LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jose Pizano made a 36-yard field goal with five seconds left Saturday to give UNLV a 40-37 victory over Vanderbilt in a wild fourth quarter.
The winning kick was set up when Rebels backup quarterback Jayden Maiava completed a 48-yard pass to Ricky White to Vanderbilt’s 18-yard line. That play came after Vanderbilt kicker Jacob Borcila missed a 33-yard field goal to the right with 44 seconds remaining.
Vanderbilt (2-2) trailed 30-17 in the fourth quarterback, but rallied to tie it before both teams traded touchdowns in the final 2:23. Then came the final kicks — one that missed and one that split the uprights.
Maiava completed 19 of 33 passes for 256 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also ran for a 24-yard TD. White caught 12 passes for 161 yards.
Vanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann was 16 of 35 for 296 yards, with three touchdowns and an interception. London Humphreys caught three passes for 102 yards and a TD.
UNLV (2-1) lost starting quarterback Doug Brumfield to injury in the first quarter, and linebacker Jackson Woodard — whose 20 tackles led the Rebels entering the game — was ejected for targeting in the second period. Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann went down late in the first half, though he later returned.
The Commodores dominated early, taking a 17-0 lead after the first quarter while controlling the line of scrimmage. They held UNLV to 11 yards and one first down in that period, setting the tone early with a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Martel Hight.
But then the Commodores were the ones who made the mistakes in the second quarter. A botched punt snap, a mishandled pitch on an end-around and an interception right before halftime helped UNLV storm back to take a 20-17 lead into the break.
UNLV scored 10 points in the third quarter to build on the lead before the Commodores staged their own rally with 13 points in the fourth to tie the game.
UP NEXT
Vanderbilt: Hosts Kentucky next Saturday to open SEC play.
UNLV: Finishes the nonconference schedule with a trip to UTEP next Saturday.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
