UNLV sophomore quarterback Doug Brumfield and junior running back Aidan Robbins are establishing themselves as one of the top QB-RB duos in the Mountain West as the Rebels begin conference play Saturday against Utah State.
Brumfield and Robbins each earned weekly honors after they each put on an impressive offensive performance in UNLV’s dominating 58-27 win over North Texas last week.
Robbins earned Mountain West Offensive player of the week following his rushing performance of 227 yards, a career high, and three touchdowns against North Texas.
Brumfield was named to the “Davey O’Brien Great Eight” list after the North Texas game. He had 211 passing yards with a 78% completion percentage and two passing touchdowns. Brumfield added 100 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, UNLV’s defense shut down North Texas on three fourth-down attempts. The offense responded by scoring after all three of those stops.
The Rebels also managed to force a pair of turnovers. Sophomore defensive back Cameron Oliver picked off North Texas quarterback Austin Aune and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown for the Rebels’ final score. Sophomore defensive back Jordyn Morgan got an interception on the previous possession.
On the Rebels’ upcoming schedule is their first Mountain West Conference game. UNLV takes on the reigning Mountain West champions Utah State on the road in Logan, Utah.
After the team gave head coach Marcus Arroyo the “knockout punch” he was looking for, they look to keep the momentum going when facing the Aggies.
Arroyo has no plan to change the way they do things, even though the team is now playing conference teams.
“The way we practice is hard, fast, physical and demanding,” Arroyo says. “These guys know it’s not about who or where, it’s about what we practice.”
Junior wide receiver Kyle Williams said that Arroyo tells the team to find a way to have “EDCT.” That stands for “effort, discipline, commitment and toughness,” which helps them prepare and keep the intensity up for conference play.
“Everyday in practice we focus on being physical at the point of attack, the way we play our practice is going to show on game day,” sophomore defensive back Johnathan Baldwin said.
The Utah State Aggies are the defending champions of the Mountain West conference and are led by Head Coach Blake Anderson.
“I got a lot of respect for Blake and what he does and how he coaches in that unit,” Arroyo said.
Two of the Rebels’ coaches spent some time at Utah State. Defensive line coach Bojay Filimoeatu and Offensive Line Coach TJ Woods both coached the team in 2019-20.
The Aggies are coming into this week’s game with a 1-2 record. After a bye last week, the Aggies suffered back-to-back losses of 28 points or more. One of these was a 35-7 loss at home to FCS opponent Weber State.
The Rebels are 2-1 and currently sit in first place in the West Division in the Mountain West.
Although the Aggies have beaten the Rebels in the last six meetings, including a heartbreaking 28-24 loss at Allegiant Stadium last year where Utah State scored the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds left, Arroyo said he and his staff are not taking the reigning conference champs lightly.
“We’ve got a handful on the road,” he said. “We’ve got to go up there and handle our business
