LAS VEGAS — The UNLV Rebels (4-0) opened up conference play at home at Allegiant Stadium by defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs (3-2) by a final score of 59-14 on Saturday.
The biggest challenge the Rebels faced entering this game was the question at quarterback as a fifth-year senior, and Campbell transfer Hajj-Malik Williams took the field as the Rebel starter for the first time this season.
Williams finished the game with a stat line of 13 completions on 16 attempts for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Williams also rushed 12 times for an additional 119 yards and a touchdown using his legs.
When asked about the performance of the new man under center for the Scarlet and Gray Rebel, head coach Barry Odom stated,
“I thought he was effective, I thought he was efficient, I thought the offensive line did a tremendous job protecting him, I thought the receivers ran great routes, I thought the runners ran hard. We played well collectively as an offense.”
As both teams took the field before kickoff, the Rebels were met with a loud ovation from their home crowd as their cleats hit the Allegiant Stadium turf for the second time this year after taking down the Utah Tech Trailblazers 72-14 in week two.
After the coin toss at midfield, it was decided that Fresno State would receive the football first as UNLV would elect to defer their possession to the second half.
A 31-24 loss to the Bulldogs last season forced the Rebel’s defense to take the field looking to slow down the Bulldog offense, and that was what they did as on the second play of the opening drive, Cameron Oliver read a deep pass from Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene and came up with an interception.
During the first Rebel drive, they were backed up deep in their end at the five-yard line and could not find enough yardage to move the chains. They opted to punt the ball back into the hands of the Bulldogs.
A quick three-and-out for Fresno State on offense would allow the Rebel offense to come back onto the field and attempt to put up the game’s first points.
While the Rebels were able to move the ball into the Bulldog side of the field for the first time in the game, they could not find any more room as the Fresno State defense held the UNLV offense to a punt that was caught inside the five yard line.
With the entire field length to drive, the Bulldogs would not find any additional yardage as Rebel linebacker Jackson Woodard recorded two tackles for loss on Fresno State’s only set of downs.
On the punt back to the UNLV offense, Jacob De Jesus would field the ball at midfield, but a 20-yard return would set the Rebels up with a first down at the Fresno State 30-yard line.
In their third possession, the Rebels would read the Bulldog defense and post the game’s first points off a Williams six-yard touchdown run to give UNLV a 7-0 lead, set up by an 18-yard catch by Ricky White to move into the red zone.
With the ball back in the hands of the Fresno State offense, Keene looked to respond, but after back-to-back sacks by Mani Powell and Jalen Dixon, the Rebels would once again force a Bulldog punt.
However, on the punt attempt, Tanner Rashod managed to get a hand on the ball, which White scooped up for a special teams touchdown and a 14-0 Rebel lead.
While Keene and the Bulldogs needed points on their next possession, the Rebel defense again stood tall after a holding call on the Fresno State offensive line, which forced them out of field goal range and resulted in their fourth punt of the game.
With the ball back in the hands of Williams, the Rebels continued to gash the Bulldog defense with some big plays, including a 19-yard run by Williams and a 53-yard run by running back Kylin James to set the Rebels up at the eight-yard-line.
Despite their field position, they could not get into the end zone, and eventually, they turned the ball over on downs at the Bulldog two-yard line, giving Fresno State another chance on offense.
As the Bulldogs marched their way to midfield, it was another mistake by Keene under center as he threw his second interception of the game as Jonathan Baldwin was lurking in the middle of the Rebel defensive backfield, returning it 27 yards to the Bulldog 46-yard-line.
Deep into the drive, the first play after the two-minute warning would result in White’s second touchdown of the day off a 12-yard reception from Williams to move the UNLV lead to 21-0.
In the final 30 seconds of the first half, the Bulldogs looked to cap off their final possession of the opening 30 minutes with a trip to the end zone, but on third down, Jalen Catalon at the one-yard-line forced Keene’s third interception and second in two drives resulting in a 21-0 Rebel lead at halftime.
To open the second half, the Rebels would receive the ball first for a chance to extend their lead to four scores, and they did precisely that as Kaleo Ballungay reeled in a 17-yard touchdown pass to extend the UNLV lead to 28-0.
During Keene and the Bulldog’s first drive of the second half, the Fresno State offense began to find its footing as the quarterback found back-to-back 15-yard passes to Jalen Moss and Mac Delena.
However, on their third set of downs, it was Jackson Woodard and Johnathan Baldwin who, through a wrench in the Bulldog, posted a tackle for loss and a deflection over the middle of the field, leading to a turnover on downs.
During the second drive of the second half, UNLV managed to maneuver down the field and into Bulldog territory once more, but after a second down rush by James lost five total yards, the Rebels were forced to settle for a field goal made by Caden Chittenden making the score 31-0.
After nine drives and three turnovers, the Fresno State Bulldogs would finally find the end zone off a six-yard rushing touchdown by Bulldog running back Malik Sherrod to score 31-7.
Although the Rebels maintained the significant lead, they did not take their foot off the gas pedal as Williams marched the UNLV offense down the field in a drive that was capped off by White’s third touchdown of the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass to start the fourth quarter making the score 38-7.
The following drive for the Bulldogs did not go anywhere, and they were once again forced to punt because of how far in their territory they were after Sherrod’s kick return of only nine yards out of the end zone.
UNLV would take possession of the football back at midfield and find the end zone again on a seven-yard rush by Jai’den Thomas to extend the lead to 45-7.
With substitutes on the field on both sides of the ball, the Bulldogs found the end zone after a nine-play drive as Dalena caught a nine-yard pass on third down to make the score 45-14.
While many would have thought the offense for UNLV would attempt to kill the clock, they wouldn’t even get to take the field as Thomas would take the football to the house on the kick return for a 90-yard touchdown, making the Rebel lead 52-14.
This wouldn’t be the last Rebel touchdown either, as after another empty possession for the Bulldogs, backup quarterback Cameron Friel took his turn to lead the UNLV offense down the field and capped off the drive using his legs for a one-yard touchdown for a 59-14 advantage late in the game and what eventually would be the final score of the game.
With the win, the Rebels move to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in conference play, while the Bulldogs move to 3-2 and 1-1 in conference play.
The Rebels are back in action this Saturday to take on the Syracuse Orange inside Allegiant Stadium Oct. 4 at 6 p.m.
