Nov. 20, 2004
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
SAN DIEGO (AP) - San Diego State beat UNLV 21-3 Saturday night in coach John Robinson's final game after 27 seasons as a head coach in the NCAA and the NFL.
Robinson's UNLV team finished the season with five straight losses and a 2-9 record overall.
The 69-year-old coach announced his retirement on Sept. 26 citing family and health issues.
During his six-year tenure at UNLV, the Rebels went 28-42 with one bowl victory, a 31-14 upset of Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.
In Robinson's 12 years during two stints coaching USC, Robinson posted a 104-35-4 record, winning the national championship in 1978, just three years after taking over for his mentor John McKay.
Robinson coached the NFL's Los Angeles Rams from 1983 to 1991, compiling a 79-74 record and making the NFC title game twice.
UNLV scored first with a 27-yard field goal by Sergio Aguayo early in the second quarter, but that would be all the points the Rebels would manage.
San Diego State's Antwan Applewhite returned a fumble by UNLV quarterback Shane Steichen 36 yards for a touchdown and Blake Lobel intercepted a Steichen pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown, both in the second quarter.
Twice in the first half, the San Diego State defense held the Rebels out of the end zone on first-and-goal situations at the five.
The Aztecs (4-7, 2-5 Mountain West Conference) limited the Mountain West's leading rusher Dominique Dorsey to just 46 yards on 20 carries. Dorsey had averaged 121.5 yards per game coming into the game.
Aztec quarterback Kevin OConnell, who was 16-for-25 for 175 yards, connected with Robert Ortiz for a 32-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter for the final score of the game.