5 burning questions entering Saturday’s UNLV-Fresno State game

Five burning questions as UNLV’s football team prepares to play against Fresno State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium:

1. How will quarterback Dalton Sneed fare in his first collegiate start?

The big question mark for the Rebels is at quarterback after starter Johnny Stanton suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for at least three-four weeks. Sneed, a redshirt freshman, will make his first start in the Mountain West opener. A self-assured 6-footer from Scottsdale, Arizona, Sneed holds the Arizona high school records for touchdown passes in a game (seven) and career (87) and passing yards in a season (3,740) and career (8,377).

2. How will the secondary respond after two poor performances?

A week after allowing Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush to throw six touchdown passes and have his pick of wide-open receivers, the Rebels gave up several big pass plays Saturday and committed multiple pass interference penalties in their 33-30 overtime loss to Idaho. Fresno State redshirt freshman quarterback Chason Virgil has one of the worst completion percentages (50.7, 72 of 142) in the country, but so did Idaho quarterback Matt Linehan. Virgil threw for 276 yards and a 65-yard touchdown in Saturday’s 48-41 double-overtime loss to Tulsa and has thrown for 873 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions this season.

3. Will the Rebels be able to run over the Bulldogs?

UNLV’s strength is running the ball and Fresno State’s weakness is defending the run. The Rebels are 14th in the nation in rushing offense with 250.3 yards per game while the Bulldogs are 122nd in rushing defense, allowing 262.5 ypg. Lexington Thomas, 12th in the nation in rushing yards (453), had 160 of UNLV’s 364 rushing yards against Idaho. D’Angelo Brewer had a whopping 46 carries for 242 of Tulsa’s 334 yards rushing as the Golden Hurricane erased a 31-0 first-half deficit at Fresno State.

4. Will UNLV be able to finish?

The Rebels have either had the lead or trailed by a touchdown or less in the fourth quarter of 12 of their 16 games under coach Tony Sanchez but have only four wins, including two routs of Football Championship Subdivision schools. Also, UNLV rolled up 539 yards of total offense against Idaho but settled for three short field goals in the second half and overtime.

5. Which 1-3 team will win?

Both squads are coming off tough losses. The Rebels were upset by a bad Idaho team that was a 15-point underdog and is headed to the FCS in 2018. The Bulldogs blew a 31-0 lead to a Tulsa team that is 3-1 and was favored by 16½ points. Despite being led by a redshirt freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start, UNLV is a 9-point favorite in this one, mostly on the strength of its rushing attack. The fiery Sneed should give the Rebels a spark and their running game should help control the clock as they pull out a 24-21 victory.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow on Twitter: @tdewey33