Game 3: Fresno State (1-1) at UNLV (0-2)
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
When: Saturday, November 7, 12:30 P.M. PST
How to watch: CBS Sports Network
Series record: Fresno State leads 16-6
The Fresno State Bulldogs travel Saturday to the Vegas desert for the first time since winning the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl. The good memories of the bowl win may return to Kalen DeBoer (offensive coordinator on the 2018 team) or Ronnie Rivers (whose 212 yards and two touchdowns secured game MVP honors), but as with everything in 2020, Las Vegas – and the Bulldogs – will look very different this time around.
22 players have made their Fresno State debuts so far this season, with 10 making their debut as a starter. On the sideline, Kalen DeBoer returns to Vegas now as a head coach, and his team will run onto the Allegiant Stadium turf for the first time. About 2,000 fans (3% capacity) will be allowed into the stadium, making Saturday the first game the Bulldogs will play in front of fans this season, albeit as the visiting team.
It will be a far cry from when the Red Wave invaded Sin City nearly two years ago.
The low-down on the ‘Dogs:
On the field, Jake Haener makes his third start of the season, looking to improve upon a stellar 311-yard, 3 TD performance in a 38-17 win over Colorado State.
“Taking care of the football and making good decisions were his biggest improvement,” said Fresno State OC Ryan Grubb on Haener.
Grubb also cited Haener’s ability to stay in his progressions and keep the offense on the field as other key areas of improvement.
Haener’s 600 passing yards through two games places him third among Mountain West quarterbacks, behind Nevada’s Carson Strong (770) and San Jose State’s Nick Starkel (693). No other Mountain West quarterback has thrown more than 350 yards.
Ronnie Rivers has made noise early in the season, scoring four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) in two games. In the process, the senior running back extended his streak to 10 straight games with a touchdown, dating back to last season. Rivers put together 172 all-purpose yards against Colorado State, and he could feast again on a UNLV defense ranked in the bottom-four of the Mountain West in run defense.
“His approach and professionalism has been markedly different this season,” said Grubb on Rivers, with the former giving credit to new running backs coach Lee Marks for the adjustment.
Keep an eye on redshirt junior RB Jordan Mims, who has looked strong coming back from season-ending ankle surgery in August 2019. Mims caught three passes for 48 yards and a touchdown against Colorado State. It was not only the stats, but the look of Mims that indicated his return to form: Mims bowled over a Rams defender on a catch-and-run in the first quarter, and raced untouched into the end zone in the second quarter.
Ryan Grubb stated he wants to return to his two-running back sets. With Mims healthy and Rivers running well, the Bulldogs have their desired one-two punch in the backfield.
Haener has enjoyed his two backs as reliable targets, but he’s also found two emerging stars at wide receiver in Keric Wheatfall and Josh Kelly. The senior Wheatfall battled injuries throughout the 2019 season, but now healthy, Wheatfall leads the team in receptions (8) and receiving yards (160).
Kelly ranks second in receiving yards (86), and the redshirt freshman earned high remarks from Grubb: “Kelly has some of the best ball skills I have ever seen in my life… There is going to be a lot of happy Bulldog fans watching Josh Kelly for a lot of years.”
On defense, the Bulldogs rank third in the nation in sacks per game (4.0) and lead the Mountain West in the category. The sack leader on the team is senior Kwami Jones with three, but newcomers David Perales and Da’Marcus Johnson have also provided steady pass rush on the defensive line as well.
The linebacker corps awaits a fully healthy Arron Mosby as he works his way back from offseason surgery. The returning starting linebacker did see increased snaps against Colorado State, recording a solo tackle.
“He’s making good progress,” DeBoer said on Mosby. “Today seeing him, I felt like he’s bringing more energy and feeling better about where he’s at each and every time he steps on the field.”
Levelle Bailey has taken to the new “Husky” position in the 4-2-5 defense. He showed up in a big way against Colorado State, delivering a quarterback hit to force a turnover on downs in the third quarter. Bailey hopes to have a similar game to what he had against UNLV as a freshman last season: he recovered a fumble and snagged an interception in a 56-27 Fresno State win.
Defensive coordinator William Inge is “juiced up” about another young linebacker: Tyler Mello. The Hanford product delivered two big hits on special teams and recorded four tackles on defense last week.
“He is one of those Bulldogs where you have to say ‘Whoa’ instead of ‘Sic’em’ and we love it,” Inge said on Mello. “Being from Hanford, the home of Superior Dairy ice cream, everyone calls him ‘The Ice Cream Man’ so that is one of the fan favorites.”
After surrendering over 500 yards of offense in a season-opening 34-19 loss to Hawaii, William Inge’s defense stepped up from the second quarter on against Colorado State, shutting out the Rams from the 13:57 mark of the second quarter until the game’s final minute.
“It was the individuals getting their comfort level squared away,” Inge said. “One thing we thrive on in our defense is making sure we are in a position where we do not beat ourselves. There were a lot of times where the players were where they needed to be and they made the plays they were supposed to make.”
The low-down on the Rebels:
Led by first-year head coach Marcus Arroyo, UNLV started its 2020 season with two losses: at San Diego State in Carson, 34-6, and at home in their Allegiant Stadium debut vs. Nevada, 37-19.
The Rebel offense provides an opportunity for Fresno State’s defense to put out another dominant showing: UNLV ranks last in the Mountain West in yards per game (267 yards/game) and scoring (12.5/game).
The Rebels played three quarterbacks in their first game against the Aztecs, but senior Max Gilliam (pronounced GILL-um) started and largely out-snapped the other two. Gilliam played every offensive snap in Game 2 against Nevada, and will presumably start at QB against Fresno State.
The senior passer does not present a mobile threat like what Fresno State saw with its previous two opposing quarterbacks. Gilliam has not thrown an interception yet this season and passed for 312 yards and 3 touchdowns in two games.
The centerpiece of UNLV’s offense is senior running back Charles Williams, who received national recognition during the preseason by being named to the Doak Walker Award (for best RB nationally) and Maxwell Award (for best overall player nationally) watchlist.
Williams, born and raised in Fresno and an alum of Bullard High School, attacks opponents with both his rushing and receiving skills.
“He is a dynamic running back and someone you want in your football program,” Inge said of Williams. “I think they are doing a great job getting him the football in a lot of ways… Number 8 is someone you have to know where he is on the football field.”
“It’s great to see someone from the Valley doing well. We don’t want it to happen at another program, we want it right here, but giving him all his due respect, it’s really good to see him doing well,” said Inge.
Coming off a 1,257-yard season in 2019, Williams ranks third in the conference this year in rushing at 179 yards – five yards more than Bulldog counterpart Ronnie Rivers. Williams has yet to hit paydirt in 2020, however.
A big hit to UNLV’s receiving corps is the season-long suspension of Randal Grimes, the USC transfer who paced the Rebels in receptions (46), receiving yards (696) and receiving touchdowns (7). The suspension was reported Tuesday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Grimes had not played in the Rebels’ two prior games.
Gilliam has turned to a trio of wide receivers – sophomore Steve Jenkins, junior Tyleek Collins, and freshman Kyle Williams – who each have at least seven receptions through two games. Jenkins leads the wide receivers with two touchdown catches on the season. Look out for tight end Noah Bean too – he led UNLV in receptions with seven last week vs. Nevada.
UNLV’s defense surrendered 30+ points in both losses to San Diego State and Nevada, two of the better teams in the Western division. Next, the defense faces another Western division foe with a track record of success against them: Fresno State, who scored 48 and 56 points on the Rebels in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
UNLV faced a strong rushing attack in the Aztecs in Game 1, and a potent passing attack in the Wolfpack Game 2; now they potentially face both in a Fresno State team that showed its offensive firepower for the first time against a respectable Colorado State defense last week.
Similar to Fresno State, UNLV’s defense is a work in progress, switching from a basic 4-3 defense to a multiple defense featuring 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 formations. Also, not unlike the Bulldogs, the Rebels are plugging in a bevy of newcomers on defense. That includes four freshmen in the secondary, according to the UNLV depth chart. Two freshmen, Sir Oliver Everett and Ricky Johnson, are starters at cornerback.