UNLV football:

Live blog: Northwestern pulls away from UNLV, 30-14

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Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

UNLV Rebels quarterback Armani Rogers (1) gets set to pass against the Arkansas State Red Wolves during their NCAA football game Saturday, September 7, 2019, at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Published Sat, Sep 14, 2019 (2 a.m.)

Updated Sat, Sep 14, 2019 (5:29 p.m.)

UNLV did not score in the second half, allowing Northwestern to pull away for a 30-14 win. 

The loss drops the Rebels to 1-2 heading into a bye week. They'll next head to Wyoming for a conference matchup on Sept. 28. 

The defense held firm for most of the second half, holding Northwestern to a single touchdown (until a garbage-time score in the final minutes), but the offense couldn't capitalize. After gaining 228 yards in the first half, the Rebels managed just 98 in the second half, with a good chunk of that coming against a prevent defense on the final drive when the game was out of reach. 

Northwestern won the turnover battle, 3-1.

Armani Rogers came into the game in the midst of a quarterback competition and finished 16-of-26 for 120 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Backup Kenyon Oblad did not play. 

Northwestern leads UNLV in fourth quarter, 26-14

The Rebels just put together their best drive of the second half and came away with nothing to show for it.

Aided by a couple pass interference penalties, Armani Rogers drove UNLV the length of the field before stalling out at the NU 20-yard line. UNLV brought in Daniel Gutierrez to attempt a 37-yard field goal that would have made it a one-score game, but the junior missed wide and Northwestern still leads, 23-14, with eight minutes to play.

Time is running out on the Rebels' upset attempt. A quick stop on this Northwestern drive is a must.

Rebels hanging on at Northwestern, trail 23-14

UNLV entered the fourth quarter trailing, 23-14, but Northwestern may be on the verge of breaking this one open.

The Wildcats extended their lead to 23-14 on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Johnson to J.J. Jefferson late in the third quarter, and UNLV's next two possessions went nowhere. The Rebels' most recent drive ended when Charles Williams caught a screen pass and fumbled, with Northwestern recovering deep in UNLV territory. UNLV got a favorable ruling when the fumble was overturned on replay, but the Rebels are still in a deep hole.

Northwestern will start its next drive at the 27-yard line with 13:22 to play.

Upset-minded UNLV trails in third quarter

Midway through the third quarter, UNLV is still positioned to pull a shocker despite the offense struggling to get going on recent drives.

UNLV's first possession of the second half looked promising until Armani Rogers was intercepted on a first-down pass attempt over the middle. The defense stepped up, however, eventually forcing a punt from midfield that Northwestern downed at the 1-yard line.

On UNLV's first play, Rogers took a keeper 19 yards to escape the shadow of the end zone. But on 3rd-and-1, backup running back Darran Williams appeared to miscommunicate with Rogers on a read-option. Williams took the ball from Rogers and got stuffed, and the Rebels punted back to Northwestern.

Northwestern will have the ball, and a 16-14 lead, starting on its 40-yard line after the break.

Northwestern leads UNLV at half, 16-14

Upset alert?

UNLV has had some success running the ball, and a couple key red-zone stops have allowed the Rebels to stay close through 30 minutes. At halftime, Northwestern has a 16-14 lead.

Charles Williams put UNLV on top for the first time today by breaking free down the right sideline for a 37-yard touchdown, making it 14-10 Rebels early in the second quarter.

On Northwestern's ensuing drive, the Wildcats advanced to the red zone but UNLV linebacker Rayshad Jackson made two strong tackles on first and second down, then pressured the passer on third down to help the Rebels force a field goal.

UNLV's next drive stalled at midfield, and Northwestern once again drove to the red zone before Javin White blew up a third-down screen pass to force another field goal to give NU its 16-14 advantage.

The Rebels will receive the ball to start the second half, and with the day Williams is having (12 carries, 132 yards, two touchdowns) it's too early to count out UNLV.

Rebels trail Northwestern, 10-7

UNLV missed a golden opportunity to tie or take the lead late in the first quarter, as Tyree Jackson fumbled on a first-down screen pass inside the red zone, but the Rebels defense held up. After Northwestern marched the length of the field, linebacker Javin White made a leaping interception in the end zone to keep Northwestern off the board.

At the end of the first quarter, Northwestern has a 10-7 lead, but the Rebels are driving. Running back Charles Williams and quarterback Armani Rogers have combined for 112 rushing yards so far.

Rebels trail Northwestern 10-7 midway through first quarter

UNLV and Northwestern have exchanged touchdowns in the initial five minutes, with Charles Williams breaking free for 65-yard scoring run on the Rebels' third play to even the game at 7-all.

Williams went untouched around the right corner and outraced the Northwestern defense down the sideline.

Northwestern had possession first and scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Hunter Johnson to cap a six-play scoring drive.

UNLV, of course, is coming off a lopsided loss at home to Arkansas State, desperately needing an improved performance as the Rebels play four of their next five games on the road.

Preview: Three keys to watch:

Offensive consistency

Armani Rogers threw a pick-6 on UNLV's first possession last week, and the offense went 3-and-out on the next two drives. That can't happen today. If the Rebels have any "go-to" plays in the playbook, look for them to be used in early third-down situations. If the offense can establish some kind of rhythm early and possess the ball, that will go a long way toward keeping this game close.

Better tackling

The Rebels' tackling was atrocious last week, especially in the secondary, as Arkansas State broke multiple long plays after UNLV cornerbacks and safeties failed to wrap up. It would be unrealistic to ask the Rebels' secondary to play shutdown defense, as they just don't have the athletes for that. So if they're playing off in coverage, they absolutely have to bring down receivers at the spot of the catch—not 40 yards downfield.

Big plays

Tony Sanchez was not shy about calling out Rogers with his post-game comments after Arkansas State, and it was likely done with a purpose. Rogers is never going to be a consistent, move-the-chains kind of passer, but he has to break enough big plays to give UNLV a chance to win. Last week was one of Rogers's worst performances; if he can bounce back with a strong showing today (and chip in a couple long runs), the Rebels may be able to compete in a low-scoring contest.

Pregame reader questions

After dropping last week's contest against Arkansas State to fall to 1-1, the Rebels are in desperate need of a win to get back on the track to bowl eligibility. Could it come on Saturday in the form of a massive upset victory at Northwestern?

Let's preview the game with some questions from readers:

@joefran05

Will Oblad get a shot in this game if Armani is failing? Or will Sanchez ride Armani as long as he can?

@MikeGrimala

Since the moment Armani Rogers ditched his redshirt at the end of the 2016 season and became eligible, he has been the unquestioned starter at quarterback for UNLV. Even through some of his more lackluster passing performances, the coaching staff stuck with him 100 percent because of everything else he brought to the offense.

This is the first time I feel like that commitment is less than 100 percent. Sanchez’s pointed criticism this week about Rogers’ accuracy, combined with Kenyon Oblad’s on-point performance in mop-up duty have created a situation where it’s possible to envision Oblad coming onto the field Saturday at Northwestern if the Rebels need a spark.

If things go badly early—say, Northwestern jumps ahead 21-0 in the first half and Rogers is 1-of-11 passing—there might be no harm in putting Oblad out there for a series to see if he can jump-start things via the passing game.

I don’t expect that to happen. I think Rogers will play the entire game, start to finish, no matter what. But once coaches begin discussing quarterback competitions, it feels like a matter of time before the No. 2 gets his chance.

@Reb_Hombre

Once Gilliam returns from injury will Oblad still be # 2 on the depth chart?

@MikeGrimala

Max Gilliam had his moments last season, but in the end the Rebels went 1-5 in the six games he started, including some atrocious blowout losses against terrible competition. So it’s not like he was above reproach in the No. 2 spot.

If he hadn’t gotten injured, he and Oblad likely would have battled it out for the backup spot right up until the eve of the season opener. And while Gilliam brings experience and a steady hand to the offense, Oblad’s upside is considerably higher.

As for who gets the call when Gilliam comes back, it may end up being situational. In a one-game scenario where someone has to fill in for a banged-up Rogers, Giliam might be the best bet to manage the game and give UNLV a chance to win that day. But if it were a long-term situation where the Rebels needed a new starter for the second half of the season, Oblad’s potential (and the opportunity to develop it) would make him the choice.

@gerrymartinez

What does Sanchez see in Rogers? Besides that he can run?

@MikeGrimala

That’s a pretty big “besides.” Rogers’ running ability is massively valuable, and he has proven he can win games with his legs. And his running prowess also impacts the rest of the offense—in the six games Rogers started last year, the Rebels averaged 5.7 yards per carry as a team; in the six he missed, it dropped to 3.9 yards.

So when Sanchez is weighing whether to keep starting Rogers, he’s not just considering the throwing mechanics and passing numbers. The threat of Rogers pulling the ball down and running is what has kept defenses honest for the past three seasons; removing that threat from the offense would require the entire playbook to be reworked on the fly.

@BrownHulk59

Realistically, what is the “floor” and “ceiling” of the #unlvmbb team this year?

@MikeGrimala

This question can be directly tied to one player, as the Rebels are going to be impacted heavily by the NCAA’s ruling on Donnie Tillman. The Utah transfer is petitioning for immediate eligibility, but there’s no word yet on whether he’ll be able to suit up in 2019-20 or if he’ll have to take a redshirt year.

If he plays, there’s no reason UNLV can’t be an above-.500 team, both overall and in conference play. The Mountain West looks weak once again, and the Rebels return enough talent (with Tillman) to put up a fight against most teams on the schedule. Best case, if everything goes well I could see UNLV winning 22 games.

On the other end of the spectrum, if Tillman’s waiver is denied and the team has trouble adapting to T.J. Otzelberger’s system, a 15-16 record seems to be about the lowest they could go.

@VegasRebelDrew

Talk about if Tony Sanchez somehow can make it to a 6-6 record but no bowl game, if you think DRF keeps him.

@MikeGrimala

I think it’s pretty clear that Desiree Reed-Francois’s offseason edict was “bowl or bust,” not “.500 record or bust.” A 6-6 mark would make the Rebels postseason eligible, but unless it pays off with a 13th game at an exotic locale, it’s not going to be enough to earn the coaching staff another year.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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