In the first game at Allegiant Stadium without fans for the Rebels, things could not have gone much worse. After allowing a season-high 399 yards rushing to the Wyoming Cowboys, the Rebels fell 45-14.
“We lost to a very good football team.” Head coach Marcus Arroyo said. “Wyoming came in here and did what they wanted to.”
Both UNLV and Wyoming had their previous game cancelled, so the teams came in fresh. From the opening kickoff, it appeared that Wyoming had not missed a step. They took just two plays to find the end zone, after running back Xazavian Valladay ran the ball up the middle and scored on a 78-yard touchdown run. This proved a sign of things to come for the Rebels. In the first half alone, they gave up over 200 yards rushing. Meanwhile the offense never was able to get anything going. Up until late in the second quarter, the Rebels had less than 50 yards of total offense and had failed to cross midfield. The Rebels showed a sign of life at the tail end of the first half. Quarterback Max Gilliam capped off a 98-yard drive with a rushing touchdown with 5 seconds remaining in the half. They entered halftime trailing 17-7, but got the ball to start the third quarter.
The third quarter proved the undoing of the Rebels. Despite holding the early momentum, a failed fourth down conversion gave the Cowboys the ball inside UNLV territory. Cowboys quarterback Levi Williams capitalized on the short field by rushing for a one-yard touchdown. On the Rebel’s next drive, a bad snap cause Gilliam to fumble and was recovered by the Cowboys at the Rebel 31-yard line. Levi Williams once again rushed for a one-yard score. The Rebels found themselves down 31-7, and things only got worse. On the next drive, Max Gilliam threw an interception, giving Wyoming the ball back. Cowboy running back Trey Smith, who rushed for a career high 164 yards in the game, capped off the drive with a 28 yard score.
The fourth quarter was much of the same. Cowboy’s running back Brett Brenton scored a 19-yard touchdown rush to make it 45-7. Rebel’s true freshman Doug Brumfield, who became the fifth different quarterback used by Arroyo this season, scored the Rebels second touchdown on the game with 4:20 remaining in the contest to make it 45-14. That proved to be the final score, dropping the Rebels to 0-5 on the season. Rebels star running back Chuck Williams was held to 24 yards on nine carries. Wyoming only threw for 99 yards on the game, but they out gained the Rebels in total offense 498-290.
The lone bright spot for the Rebels in this game was that the coaching staff got a look at some of the young players on the team. Due to injuries and COVID-19, 12 true freshmen and seven walk on players were forced into the action.
“I’m excited for some of the young guys that got a chance to get out there today.” Coach Arroyo said. “To see them step up in the course of this week, my hat’s off to them having to jump in. Twelve freshmen plus seven walk-ons having to go in and compete, and have to work in the course of a week is something to be proud of in that regard. I think that’s something that even from top to bottom as an organization, we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t get swept under the rug.”
For the Rebels, the loss adds to a season of misery. This was by far the worst loss of the season, and things do not get easier. Up next, they play the Boise State Broncos for their final home game of the season. The week after, they travel to Hawaii for their final game of the season. The search for coach Arroyo's first win with the team will have to wait one more week.
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