UNLV looking for rebound, revenge against Air Force
UNLV defensive back Nohl Williams hasn’t forgotten what happened against Air Force last season.
He fumbled the opening kickoff, and the Falcons scored three plays later on the way to a 48-14 home victory. It wasn’t the Rebels’ worst loss of the season, but the blowout still stings.
“I definitely still have a chip on my shoulder for this game,” Williams said. “Because we don’t want to go out like we did last year.”
While the Rebels might have revenge on their minds, they’re also looking for a bounce-back performance. UNLV’s hot start to the season came to a halt with a 40-7 thrashing by San Jose State last week.
UNLV and Air Force play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.
The Rebels (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West) lost starting quarterback Doug Brumfield against San Jose State, too, after he left the game because of head and ankle injuries. Coach Marcus Arroyo listed Brumfield as day-to-day during his Monday availability, and the quarterback was not on the team’s depth chart as of Friday.
“We’ve got to get healthy,” Arroyo said. “We took one on the chin, and that’s going to happen during the course of a season. But you can’t let one loss beat you twice, let alone have one loss beat your whole season.”
Air Force will be a difficult opponent for UNLV. The Falcons (4-2, 1-2) continue to run their full-option offense, which flummoxed the Rebels last season. The Falcons will also have senior quarterback Haaziq Daniels, who missed the 2021 game because of a non-COVID illness.
Arroyo admitted that preparing for the Falcons takes more than a week of practice. Air Force is averaging 31.8 points per game, second-best in the Mountain West behind UNLV.
Williams said the Falcons try to lull defenders into thinking exclusively about the run before trying to hit deep passes.
“I feel like with this type of offense, your eyes have to be in the right spots,” he said.
While the defense has its hands full with the Falcons’ option, the Rebels’ offense needs to find a spark after being shut down by San Jose State. With Brumfield’s status unknown, sophomores Cameron Friel and Harrison Bailey were both listed as starters on the depth chart Monday.
Friel, the reigning Mountain West freshman of the year, played most of the snaps after Brumfield’s injury against San Jose State. He completed 15 of 22 attempts for 153 yards and a touchdown. But Arroyo said he needed to see a strong week of preparation before fully committing to either quarterback for Saturday.
“I think it’s a great week for these two to get after it, battle it out and see what they can do,” Arroyo said.
The quarterbacks aren’t the only offensive players looking to rebound. Junior Aidan Robbins rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries against San Jose State and was kept out of the end zone for the first time in his UNLV career.
The former Louisville running back faces another stern test Saturday, as Air Force’s defense is only allowing 18 points per game, second-best in the conference.
“It’s not who we play, it’s how you prepare for who we’re playing,” Robbins said. “Nothing changes. I’m going to keep being me, keep working hard and just do what I do.”
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.