LARAMIE, Wyo. — Brett Smith passed for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another to lead Wyoming past UNLV 41-14 on Saturday.
The victory, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams, snapped a two-game losing streak for Wyoming (4-2, 1-0). It was Wyoming’s fourth consecutive home-game victory against the Rebels.
Smith completed 10 of 19 passes for 96 yards and rushed 10 times for 59 yards.
Chris McNeill added a 76-yard score on a punt return, making up for a fumbled punt earlier in the game.
The loss was the third straight for the Rebels (1-5, 0-1) and their 13th consecutive loss on the road, dating to 2009. Seeking to jump-start an offense that was averaging 137 passing yards a game, UNLV started a new quarterback, Sean Reilly, who threw for just 79 yards.
Dionza Bradford led the Rebels with 104 yards on 22 rushes, and Tim Cornett scored two rushing TDs.
The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game, needing just nine plays altogether. Smith connected with Dominic Rufran on a 41-yard score, and Alvester Alexander scored on a 1-yard run.
Wyoming scored again on its fourth drive when Smith found Spencer Bruce alone in the middle of the UNLV secondary for a 15-yard TD pass.
The Rebels offense managed just 51 yards in the first quarter to Wyoming’s 181.
But UNLV rebounded in the second quarter, scoring touchdowns on successive drives to pull within 20-14 at the half. The first drive was set up by McNeill’s fumbled punt, which gave the Rebels the ball on the Wyoming 29-yard line. Cornett finished off a nine-play drive — all runs — with a 3-yard TD run.
UNLV’s second score was keyed by a 32-yard pass from Reilly to Phillip Payne on first down, followed by five straight running plays that included Cornett’s score from 9 yards out.
But Wyoming’s defense forced three straight UNLV three-and-outs to start the second half while the Cowboys pulled away with a 24-yard field goal by Daniel Sullivan and McNeill’s 76-yard punt return down the right sideline.
Wyoming finished the game’s scoring with a 28-yard pass from McNeill to Smith on a trick play and a 28-yard field goal by Sullivan.
