#42 UNLV

Las Vegas, NV

Sam Boyd Stadium October 5, 2019 Boise St 38 – UNLV 13 (ESPN Recap)

It was my 53rd trip to Las Vegas, with most of them occurring on weekends while college football was in session. However, it never occurred to me to go to a Rebels game on a Saturday night. I guess there are other things to do in Vegas on Saturday nights…

In town for work Thursday and Friday and stayed an extra 24 hours to catch this stadium. I bought a $21 ticket on SeatGeek for 15th row endzone and sat in the 6th row, 50-yd line, on Boise St sideline to support my 1H -11.5 bet which covered easily.

The crazy thing about Sam Boyd Stadium is that it is not where I thought it was. If you Google “UNLV Football Stadium” you get results in and around campus, the Thomas and Mack center, and in the general vicinity of Flamingo, north of the airport. I planned my logistics for the game with that in mind and was rudely awakened to find out that Sam Boyd is really far. 25 mins from the strip far. Instead of leaving my bags at the Hard Rock and walking, I took a Futuristic ride to the Sunset Station Casino, dropped bags, and continued on to the stadium. The logistics getting to Sam Boyd are also terrible as there is just a couple single lane roads coming to the stadium from each direction, each with large traffic buildups 45 mins before kickoff.

I tailgated at the Venetian Sportsbook for 9 hours before kickoff. I do not feel bad at all intentionally skipping a tailgate at the stadium. It’s Las Vegas. You can tailgate literally anywhere you want and there are more fun things to do in Vegas while drinking a beer than be in a parking lot.

I am glad I caught a game here in the final season before UNLV plays its home games in the new Raider Stadium, opening next season. (Undecided on how to handle this situation for my journey as new stadiums come online) Loved the way the yardage numbers were accentuated on the field; it is so Vegas and awesome.

Boise fans behind me on the opening series said “This is the quietest football game I have ever been to in my life!  There’s no one here. There’s no one here. The UNLV fans make zero noise.”

It was not the quietest game I have ever been to. That comment also really makes me want to go see a game on the blue turf. I should have been taking videos of the more difficult halftime contests that some schools put on. There was a game earlier this year where the contestant had to hit a 35 yard FG to win a $100 grocery gift certificate. Tonight, they had a man and a woman each take two throws from about 20 yards away where they had to land the ball into the bed of a pickup truck and the ball had to stay in the truck bed. If all four balls stayed in the truck, they each get $100 gift card. WHAT? First of all, footballs bounce. Secondly, even if the bed was full of water and could be landed softly, it would be a really tough task. Boise was clearly the better team with players that were more athletic at basically every position. There was an easy 76 yard TD pass early Q2 for a one-play 11-second TD drive which put the #16-ranked BSU up 14-0.

The fan turnout was about 50/50 Boise to UNLV, but the local fans appeared to really care despite being quiet. I assume they were quiet because they knew what they signed up to see tonight. I cannot remember the last time Boise lost to UNLV. It probably has happened 0 or 1 times in the last 20 years. UNLV was playing to cover, not to win.

On that topic, would have loved to stay for the epic bad beat in final 2 mins, which for me would have been a very lucky win. The spread was 23.5/24 and Boise was up 24 late. UNLV was stopped on a controversial incomplete call on 4th and G with 4 mins left. However, the Rebels get the ball back at +48 yard line with 2:34 left. and score a TD with 1:23 left...but shanks the XP wide left to cut it to 18 with 2 mins left. Then onsides kick, don’t recover, and the returner takes it to the 6! One play later, a Boise back snakes in to take BSU's lead to 25 and cover all the Boise tickets. Really bummed to have missed that groan and cheer in the stadium, but had to leave at halftime to catch a Redeye home. (and run into Kneels at LAS JetBlue terminal). Watched the ending on DVR Sunday. Wild if you bet the game!

Closed out state #2 on this journey.