Nevada Post-Game Notes
vs. UNLV
- Nevada has now won three straight games in the series with UNLV and holds an 18-15 advantage in the series.
- This is Nevada’s longest win streak in the rivalry since winning five straight since winning five straight from 1995-1999.
- Nevada coach Chris Ault is now 10-7 as a head coach in the series and he has not lost to the Rebels at home since 1979.
- The 56-yard pass play between Nick Graziano and Adam Bishop marks the longest reception of Bishop’s career.
- The 90-yard TD pass play between Nick Graziano and Mike McCoy marks the longest pass of Graziano’s career and the longest reception of McCoy’s career. It is Nevada’s longest play from scrimmage since a 95-yard pass play for a touchdown between Zack Threadgill and Nate Burleson against BYU on Sept. 14, 2002.
- The 50-yard field goal by Brett Jaekle was the longest of his career. It marks the first time a Nevada kicker booted a field goal of 50 yards or longer since Damon Fine hit a 53-yarder against Southern Utah on Aug. 30, 2003. Jaekle added a 30-yarder in the fourth quarter and has now made nine of his last 10 attempts dating back to the 2006 season. His only miss was a 42-yard attempt at Northwestern.
- The interception by Mike Samples in the first half was the first of his career.
- Dwayne Sanders hit the 100-yard mark in return yards, the first Nevada player to do so since D’Angelo Wilson last year against Louisiana Tech.
- Nevada has never been shut out as a member of Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) and has not been shut out since Sept. 27, 1980, a streak of 321 games that is the longest in the nation. The last time Nevada was blanked was at Weber State, a 10-0 loss that is the only shutout loss suffered by Hall of Fame coach Chris Ault.
-Redfirst freshman Mike Gallett got the first start of his career as he started at tackle in place of John Bender ... Senior Ezra Butler started at an linebacker position ... Senior Jay Dixon started at one of the defensive end spots ... Senior Nick Fuhr started at an outside linebacker spot instead of Jeremy Engstrom ... Vai Taua started as an H-Back.
- Nevada won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. UNLV received the opening kickoff and Nevada defended the North goal.
- The cumulative score in the rivalry is now Nevada 858, UNLV 691.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Nevada coach Chris Ault
About the game
“It was one heck of a ball game. Both sides played hard all game long. I was pleased with our offensive production at the end. We were out of sync in the 3rd quarter which was disappointing. The bottom line is with the youth of our team we’ve got to find a way to win and we did.”
Ault on Nevada’s fourth quarter rally:
“It was key for us. I wasn’t pleased with our offense in the third. (Quarterback Nick) Graziano was sporadic in key situations and we lost our momentum. Late in the third we got more comfortable with the play action and offensively we did a nice job controlling the ball in the fourth.”
On Nevada’s defensive line at the end of the game:
“Our pass rush was inconsistent in the second but in the fourth quarter we shook the team up.”
Ault on the significance of the game:
“We’ve got a lot to work on. The bottom line is that we needed to find a way to win. The cannon means a lot not just to our team but to the community as well.”
Ault on the game-day atmosphere of the crowd:
“It was electric. We felt it coming into the stadium. The students really help energize the crowd.”
Receiver Mike McCoy
On the game:
“These are the type of games you live for, the games that come down to the wire.”
On his 90-yard touchdown catch:
“I give all the credit to (quarterback Nick) Graziano. Graz was supposed to go to (Kyle) Sammons but he read us perfectly.”
Receiver Kyle Sammons
On his game-winning touchdown:
“I ran up the sideline and (receiver Marko) Mitchell cleared out the safety which created a one-on-one for me. The coaches made an excellent call. I wasn’t expecting to be that open and (quarterback Nick) Graziano made a great throw.”
Linebacker Erza Butler
On stopping the run:
“We’ve been hitting and tackling in practice trying to get more aggressive and we did that tonight.”
Butler on the game:
“It was a big game. I was emotional before the game. You don’t want to be a part of the senior class that gives the Cannon away.”
Kicker Brett Jaekle
On the game:
“This was the biggest game ever. This is the thing I look forward to the most I always look forward to playing the Rebels.”
Jaekle on his career-high 50 yard field goal:
“When you kick it you don’t want to think about how long it is but it felt good.”
Quarterback Nick Graziano
On the final drive:
“It was tough seeing them score but one minute is plenty of time and getting good field possession helped. The last play looked just like we drew it up.”
Graziano on the fans:
“The fans played a great part they had a good role in the game for us.”
UNLV
UNLV coach Mike Sanford
About the game
“It just kills me and it’s very disappointing. We’re very frustrated because we had our chances to win that game. You have to give credit to our rival up north.
“The problem is we beat ourselves. We had opportunities to win today but didn’t do it in every phase.”
About quarterback Travis Dixon
“I thought he was tremendous. I thought he was going to score at the end. We really believed it.”
About the fake field goal
“That was completely on me, it was a communication problem with the snapper. It was a decision between a special punt or field goal. We were going for the field goal.”
Coverage on the 90-yard and 43-yard touchdown passes
“We had a couple coverage mistakes in the game. It was a lack of concentration by specific players that we need to improve on.”
Nevada’s running game
“They’re a running football team today and they ran what we expected. They threw some passes. It was the big play action plays that we got hurt on.”
UNLV quarterback Travis Dixon
About the game
“Offensively we killed ourselves in the first half. We pretty much hurt ourselves today.”
Tying the game and the last drives
“We have a lot of confidence in our offense. We faced adversity pretty well today. It put us in a bind and we felt rushed at the end.”
