UNLV 31, NIU 24: What to know as Huskies’ upset bid falls short

After George Dimopoulos scored on a 61-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Tyger Dickens, NIU had cut the UNLV lead to 31-24 with 9:31 left in the third quarter.But both defenses clamped down, and neither team scored again as the Huskies nearly pulled off the upset Saturday in Las Vegas in the Mountain West contest.The Huskies (0-8 overall, 0-4 Mountain West) entered the game averaging 100.1 rushing yards. They got 240, including a season-best 113 on 21 carries from Elijah Porter. Telly Johnson Jr. added 113 on eight carries and a touchdown.Dimopoulos finished with seven catches for 127 yards, and DeAree Rogers had seven catches for 96 yards. The Huskies finished with a season-best 493 yards of total offense.UNLV (5-3, 3-1) finished with 468 yards of offense but just 168 yards in the second half. The Huskies had 264 yards in the second half.Here’s what to know about the game.After high-octane first half, defenses step up in second halfAfter neither punted in the first half, both teams’ d