The first time he stepped back to pass Saturday night against UNLV, San Diego State quarterback Danny O’Neil looked up and found himself face-to-face with Rebels defensive lineman Fisher Camac.

With pressure applied up front, Comacs UNLV teammates on the back end did the rest, as they have done so well this season.

UNLV is among the nation’s leading teams with 14 interceptions.

Make that 15 (and, later, 16).

Camac forced O’Neil into a poor throw that UNLV defensive back Cameron Oliver intercepted at the SDSU 33-yard line.

SDSU’s defense stepped up on the ensuing drive, stopping the Rebels offense on four straight running plays inside the 5-yard line.

In the overall scheme of things, all it did was make a one-sided loss a little less lopsided.

UNLV defeated SDSU 41-20 before a crowd of 30,386 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. It officially ended any hopes the Aztecs (3-7, 2-3 Mountain West) harbored of reaching the six wins required for bowl eligibility.

“We had opportunities,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said in a postgame interview with San Diego Sports 760. “We’ve got to do a better job of valuing the football. I’ve got to do a better job of leading the team, so we can play better, complementary football. There’s opportunities that we left out there and thought we could have played better.

SDSU has two more games remaining — on the road Saturday afternoon against Utah State and at home Nov. 30 against Air Force.

Lewis said the Aztecs will “talk about the character of the club and playing for one another as they close out the season.

“We get the opportunity to do that for the next two weeks, he said. It’s unfortunate the way that we handled the season thus far, obviously, that we’re not going to get extra time. … But we have these two weeks. We’re going to cherish them, and were going to use them to get better.”

The goal now is to improve on last year’s 4-8 finish.

Even that will be a challenge. While the Aggies and Falcons had each struggled to 2-7 records this season, both teams enjoyed lopsided wins on Saturday. Utah State beat Hawaii 55-10 and Air Force beat Oregon State 28-0.

SDSU showed no such improvement against the Rebels (8-2, 4-1).

The Aztecs’ offense continued to sputter, managing only a 29-yard O’Neil touchdown pass to wide receiver Louis Brown IV in the first half while falling behind 28-6 at intermission.

One play before the SDSU touchdown, Aztecs running back Marquez Cooper burst up the middle for a 10-yard gain that gave him exactly 1,000 yards on the season. Cooper (26 carries, 97 yards) became the 11th player in NCAA history with four straight 1,000-yard seasons. He is the first to do it while playing for three different teams.

Cooper now has 4,918 career rushing yards, leaving him 82 yards away from becoming the 23rd player in NCAA history to reach the 5,000-yard milestone.

UNLV built a 21-0 lead before six minutes had elapsed in the second quarter, scoring on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hajj-Malik Williams to Kaleo Ballungay, along with 20- and 4-yard rushing TDs by Greg Burrell and Jai’Den Thomas, respectively.

SDSU had an opportunity for another score late in the first half, but O’Neil was intercepted for a second time on a ball he threw up at midfield for Jordan Napier. The wide receiver was blocked off the ball by one UNLV defender while Rebels defensive back Jalen Catalon picked off his fifth pass of the season.

There were 61 seconds on the clock. UNLV needed only 45 seconds before Williams (20-for-29, 244 yards, TD passing / 10 carries, 29 yards, 2 TDs rushing) capped a 47-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.

The dual-threat quarterback was at it again in the second half, boosting UNLV’s lead to 35-6 with a 7-yard TD run with five minutes gone in the third quarter.

SDSU displayed some resolve, responding with a 46-yard touchdown pass from O’Neil (13-for-22, 162 yards, 2 TDs/2 INTs) to Ja’Shaun Poke that made it 35-13 with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter.

UNLV kicker Caden Chittenden boosted his Mountain West-leading field goal total to 21 with a 46-yarder that made it 38-13 later in the third quarter.

Officials signaled an SDSU touchdown two minutes into the fourth quarter after sifting through a pile of players and locating O’Neil just over the goal line. The 1-yard score, which made it 38-20, marked the first time this season someone other than Cooper had a rushing touchdown for the Aztecs.

Any thoughts of a comeback were dismissed when UNLV added another Chittenden field goal that boosted the Rebels advantage to three touchdowns.

UNLV was one yard away from adding another touchdown with three minutes remaining when SDSU safety Dalesean Staley picked up a Rebels fumble at the goal line and sped off on a 72-yard return.

Notable

SDSU linebacker Owen Chambliss returned to the lineup for the first time in three games after being sidelined with a concussion, only to be sidelined in the first half when a UNLV defender rolled up on his right ankle.

• Tano Letuli, SDSU’s other starting linebacker, was helped from the field in the third quarter after an undetermined injury.

• SDSU right tackle Nate Williams limped off early in the fourth quarter when he reinjured his left ankle.

• UNLV’s Ricky White III sniffed out a fake punt in the second quarter, dropping SDSUs Deshawn McCuin for a 1-yard gain on a fourth-and-6 pass by punter Tyler Pastula.

• UNLV nearly doubled SDSU in total offense, collecting 515 yards to 270 by the Aztecs. SDSU did double UNLV in penalties, with eight for 81 yards to the Rebels four for 32 yards.