Austin Minefee ran for two touchdowns while his teammates had three interceptions for scores, propelling Southern Utah to a stunning 41-16 victory over UNLV on Saturday night.
Nick Witzmann, Blake Fenn, and Erron Vonner each had interception returns for touchdowns as the Thunderbirds (3-1) outscored UNLV 31-0 during a second half barrage.
The Rebels (1-3) turned the ball over five times as Caleb Herring threw those three picks that were returned for scores. UNLV’s Phillip Payne caught career-highs of 175 yards and 13 receptions. He also had a late 19-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception.
Brad Sorensen completed 16 of 34 for 178 yards for Southern Utah.
This was the teams’ first meeting since 1970.
Entering the game, UNLV had come off an impressive 40-20 win over Hawaii last Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Rebels scored first on a fake field goal as the holder Mike Clausen found Austin Harrington from 23 yards out in the right side of the endzone with 9:58 left in the first quarter.
The Thunderbirds scored the next 10 points, highlighted by Witzmann 35-yard interception touchdown return down the left side to make it 10-7. The Rebels tied it by halftime on a Nolan Kohorst 45-yard field goal with 56 seconds left in the second quarter.
Southern Utah has now played a Mountain West team for a fourth straight year.
Sam Houston State 48, at New Mexico 45 (OT): Tim Flanders scored his fifth touchdown of the game in overtime to help the Bearkats (3-0) defeat the Lobos (0-4) in Albuquerque, N.M.
Flanders, who finished with a career-best 194 yards on 30 carries, took it in from 4 yards out for his school-record fifth touchdown.
“It felt pretty good,” he said of the performance. “Especially since two of them were long runs. One of them, I fell on it in the end zone. But it’s a school record, so it’s a pretty big deal.”
Montana State 36, at Eastern Washington 21: Denarius McGhee passed and ran for a touchdown, and Jason Cunningham kicked five field goals as the Bobcats (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky) kept the defending FCS champion Eagles (0-4, 0-2) winless with a win in Cheney.
Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 263 yards and a touchdown for Eastern, which lost for the first time on the signature red turf that was installed last year.
Colorado State 35, at Utah State 34 (OT): Chris Nwoke scored a touchdown in overtime and ran for another with less than a minute in regulation to push the Rams (3-1) past the Aggies (1-2) in Logan, Utah.
Utah State went for a two-point conversion after its second touchdown in overtime, but Robert Turbin was stopped by Colorado State on his running attempt.
Turbin had scored both of the Aggies overtime TDs, including a 25-yard run. Crock Gilmore caught a 7-yard pass from Pete Thomas for CSU’s second overtime touchdown.
At Air Force 63, Tennessee State 24: Tim Jefferson threw for a career-high three touchdowns and the Falcons (2-1) piled up a school record 792 yards of offense in a rout of the Tigers at Air Force Academy, Colo.
Fresno State 48, at Idaho 24: Derek Carr threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (2-2) over the Vandals (1-3) in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
At San Jose State 34, New Mexico State 24: Brandon Rutley rushed for 209 yards and scored twice and the Spartans (1-3, 1-1 WAC) ended a 13-game losing streak dating to last season with a victory over the Aggies (1-3, 1-1).
At Sacramento State 42, Montana 28: Jeff Fleming passed for two touchdowns and ran for two scores to help the Hornets (2-2, 1-1 Big Sky) to their first win in 17 meetings with the Gizzlies (2-2, 1-1).
Fleming was 18 of 27 for 224 yards passing, leading Sacramento State in the second quarter with 7- and 9-yard TD runs.
Weber State 45, at Northern Colorado 21: Mike Hoke threw for a career-high five touchdowns, including three to wide receiver Shaydon Kehano, and the Wildcats (2-2, 2-0 Big Sky) routed the Bears (0-4, 0-2) in Greeley, Colo.
At Northern Arizona 20, Idaho State 3: Zach Bauman ran for 219 yards and a touchdown to help the Lumberjacks (2-2, 1-1 Big Sky) roll past the Bengals (2-2, 1-1).
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