Colorado State Defensive Lineman Guy Miller Wins Mountain West Player Of The Week

Colorado State defensive lineman Guy Miller was named the Mountain West Conference defensive player of the week. Miller set both team and conference records with 4.5 sacks in the 43-10 win over UNLV.

Remarkable considering he plays on the interior defensive line and gets double-teamed on virtually every snap, his effort Saturday included two sacks on fourth downs. Miller established his dominance on the first play of the Rebels game, combining with Davis Burl to throw RB Deante Purvis for a loss. He then picked up sack No. 1, a 9-yard loss in the first quarter, with UNLV threatening to enter the Rams' red zone, and two snaps later hurried Omar Clayton on a third-down incompletion to force the Rebels to settle for a FG.

Colorado State Crushes UNLV, 43-10

Fort Collins, CO (Sports Network) - Pete Thomas threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Colorado State Rams to a 43-10 victory over the UNLV Rebels in a Mountain West Conference tussle at Hughes Stadium.

Lou Greenwood collected just two receptions for Colorado State (2-5,1-2 MWC), but still managed to finish the game with 128 yards and one touchdown. Leonard Mason led the ground game for CSU, rushing for 121 yards and one score on 14 carries.

Omar Clayton completed 15-of-23 passes for UNLV (1-6, 1-2), but the quarterback finished with just 114 yards through the air and was sacked six times.

Mason's three-yard touchdown run early in the opening frame gave the Rams a 7-0 lead.

UNLV got on the scoreboard with a 47-yard field goal by Nolan Kohorst with just over two minutes remaining in the opening half.

A 14-yard pass from Thomas to Eric Peitz pushed Colorado State's lead to 14-3.

The Rams extended their lead to 21-3 early in the second stanza when Thomas connected with Greenwood for a 73-yard scoring strike.

UNLV found the end zone for the first time in the matchup late in the second frame when Tim Cornett rumbled into the end zone on a three-yard run.

However, the Rams closed out the first half with two straight touchdowns with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter. The first score was a nine-yard touchdown run by John Mosure, and that was followed by a 29-yard scoring strike from Thomas to Peitz.

The only points in the third period came off the foot of Ben DeLine, who drilled a 36-yard kick for Colorado State.

DeLine added two more field goals in the final frame, connecting from 19 and 23 yards out, respectively, to give the Rams the convincing 33-point victory.

Halftime: Colorado State Starts Off Fast, Up 34-10 Over UNLV

Colorado State got off to a quick start lead by quarterback Pete Thomas who is 6-6 with 178 yards and three touchdown passes. Lou Greenwood is the benefactor of Pete Thomas passes with two catches, one touchdown, and for 128 yards. While Eric Peitz has two catches and two touchdown receptions. The Rams also have a resemblance of a rushing game with Leonard Mason who has 32 yards on five carries with a few minutes left in the first half. Colorado State has four drives that took less then three plays to score a touchdown.

The Rams are having their best game in over a year on offense. Prior to this game the Rams were averaging 13.7 points per game, and have almost tripled that output in the first half over UNLV.

Colorado State Looks For Second Win On The Year Against UNLV

Colorado Springs -- (Sports Network) Two struggling teams collide this Saturday afternoon in a Mountain West Conference tussle, as the Colorado State Rams will try to grab their first league win when they host the UNLV Rebels at Hughes Stadium.

It has been an inauspicious start to Bobby Hauck's tenure in Las Vegas, as his Rebels have stumbled out of the gates with five losses in their first six matchups. UNLV, which is currently in the midst of a two-game slide, is coming off an embarrassing, 49-10 setback to West Virginia this past weekend.

Things have not been much better for coach Steve Fairchild and his Rams, as the team has also suffered five setbacks in its first six games on the schedule. The lone win for CSU came at home against Idaho (36-34), so that gives the Rams something to shoot for this weekend. However, coach Fairchild's team rolls into this matchup on a down note, falling to top-25 ranked opponents in TCU (27-0) and Air Force (49-27).

Colorado State controls the all-time series against UNLV, posting a 12-5-1 ledger. However, last season the Rebels snapped a six-game slide to Colorado State with a 35-16 decision.

The Rebels have yet to find a groove offensively, which would explain the team's mediocre 19.8 ppg. The ground game has been abysmal, averaging just 105.7 ypg on an equally poor 2.9 yards per attempt.

At the same time the passing attack for UNLV has not been much better, and that is largely due to the ineffectiveness of both Omar Clayton and Caleb Herring. Clayton, who has completed 54.9 percent of his throws on the year, threw for only 79 yards in the loss to West Virginia and also tossed an interception. As for Herring, the freshman threw a touchdown in the loss, and finished with 101 yards, but was also picked off once.

Tim Cornett, who hauled in the touchdown pass from Herring, led the ground game with 56 yards on 12 carries. As mentioned earlier, running the ball has not been a strong suit for this offense, but the player with the most success has been Cornett, who is averaging 5.8 yards per attempt.

The offense has not been outstanding, but the poor start to the season for UNLV has plenty to do with the performance of the defense, which is surrendering close to 40 points per contest.

The biggest concern for coach Hauck thus far has been the miserable play against the run, as opponents are currently dismantling this defense for 206.3 rushing ypg. Out of the 25 touchdowns surrendered by this unit, 17 have come via the run.

UNLV's inability to stop the run continued in the team's loss to West Virginia, as the Mountaineers punished the Rebels for 219 yards and four touchdowns on 6.6 yards per tote. WVU, however, also abused the secondary of UNLV, throwing for 226 yards and three more touchdowns.

Much like their counterpart, the Rams have been ineffective offensively, totaling a meager 13.7 ppg.

The ground game has been one of the worst in the nation, as the team is producing only 94.3 ypg on an equally poor 3.1 ypc. However, the play of quarterback Pete Thomas has slightly softened the blow of the poor ground game.

Thomas, however, has not been overly impressive and while the quarterback has completed 67.5 percent of his passes, he has thrown just five touchdowns against eight interceptions. In the recent loss to Air Force Thomas continued to show inconsistent play, as the signal caller finished with 136 yards and one score, while also tossing an interception.

What was surprising in this contest was the rushing attack, which exploded for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Leonard Mason led the way with 139 yards and one touchdown on 6.3 yards per attempt. The senior came into the contest with just 26 combined yards through the first five games, but look for him to see more carries if he continues to produce at a high level.

On top of the lackluster play of the offense has been the terrible effort put forth by this defensive unit, which has already allowed 25 touchdowns.

Coach Fairchild's defense has been a mess against the run and the pass, as teams are punishing Colorado State for 210.8 rushing ypg, while adding another 223.0 ypg via the pass.

Against a run-oriented team like Air Force it was clear that the Rams were going to have trouble stopping the Falcons on the ground and that was the case, as Air Force pulverized CSU for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 5.3 yards per attempt. More embarrassing than the defense's performance against the run was the fact that Air Force completed just 6-of-10 passes, but still managed 185 yards and three touchdowns through the air.

Both teams have been terrible this season, especially on defense. However, neither team has performed well offensively, so it is unclear how this game will play out. The Rams have home field advantage and should be able to slip past UNLV for their first league win on the season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Colorado State 25, UNLV 18

Saturday, October 16th, 2:00 p.m. (et)