Unga's 149 yards power Brigham Young past UNLV

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Unga Carries No. 18 BYU In Rout Of UNLV

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... BYU's defense decided it was over. UNLV's only points of the first half came on a special-teams play. Gameball goes to... Max Hall, who completed 78 percent of his passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns in the rout. Stat of the game... 8-11. The Cougars converted on a season-best 73 percent of their third downs (8-for-11). Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	27	17
Total Yards	611	337
Passing	320	292
Rushing	291	45
Penalties	6-50	6-35
3rd Down Conversions	8-11	6-12
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-1
Turnovers	0	3
Possession	35:09	24:51

Air/Ground Leaders
Brigham Young Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Hall 21/27 320 2 0	UNLV Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Clayton 20/32 253 2 2 Clausen 5/9 39 0 1
Brigham Young Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Unga 20 149 3 52 Di Luigi 6 67 1 38	UNLV Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Clausen 5 17 0 9 Trotter 5 14 0 4
Brigham Young Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Tonga 5 62 0 24 George 3 61 0 34	UNLV Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Johnson 6 113 1 75 Wolfe 8 69 0 15

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				BYU	UNLV
	FG	05:20	Mitch Payne 28 Yd	3	0
	TD	03:36	Harvey Unga 33 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	10	0
SECOND QUARTER				BYU	UNLV
	TD	13:18	Harvey Unga 1 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	17	0
	TD	13:05	Deante' Purvis 94 Yd Kickoff Return (Kyle Watson Kick)	17	7
	TD	11:12	Harvey Unga 52 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	24	7
THIRD QUARTER				BYU	UNLV
	TD	10:20	Michael Johnson 75 Yd Pass From Omar Clayton (Kyle Watson Kick)	24	14
	TD	08:33	Dennis Pitta 35 Yd Pass From Max Hall (Mitch Payne Kick)	31	14
	TD	04:41	Jo Jo Pili 1 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	38	14
	TD	02:44	J.J. Di Luigi 15 Yd Pass From Max Hall (Mitch Payne Kick)	45	14
FOURTH QUARTER				BYU	UNLV
	TD	13:40	Rodelin Anthony 4 Yd Pass From Omar Clayton (Kyle Watson Kick)	45	21
	TD	13:17	Riley Nelson 2 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	52	21
	TD	08:17	J.J. Di Luigi 2 Yd Run (Mitch Payne Kick)	59	21

LAS VEGAS -- Harvey Unga, Max Hall and No. 18 BYU put up some big numbers Saturday night at overmatched UNLV's expense.

Unga ran for three touchdowns and 149 yards, and Hall completed 21 of 27 passes for 320 yards and two more scores in BYU's 59-21 victory. The Cougars (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) gained 611 yards and led by double digits for the final 48 minutes.

Fast Facts

• BYU improved to 8-0 in road games vs. UNLV as Max Hall recorded his fourth 300-yard passing game this season.

• For the first time in his last nine games, Hall did not throw an interception.

• Harvey Unga rushed for three touchdowns, recording his third straight game with 100 or more rushing yards.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"I thought the team played well and played a complete game," BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "We improved in a lot of areas.

UNLV coach Mike Sanford fell to 13-40 in five seasons with the Rebels (2-4, 0-2).

"First thing is to give BYU credit," Sanford said. "They are a very good football team. They are the 18th-ranked football team in the country and played like it."

The Rebels scored 5 minutes into the second half on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Omar Clayton to Michael Johnson to make it 24-14, but BYU only needed four plays to respond.

Hall's 35-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta put the Cougars back up by 17 and the Rebels weren't a threat again. BYU added a 1-yard run from Jo Jo Pili and a 15-yard touchdown pass to JJ Di Luigi for a 45-14 lead at the end of the quarter.

"Max is the cornerstone of this team and this offense," Unga said. "Hes a great leader. He is one of those quality guys who can lead team during crunch time."

Unga scored all three of his touchdowns in the first 20 minutes, breaking free for a 52-yard run with 11:12 to play in the second quarter to give BYU a 24-7 lead.

Unga also ran it in from 33 yards and 1 yard and Mitch Payne added a 28-yard field goal.

"[Unga] is a different type of ball player. He makes everything look easy," Mendenhall said.

BYU, which entered averaging 34 points and 432 yards per game, took advantage of a UNLV defense that surrendered 773 yards last week in a 63-28 loss at Nevada.

The consecutive poor performances could cost Sanford his job. He spent parts of his postgame media conference answering questions about his future.

"Coach Sanford will make sure all of our focus is on the next game," Clayton said. "Those other things are out of our control."

The Cougars have scored 136 points to win their three games since a 54-28 loss to Florida State on Sept. 19.

Unga is still upset about that loss.

"Florida State is a real great team and they beat us by playing their game," Unga said. "I just wish we could play them again."

A 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Deante' Purvis gave the Rebels their only points in the first half. It was UNLV's first kickoff return for a touchdown since 1999.