazorbacks never threatened again.
A crowd of 25,868—a record for the ninth-year bowl—showed upto cheer a hometown team that Robinson took from 0-11 two years agoto 3-8 in his first year. UNLV was 4-5 at one point this season,but ended up winning its last four games.Comeback Effort Halted
Arkansas, which was also 4-5 before finishing with two wins overranked opponents, had been happy to get into a bowl. But theestimated 4,000 fans who traveled with the team to Las Vegas couldonly watch in stunned silence as UNLV took over the game in thesecond half.
Arkansas’ streak of consecutive quarters without allowing anoffensive touchdown ended early in the second quarter when Thomasfound Turner falling away in the corner of the end zone for a19-yard touchdown play that tied the game 7-7.
Arkansas came right back, scoring five plays later on a quickdrive that began with a 33-yard pass to Boo Williams and ended witha 25-yarder that Williams caught just over the goal line.
Thomas and Turner weren’t done for the half, though, with Thomasthrowing a fluttering pass that Turner caught while falling on hisback on the 3-yard line. Three plays later, Thomas threw across themiddle to Turner for the score that tied it 14-14 going intohalftime.
Thomas was 9-of-11 in the first half, with Turner catching eightpasses for 126 yards.