No. 12 Wisconsin runs over UNLV 41-21
Photo 
Wisconsin's John Clay (32) breaks free for a touchdown in the third quarter against UNLV during an NCAA college football game Saturday in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS — Two first-half blunders by Wisconsin allowed UNLV to stay close, even though the Badgers had dominated the first two quarters.
In the second half, Wisconsin eliminated the mistakes and buried the Rebels.
John Clay and Montee Ball each ran for two touchdowns to lead No. 12 Wisconsin past UNLV 41-21 on Saturday night.
Clay finished with 123 yards on 17 carries and Ball had 79 on 16 rushes. The Badgers outscored the Rebels 24-0 in the third quarter after leading 17-14 at half.
Only two Wisconsin turnovers kept the game from becoming a blowout even earlier.
"At halftime, we told our team, 'Every play you take matters, and you never know when that play is going to be,'" Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said. "I really liked our response in the second half. I thought our defense rose to the challenge right away and our offense played off of that the whole time."
Scott Tolzien threw for 197 yards on 15 of 20 passing for Wisconsin, but he threw an interception that was run back 19 yards for a touchdown by Will Chandler in the first quarter.
Wisconsin outgained UNLV 475-215, dominating Bobby Hauck's first game as UNLV coach.
The former Montana coach started Mike Clausen at quarterback and he went 4 for 10 for 23 yards and a touchdown. Clausen was replaced by Omar Clayton, who was 6 of 16 for 82 yards and a touchdown.
"We made some plays in the second quarter to get back in it," Hauck said. "Wisconsin came out and took the game in the third quarter. We didn't win on third down on either side of the football."
Badgers defensive back Aaron Henry started the third-quarter scoring barrage, returning a fumble 20 yards less than two minutes into the half.
After Phillip Welch kicked a field goal from 33 yards out, Clay and Ball each added 16-yard touchdown runs to make it 41-14.
James White added 64 yards on 11 attempts for Wisconsin.
"I think all of (our running backs) are selfless players," Bielema said. "They cheer for each other. You can see all of them have a kind skill sets."
The game, which started at 8 p.m. locally, was played in 90 degree temperatures and Wisconsin fans made up about half the announced crowd of 31,107.
The Badgers opened the game with a 14-play drive, culminating in Clay's 5-yard run to the right side with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
On Wisconsin's second drive, Tolzien found David Gilreath down the middle for 45 yards and Ball finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Then Wisconsin gave UNLV a life line.
Nick Toon caught a pass and reached the UNLV 2, but was stripped by Deante' Purvis. Chandler recovered the ball and ran 82 yards setting up Clausen's touchdown pass to Phillip Payne down the middle from 16 yards out. Chandler's fumble return was the third longest in school history.
"Turnovers kill offenses and you can't have those," said Toon, who finished with four catches for 54 yards. "We're going to correct those mistakes, move forward, and hopefully continue to have success the rest of the year. Turnovers are crucial for an offense. We bounced back from it."
Wisconsin outgained UNLV 279-12 in the first half, including 138 to minus-9 on the ground.
The Badgers head home for three games in three weeks.
Sep 6, 2010 at 11:57 p.m.
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Where is my man KiowaMohican?
We need to hear the ranting for the 257th time about the UNLV game 6 or 7 years ago, when the lights went out just before the 55th minute to make the game a 'no action' game.
hahahaha
Nice call over on the gambling blog. You called it.
WI would dominate in every statistical category, but no way Vegas would let them cover the -20.5.
No doubt some of your boys around here cleaned up on the 'action'.
Where have you been???
You make these great calls in any of 4 or 5 blogs, and then you just disappear.
You are becoming the Barry Sanders of blogville!
Sep 6, 2010 at 2:01 p.m.
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We'll enjoy our third or fourth place finish in a highly regarded conference and playing in a bowl game after the first of the year. You be proud of your fifth or sixth place finish in a weaker conference and staying home to watch the bowl games on TV, NV. ;-)
I particularly enjoyed your coach's heated discussion which included at least four drops of the "f" bomb when your quarterback dared to call time out on his own. Hilarious, very entertaining television.
Sep 6, 2010 at 1:08 p.m.
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The time was perfectly normal for me.
Sep 6, 2010 at 11:21 a.m.
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I'll just be glad when we get back to a "normal" kickoff time.
Sep 6, 2010 at 11:02 a.m.
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The line here was 20.5. So whose fans do you think REALLY won!? I know I did.
Sep 5, 2010 at 11:41 p.m.
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Yep, good job Rebs...good job with the 20 point loss.
Sep 5, 2010 at 8:55 p.m.
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Twenty point loss to one of the largest schools in one of the highly regarded football conferences in the country. And trailed by three at half. From where I sat in the stands, I was mighty proud of our team. No one cares about football on the UNLV campus, while they eat and breath it in Madison. Great job Rebs. Enjoy your third or forth place finish Bucky.
Sep 5, 2010 at 5:21 p.m.
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They certainly had a couple of bone head mistakes in the first half that hurt, but that is why good teams from good conferences schedule pansies early in the season. The 279 yard to 11 yard disparity on offense in the first half showed UNLV should think about moving to the WIAC. Bucky certainly didn't look like a loooooser last night.
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