TEMPE, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV (0-2) held two modest leads before seeing No. 23 Arizona State (2-0) ultimately post a 37-10 victory Saturday night in front of 42,918 fans at Sun Devil Stadium in only the second all-time meeting between the schools located just 300 miles apart.
The Rebels, who won here in overtime in dramatic fashion back in 2008, led 3-0 and then 10-7 during the first half and were trailing 14-10 with under a minute left in the third quarter. That's when ASU scored back-to-back rushing touchdowns to pull away as UNLV's starting quarterback, Doug Brumfield, was knocked out of the game with an undisclosed injury. The hosts would score three total touchdowns in a nine-minute span in the second half.
Brumfield, a redshirt freshman making his first collegiate start, jumped into the end zone for a four-yard score in the second quarter to post the Rebels' lone touchdown on a 10-play drive. UNLV was sparked early when cornerback Nohl Williams thwarted the Sun Devils' opening drive by intercepting Jayden Daniels in the end zone. The Rebels then made their way down field on a 16-play drive and scored first with a 28-yard field goal by Daniel Gutierrez.
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Brumfield had zero turnovers and led the team both in passing (60) and rushing yards (43) despite not playing for much of the second half.
STAT OF THE GAME:
When Nohl Williams intercepted Jayden Daniels in the end zone on the game's opening drive, it marked the third pick of the young season for the Rebels, which already exceeds the squad's total of two from 2020's six-game campaign.
QUOTABLE:
"Excited about the way our guys' mindset was coming in here. It was a big opportunity for our group in the infant stages we're at, to come out here against a ranked opponent to see where we are at. I thought that we did a nice job in the first half. We've got to continue to coach our tails off, be very introspective of ourselves in regards to how we can finish and again, put two halves together. That's our goal … I'm excited about going to work starting to fix things -- starts with me and our staff -- and making sure we gives these guys the right plan to finish a game."
-UNLV Head Coach Marcus Arroyo
REBEL NOTES:
-PK Daniel Gutierrez improved to 5-for-5 on field goals this season and 26-of-32 in his career, which raised his career percentage to 81.3 -- the highest in school history
-UNLV has not trailed after the first quarter this season, leading ASU by three and sitting in a scoreless tie in the Week One vs. EWU
-Charles Williams rushed for 35 tough yards on 13 carries, which gave him 3,147 yards in his career and moved him up to third in Rebel history
-Jacoby Windmon and Jalen Dixon combined for a sack on an ASU fourth down
-Windmon and fellow LB Austin Ajiake and DB Bryce Jackson tied for the team lead with nine total tackles each
-UNLV's last win over a ranked opponent was in Tempe nearly 13 years ago to the day when the Rebels stunned the No. 13 Sun Devils
-UNLV fell to 2-5 in games played in the Grand Canyon State
-Five Rebels who are natives of Arizona returned to play in their home state: Bryce Jackson, Connor Murphy, Kolo Uasike, Seth Robinson and Rex Goossen
-The game marked the first by UNLV vs. a Pac-12 Conference opponent since opening the 2018 season at No. 15 USC
-ASU was scheduled to start this home-and-home series last year at Allegiant Stadium before the pandemic led to the cancellation of the nonconference schedule. The Sun Devils will instead return the game in 2027
NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV returns to Allegiant Stadium and hosts Iowa State from the Big 12 Conference on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be shown by CBS Sports Network. Tickets are available by visiting unlvtickets.com or calling (702) 739-FANS.
