The University of Nevada-Las Vegas football team was more of a challenge for Iowa State this year, but the Cyclones came away with a 37-22 victory Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones, now 2-0 with the win, drilled UNLV by a 24-0 score in Las Vegas last season, but found the Rebels to be a tougher team a year later. Jack Trice Stadium. “There’s no doubt that UNLV is a much better football team than we played last year. We fully expected that because of recruiting, and some of the guys that sat out last year are now eligible,” said Cyclone Head Coach Dan McCarney. Jack Trice Stadium. “I’m very proud of my football team and coaching staff. It feels good to get a win and be 2-0. We did improve in a lot of phases over last week.” Jack Trice Stadium. The key to the Cyclone victory was numerous big plays from the special teams. The Cyclone special teams unit blocked three kicks, two punts and a field goal while kicker Mike McKnight was perfect on seven kicks. Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones now have five blocked kicks in two games this season after not recording one all of last year. Jack Trice Stadium. “We blocked a couple of kicks, and we got to give our guys credit. They’re excited about it now. They’ve blocked some kicks and tasted success, and now they want more of it,” said Cyclone Special Teams Coach Bobby Elliott. Jack Trice Stadium. In the second quarter, Atif Austin blocked a punt into the end zone which Lane Danielsen recovered for a Cyclone touchdown. Reggie Hayward added a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter. Jack Trice Stadium. “We got some real good production out of our special teams. The blocked punt for a touchdown was a major league, great job there. We’ll take three blocked kicks in one game any day,” McCarney said. Jack Trice Stadium. Inconsistency has been a problem for McKnight in the past, but the junior kicker came through with three field goals and was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points. Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones raced out to a 27-6 lead at halftime. Chris Anthony and Michael Wagner scored touchdowns to go along with the score off the blocked punt. Jack Trice Stadium. “It was a great way to start. We challenged our team for a fast start, you always want that but many times you don’t get it, but we sure got it today. We jumped out fast, and everybody was ready to play and we hope to continue to do that,” McCarney said. Jack Trice Stadium. Anthony scored the first touchdown of the game on a 39-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Jack Trice Stadium. “I ran a post route and Sage threw a good ball out there and I had a step on my guy. I think we came out good in the first half but we got to work on finishing games,” Anthony said. Jack Trice Stadium. The Rebels battled back in the second half, cutting the Cyclone lead down to 12 points. The Rebels had a chance to draw closer but Hayward blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt to keep the score 34-22. Jack Trice Stadium. Ray Cheetany started the Rebel rally with a 32-yard field goal, and Jason Thomas followed with a 65-yard touchdown strike to Nate Turner to make the score 27-15. Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones countered as Rosenfels hooked up with J.J. Moses for a 78-yard touchdown pass. Moses hauled in the pass and outran the Rebel secondary over the final 50 yards. Jack Trice Stadium. “That play with J.J. Moses was a big one for us at that time. He’s a big play guy, and we got to get him more opportunities in the offense,” McCarney said. Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones piled up 436 yards in total offense, led by 286 passing yards from Rosenfels. The Cyclone running game struggled, finishing with 150 yards on 42 carries. Jack Trice Stadium. Ennis Haywood led the Cyclone ground game with 108 yards on 29 carries. The Rebels showcased a strong 4-3 defense which plugged up holes for the Cyclone running backs. Jack Trice Stadium. “They were moving around and keeping an extra guy in the box a lot. Some plays it was pretty obvious that we were getting beat up front. They had a nice game plan, kept us from getting any real long runs with the rush game,” McCarney said. Jack Trice Stadium. Rosenfels was an efficient 16-of-31 with a pair of touchdown passes and one interception. Rosenfels had to battle a strong wind coming in from the south.Jack Trice Stadium. “It’s tough throwing into a wind like that, but four years ago I couldn’t have thrown any of those passes into a wind that I did today. Over time you get used to it,” Rosenfels said. Jack Trice Stadium. “The good thing was that we didn’t come out there and beat our heads into wall and just keep running the ball. We started doing some option and throwing on first down, and when you do that you keep the defense off guard.” Jack Trice Stadium. Mike Banks was Rosenfels favorite target as the junior tight end hauled in six passes for 57 yards. Banks caught only nine passes last season and favors the system brought in by new offensive coordinator Steve Loney. Jack Trice Stadium. “Coach Loney’s offense is orientated to the pass and the run. It’s not all completely run. We have threats at receivers that we have to take advantage of,” Banks said.