New UNLV football head coach Marcus Arroyo answers a question from a reporter during an introductory press conference at the Fertitta football complex in the UNLV Friday, Dec 13, 2019
At the end of the first quarter, San Diego State has a 7-0 lead, and UNLV should be very happy it wasn’t a bigger margin
The offense has been pretty bad so far, as Max Gilliam has gone less than nothing on the first three drives UNLV The surprise starter has only made one pass of 3 (for negative yards), almost threw an interception and took two sacks with the second sack pushing back the line of scrimmage before a basket attempt The 42 yards missed, naturally
San Diego State scored on a long haul to take a 7-0 lead, but the Aztecs’ special teams mistakes kept UNLV in the game First, SDSU fumbled for a punt return , setting up UNLV just outside the red zone (ultimately ending with missed FG) On the SDSU’s next possession, a 55-yard field goal attempt went haywire with a bad slam, forcing the holder trying to fight for a first try; The UNLV managed to attack it very short
After three lukewarm trips for Gilliam, second-year student Kenyon Oblad has taken over for UNLV.He has delivered his first shot and will try to get the offense moving at the start of the second quarter
Max Gilliam officially started as quarterback for UNLV, and it was a rough start
UNLV called two games going on his first possession, and on the third down, Gilliam threw a quick pass down the middle that was nearly intercepted San Diego State defensive back couldn’t hold onto the ball, so UNLV was able to push the ball away Not a great opening series for head coach Marcus Arroyo
The good news is that the UNLV defense looked impressive in their first act, as they forced a quick 3 and out to start the game. New defensive end Adam Plant, a TCU transfer, made a big play with a third sack to force a punt
We’ll learn a lot about Marcus Arroyo over the next couple of months, and it starts today when the UNLV travels to Carson, Calif. to take on San Diego State
The UNLV football schedule has been shrouded in mystery since the end of last season, with Arroyo’s quarterback situation, defensive system and coaching philosophy all counting as gigantic question marks. now let’s see how Arroyo, in his first stint as head coach, wants to build his team
A starting QB will not be appointed until just before kick-off, but that will be sorted out soon enough.The rest will be an ongoing process as Arroyo learns on the job and tries to build momentum for a program that went 4-8 last season
Arroyo wants to throw the ball, in general, but expects the UNLV’s offense to revolve around senior running back Charles Williams this season The All-Mountain West selection just finished a 1,200 campaign yards and should be ready to carry an even bigger load in this truncated season
Williams fought his way against the SDSU last year, as he ran 113 yards on 19 carries against an Aztec team ranked third in the nation in run defense (28 yards per carry allowed), but that wasn’t enough – San Diego State escaped with a 20-17 victory Rocky Long left San Diego State in the offseason, so there could be some slippage in the team run defense, but Brady Hoke will always make it difficult to gain yards on the field
Can Williams put the team on their backs and tip the pitch in favor of the UNLV? It’s the kind of performance the scarlet and gray will need him all season long
The attack on San Diego state cratered last year, so new coaching staff have their work cut out for them.The Aztecs are building around sophomore quarterback Carson Baker and a stable of veteran receivers and tight ends who should challenge the UNLV defense on the pitch
This could be a problem for UNLV, who appear to be entering the opening with a very slim high school rookie Nohl Williams and red-shirted student Sir Oliver Everett are the starting cornerbacks, and juniors Bryce Jackson and Tre Caine are the safeties How well can we really expect this inexperienced unit to be in week 1?
UNLV has been extremely secretive about its COVID-19 tests, as the program has chosen not to even release its weekly data (other Mountain West teams are reporting total tests and positive results on a weekly basis ) This means that we will have to go through the depth graph every week in an attempt to detect potential absences related to the crown
The Week 1 depth chart provided a ton of speculative opportunities Receivers Randal Grimes, Mekhi Stevenson, and Brandon Presley are all expected to play key roles this season, but they’ve been fully left out; this could signal a COVID cluster among the position group, or it could be a case of Arroyo sending a message to healthy veteran players about what he expects in practice We won’t know until the kickoff. sending
In the defensive backfield, senior safety Greg Francis and junior safety Drew Tejchman were also wiped off the initial depth map; Senior linebacker Farrell Hester was also out Again, it could be COVID, it could be unrelated injuries or it could be Arroyo telling these players that they are not good enough to be second or even third string before this contest It will be a guessing game every week
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Football Rebels UNLV, San Diego State Aztecs, American Football, San Diego State University, Marcus Arroyo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Mountain West Conference, Head Coach
World News – US Live Coverage: UNLV Lags San Diego State, 7-0
