2008 UNLV Rebels football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2008 UNLV Rebels football UNLV Rebels wordmark.svg 175 Mountain West Conference MW 5–7 2–6 Mike Sanford Sr. 4th Todd Berry 2nd Dennis Therrell 1st Sam Boyd Stadium The 2008 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Mike Sanford Sr., the Rebels compiled an overall record of 5–7 record with mark of 2–6 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the MW. The team played home games at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. UNLV won three of their four out-of-conference games, including overtime upsets of both of their opponents from Bowl Championship Series conferences: 15th-ranked Arizona State of the Pac-10, 23–20, and Iowa State of the Big 12, 34–31. The Rebels led Colorado State in the fourth quarter, 28–27, but the Rams scored with 0:09 left to play and then on the ensuing kickoff recovered a fumble and scored again.UNLV 28, Colorado State 41, ESPN, October 4, 2008. UNLV led Air Force in the fourth quarter, 28–20, but lost by one point after the Falcons scored a touchdown and made a field goal.Air Force 29, UNLV 28, ESPN, October 18, 2008. The Rebels were tied at half and the end of the third quarter against 18th-ranked BYU. In the final period, UNLV took a 35–34 lead, but lost after yielding a touchdown with 1:46 remaining to play.BYU rallies to thwart UNLV; QB Hall has 4 TDs through air, ESPN, October 25, 2008. Despite losing starting quarterback Omar Clayton to an injury, the Rebels still managed victories over New Mexico and Wyoming. UNLV entered the regular season finale with five wins and needed one more victory to attain bowl eligibility and, with it, very likely a bowl game invitation. The Rebels, however, surrendered 21 points in the fourth quarter against a "woeful" San Diego State team.Phil Steele's 2009 College Football Preview, vol. 15, p. 180, 2009. Schedule 2008 NCAA Division I FBS AP Pacific August 30 7:00 p.m. w y Utah State Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 27–17 18,815 September 6 5:00 p.m. l y Utah 22 Rice–Eccles Stadium Salt Lake City, UT mtn. 21–42 45,587 September 13 7:00 p.m. w y y Arizona State 15 Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ FSN 23–20 OT 59,852 September 20 6:00 p.m. w y Iowa State Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV mtn. 34–31 OT 25,567 September 27 7:00 p.m. l y Nevada Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Fremont Cannon mtn. 27–49 33,078 October 4 11:00 a.m. l y Colorado State Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO mtn. 28–41 19,703 October 18 7:00 p.m. l y Air Force Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV mtn. 28–29 21,055 October 25 11:00 a.m. l y BYU 18 LaVell Edwards Stadium Provo, UT 35–42 64,081 November 1 5:00 p.m. l Texas Christian 12 Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 14–44 16,121 November 8 7:00 p.m. w New Mexico Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 27–20 13,154 November 13 Thursday 6:00 p.m. w Wyoming Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV CBSCS 22–14 18,154 November 22 5:00 p.m. l y San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA 21–42 17,846 UNLV Rebels Schedule 2008 https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/2439/season/2008 ESPN August 17, 2025 2008 UNLV Rebels Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/nevada-las-vegas/2008-schedule.html College Football at Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference August 17, 2025 2008 Football Schedule https://unlvrebels.com/sports/football/schedule/2008 University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 17, 2025 References UNLV Category:UNLV Rebels football seasons UNLV Rebels football