UNM had blown a 17-point lead in the third quarter when cornerback Isaiah Brown took the field against UNLV.
Up 21-17, the Rebels looked poised to add to their lead. But on third-and-10, wide receiver Devonte Boyd tipped quarterback Blake Decker’s pass into the air and right to Brown. The Lobo sophomore then took the ball to UNLV’s 4-yard line to set up a first-and-goal opportunity for UNM.
The Lobos took advantage and scored on the ensuing play when redshirt junior running back Jhurell Pressley scored his third touchdown of the game for a 24-21 lead.
“It was real satisfying; I enjoyed the moment,” said Brown, who reinjured his hamstring on the play. “I felt that God was calling upon me to make a play. We were down for the first time in the game. I didn’t want to play this game at all; I didn’t want to hurt my hamstring more, but I felt like God was calling upon me to make a play.”
UNLV responded with a 3-yard touchdown run by Keith Whitely with 8:19 left in the game. The Lobos retook the lead 31-28 on a 3-yard score by sophomore running back Teriyon Gipson on a drive that took 15 plays, 66 yards and 7:08.
With one second remaining, Rebels kicker Brian McIntyre attempted a 55-yard game-tying field goal that fell short, giving the Lobos a victory in Las Vegas.
The win was the Lobos’ (3-5, 1-3 MW) first Mountain West victory of the season and they improved to 3-1 on the road.
“We can talk about a lot of things philosophically, but it came down to some guys making some plays at the end and holding on by a thread,” head coach Bob Davie said.
The difference between the Rebels’ offense in the first and second half was that they were able to establish their running game.
After gaining just 70 rushing yards in the first half, UNLV earned 144 in the second half. Tailback Shaquille Murray-Lawrence had 125 yards and two scores, while Decker ran for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Decker also completed 28 of 44 passes for 271 yards with two interceptions.
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“The second half, the quarterback got his confidence and they got their running game going,” Davie said.
UNM had no trouble running the ball, gaining 301 yards on the ground. Pressley led the Lobos with 20 carries, earning 138 yards and scoring three touchdowns. Gipson was second with 80 yards on 12 attempts and a score.
Junior quarterback Cole Gautsche started the game but was injured in the first quarter after being tackled on a quarterback draw. He looked to have hurt his left foot/ankle and he didn’t return. Redshirt freshman quarterback Lamar Jordan stepped in and completed just 2 of 7 passes for 5 yards and ran for 76 yards on 15 attempts.
Jordan led UNM to a commanding 17-0 lead in the first half when Pressley scored from 1 yard out to cap a 6-play, 2:52 drive.
On the ensuing drive, UNLV (2-7, 1-4 MW) responded with a 2-yard touchdown run by Decker with just seven seconds left in the half. The Lobos held a 17-7 edge at halftime.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
