Boise, ID – D.J. Harper rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns and Jay Ajayi added a rushing score to lead No. 24 Boise State to a 32-7 win over UNLV on Saturday.
Joe Southwick was 22-for-30 passing for 243 yards and Chris Potter caught four passes for 52 yards for the Broncos (6-1, 3-0 MWC), who have won six straight games since dropping their first contest of the season to Michigan State.
"We did a good job of preparing this week. We had a pretty good idea of what they were going to do to us on defense, and we came out and executed pretty nicely," Southwick said.
Nick Sherry completed just 14-of-31 passes for 71 yards with two interceptions. Bradley Randle carried the ball 16 times for 64 yards and Tim Cornett picked up 61 yards on 16 carries for the Rebels (1-7, 1-2), who will travel to San Diego State next week.
Following a 37-yard punt, Boise State took over at the UNLV 42. A 19-yard pass to Matt Miller set up a 10-yard Harper touchdown run. Harper also punched it in on the two-point conversion to give Boise an 8-0 lead with 5:47 remaining in the opening quarter.
After forcing another UNLV punt, Michael Frisina's 30-yard field goal capped a 10-play, 64-yard drive that bridged the first and second quarters.
The teams then traded punts, but Sherry's pass on 3rd-and-5 at the Boise State 26 was intercepted by Jarrell Gavins. A 47-yard completion to Dallas Burroughs gave Boise the ball on the UNLV 4, and Ajayi ran it in on the next play to send the hosts up 18-0.
"We were in so many bad situations," UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said. "You can't turn it over especially on the road and in a place like this."
Marcus Sullivan fumbled on the ensuing drive and Gavins returned it 16 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a commanding 25-0 lead.
Frisina had a field goal try blocked early in the third quarter, but after UNLV turned the ball over on downs, Boise State added to its advantage. Southwick found Potter all alone for a 35-yard completion to set up Harper's second score of the game, a 1-yard plunge to make it 32-0.
The Rebels got on the board thanks to its defense, as Kenneth Penny returned Grant Hedricks' fumble 30 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
Boise State owns a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series and is 4-0 at home against the Rebels ... The Broncos are 47-0 October since 2001 ... Boise State has forced 22 turnovers this season ... UNLV hasn't beaten a ranked opponent since 2008.
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