LARAMIE, Wyo. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV football (1-3/0-1) scored on its first two drives to take a 10-7 lead before Wyoming (4-1/1-0) reeled off 33 straight points en route to a 53-17 win before a big crowd at War Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
Rebel quarterback
Armani Rogers was sharp early, completing five of his first seven attempts, including hitting tight end Gio Fauolo on fourth-and-one for what went for a 54-yard touchdown. That followed a 40-yard field goal by
Daniel Gutierrez on the opening drive.
The game took a severe turn when
Charles Williams, who came in ranked second in the nation in rushing yards per game, took a helmet to the knee in the second quarter and was knocked out for the night after gaining just 17 yards on five carries.
Rogers was eventually shaken up himself and redshirt freshman
Kenyon Oblad played the entire second half, finishing with a game-high 176 yards passing and his team's second touchdown on a one-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels were led defensively by safety
Evan Austrie who had nine total tackles and an apparent interception that was taken away after an official review ruled him out of bounds.
STAT OF THE GAME:
Wyoming outrushed UNLV 374 to 77.
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Junior tight end Gio Fauolo had a career-high 83 yards on four catches, including his third career touchdown. His previous high was 53 yards in 2018's win over UNR.
QUOTABLE:
"Early on I thought it was a pretty good give and take, and then just the bow kind of broke. Obviously when Chuck (Williams) went down, then Armani (Rogers) went down, the run game kind of went out the window."
-UNLV Head Coach Tony Sanchez
REBEL NOTES:
-The Rebels actually finished with more first downs – 19-18 – but lost the turnover battle to the Pokes, 3-0
-With
Charles Williams and
Armani Rogers sidelined, JC transfer
Darran Williams led UNLV in rushing with 30 net yards on 11 carries
-UNLV returned to Laramie for the first time since 2015
-The Cowboys took a 13-11 lead in the all-time series with what was their biggest margin of victory vs. the Rebels
-With his 29 net yards rushing, Rogers moved into 10
th place in Mountain West history for a quarterback. He now has 1,549
-UNLV came in having won its MW opener in three of head coach
Tony Sanchez's first four seasons
NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV will return to Sam Boyd Stadium for the first time in nearly a month when it hosts Boise State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
