Live blog: UNLV falls at San Jose State, 34-17

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Jose Carlos Fajardo / Bay Area News Group via AP

San Jose State’s Viliami Fehoko, left, sacks UNLV quarterback Max Gilliam (6) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020.

Published Sat, Nov 14, 2020 (2 a.m.)

Updated Sat, Nov 14, 2020 (10:42 p.m.)

UNLV made a run at it in the second half, but the defense eventually gave way and the two-QB offense ran out of steam in a 34-17 loss at San Jose State.

UNLV is now 0-4 in Marcus Arroyo's first season as head coach.

A Charles Williams touchdown run late in the third quarter pulled UNLV within 24-17, but the scarlet and grey did not score again. SJSU averaged 8.0 yards per play and outscored UNLV 10-0 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory and improve to 4-0.

Max Gilliam got the start at quarterback and split snaps with Justin Rogers. Neither played exceptionally well, but Rogers finished with better numbers (12-of-18, 162 yards, one touchdown).

UNLV will be back on the road next week, when Arroyo takes his squad to Colorado State in search of that elusive first win.

UNLV trails 24-17 at San Jose State

UNLV is hanging around thanks to Justin Rogers and his freshman wide receivers, and midway through the third quarter San Jose State's lead has been trimmed to 24-17.

Rogers just led a 90-yard touchdown drive that featured a 53-yard pass to frosh wideout Zyell Griffin and a 4-yard scoring run by Charles Williams to cut the deficit in half with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Rogers now has 157 yards on 11-of-17 passing.

Can the UNLV defense get a couple stops over the final 19 minutes and give Rogers a legitimate chance to win this game?

San Jose State leads UNLV at halftime, 24-10

Just when it looked like UNLV was clawing its way back into this game, San Jose State embarked on a 70-yard touchdown drive just before the end of the half to extend its lead to 24-10 at the break.

Nick Starkel threw a quick hitch to receiver Bailey Gaither, who has tortured UNLV all night, and Gaither scampered around the right flank of the defense for a 2-yard touchdown. Gaither now has three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

The UNLV defense has been horrific all around, allowing 235 total yards in the first half on a rate of 7.8 yards per play.

Charles Williams has a workmanlike 42 yards on 11 carries, and Kyle Williams has 76 yards and a touchdown on five catches. Justin Rogers' second drive at quarterback didn't go as well as his first; his 2-minute drill after SJSU's late touchdown went nowhere and UNLV picked up just one first down before time expired. Rogers has 5-of-6 passes for 57 yards and one touchdown.

Justin Rogers in at quarterback, UNLV down 17-10

Justin Rogers replaced Max Gilliam at quarterback after three straight 3-and-outs for the UNLV offense, and the sophomore made his presence felt immediately, leading a touchdown drive to pull UNLV within 17-10 in the second quarter.

Rogers, a sophomore transfer from TCU, hit on all four of his pass attempts for 51 yards on the drive, including a 19-yard scoring toss to Kyle Williams.

Williams is putting together a tremendous game, as he's already got four catches for 70 yards and a the TD.

Two plays after the touchdown, San Jose State quarterback Nick Starkel overthrew a wide open deep ball and got picked off by safety Tre Caine. UNLV now has the ball at its own 40-yard line and Rogers is coming back out for another drive. Let's see if he can keep the momentum going.

San Jose State leads UNLV at end of first quarter, 10-3

UNLV's fast start didn't amount to much. After going up, 3-0, in the opening minutes, the scarlet and grey allowed San Jose State to score on its next two possessions, and the Spartans have a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

SJSU's first score came just minutes after UNLV got on the board. Nick Starkel tossed a quick wide receiver screen to Bailey Gaither, and two UNLV defensive backs took themselves out of the play by using bad pursuit angles. Gaither broke down the sideline untouched and scored a 41-yard touchdown to give San Jose State the lead.

UNLV's next drive went nowhere, and SJSU tacked on a field goal just before the end of the quarter to take a 7-point lead.

Charles Williams had four carries for 19 yards in the first quarter, while Max Gilliam completed 4-of-5 passes for 48 yards.

UNLV football takes early lead at San Jose State

Is this the night?

Marcus Arroyo's team came into tonight's game at San Jose State as a huge underdog, but midway through the first quarter UNLV enjoys a 3-0 lead.

UNLV allowed San Jose State to return the opening kickoff to midfield, but the defense stiffened and forced a quick punt. Max Gilliam then took over and led a drive that covered 69 yards before stalling out at the 11-yard line. Daniel Gutierrez knocked through a short field goal to put UNLV ahead.

Freshman receiver Kyle Williams continues to impress. He had a 12-yard run and a 34-yard catch and run on consecutive plays to get UNLV into scoring position.

Three keys for UNLV football at San Jose State

UNLV has started the season 0-3 and gotten outscored 111-52 in the process, but the team has slowly made progress over the first month of the season. Last week’s game against Fresno State was tied heading into the fourth quarter, so perhaps Marcus Arroyo’s crew is on the verge of breaking through into the win column.

Will it happen today, when UNLV travels to take on undefeated San Jose State? Three keys to watch:

Tuck and run

Max Gilliam is not a runner. More often than not, the yardage he loses on sacks outweighs his gains in the rushing game. But last week, the senior pulled the ball down 16 times and ran for 139 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown. He also used his legs to pick up some key first downs in the first couple games, and at this point in the year it looks like Gilliam’s scrambling might be the most efficient aspect of the offense.

It would be unwise to build an offensive game plan around Gilliam’s legs, but there’s a difference between calling QB sweeps and, say, encouraging him to pull down the ball and run when the opportunity presents itself. Arroyo should definitely be doing the latter.

In situations where it makes sense — third downs plays or plays when the defense is playing man-to-man and has its backs turned to the line of scrimmage, etc. — Gilliam should have the green light to run.

Charles in check?

UNLV has struggled to block in the running game, and that has made it difficult for the team to take advantage of its biggest weapon, running back Charles Williams. The senior is averaging a good-not-great 4.1 yards per carry and has only recorded 268 yards and one touchdown on the year. And it’s unlikely to get any better against San Jose State.

The Spartans rank 21st in the nation in rushing defense (3.4 yards per carry allowed), so it might be prudent not to rely on Williams carrying the load on the ground. But UNLV can’t abandon him entirely because there aren’t a lot of other weapons on the offense. Would it be possible to get the ball to Williams in the passing game? That hasn’t been a big part of the game plan yet; Williams has only caught eight balls for 29 yards this year, but a more concerted effort to throw it to him in space might work better against San Jose State’s defensive front.

Secondary issues

Pass defense has been virtually nonexistent for UNLV this season, and opponents are taking advantage by throwing deep. The secondary is allowing 13.8 yards per completion, which ranks 100th in the nation, and San Jose State’s quarterback — whether it’s Nick Starkel, who left last week’s game with an injury, or replacement Nick Nash — will be sure to test them early and often.

SJSU throws the ball 35.5 times per game, 37th-most in the country, and they air it out to the tune of 8.1 yards per attempt (31st). UNLV’s cornerbacks and safeties are unlikely to keep close in coverage, so it will be up to the scarlet and gray pass rushers to help limit the damage. It will take a herculean effort from defensive end Adam Plant and emerging linebacker Jacoby Windmon to get to the quarterback before he can unleash the deep ball.

UNLV at San Jose State

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: at CEFCU Stadium (San Jose, Calif.)

How to watch: Fox Sports 2

Point spread: San Jose State minus-15.5

UNLV leaders

Passing: Max Gilliam (59.8 percent, 472 yards, 4 touchdowns, 2 interceptions)

Rushing: Charles Williams (66 carries, 268 yards, 1 touchdown)

Receiving: Tyleek Collins (9 catches, 112 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Defense: Jacoby Windmon (21 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks)

San Jose State leaders

Passing: Nick Starkel (73.4 percent, 706 yards, 7 touchdowns, 1 interception)

Rushing: Kairee Robinson (25 carries, 66 yards, 0 touchdowns)

Receiving: Bailey Gaither (21 catches, 338 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Defense: Kyle Harmon (42 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks)

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

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