LARAMIE — Brett Smith is much more comfortable passing the football instead of catching it because he admits he has “no hands.”
Smith passed for two touchdowns and caught a pass for another to lead Wyoming past UNLV 41-14 on Saturday.
His 28-yard TD catch came on a trick play during which he handed off to receiver Chris McNeill, who ran to the right side of the field, stopped and tossed the ball to Smith, who was waiting downfield on the left side.
The ball hung up in the air, and Smith caught it against his body with both arms and scampered about 10 yards into the end zone as he avoided one desperate UNLV tackler.
“I have no hands, so that’s why I kind of hugged it,” Smith said, noting he was “extremely scared” by the play, which put Wyoming ahead 38-14 early in the fourth quarter.
“But that was a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m glad that we called it, and I’m even more glad that it worked.”
The victory, in the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams, snapped a two-game losing streak for Wyoming. 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.
McNeill added a 76-yard score on a punt return — Wyoming’s first punt return for a touchdown in seven years.
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, was sacked four times and lost a fumble.
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.
Nevada 49, New Mexico 7
RENO, Nev. — Cody Fajardo passed for 203 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns and Lampford Mark had three short touchdown runs as the Wolf Pack rolled up 598 total yards. The Lobos did not score until the game’s final minutes.
