The UNLV Rebels played their home opener on Saturday night against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Sam Boyd Stadium. The UNLV Rebels blew out the Thunderbirds 56-23. At one point in the game, UNLV was up 56-7.
The Rebels offense got off to a slow start and did not look good at the beginning of the game. Towards the end of the first quarter, UNLV started to get the ground game going and went up 14- 0 early in the second quarter. Then after that, the Rebels were firing on all cylinders.
UNLV rushing attack had 331 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per rush. The Rebels are known for being an outstanding rushing team, and it showed tonight.
Southern Utah played two quarterbacks. Chris Helbig started the game and finished with 138 yards on 14 of 26 passing. Tyler Skidmore took over in the second half and tossed two touchdown passes to Zach Nelson. Skidmore completed 11 of 16 passes for 157 yards. The Thunderbirds were unable to get anything going on the ground. They only rushed for 46 yards on 38 rush attempts.
Armani Rogers Quarterback
Armani Rogers accounted for three of the Rebels touchdowns. He passed for 144 yards on 11 out 17 passes and one touchdown pass. Rogers also ran for 114 yards on 11 rushes adding two more touchdowns and a touchdown run of 66 yards. The UNLV star showed he can be effective running and throwing the ball. If Rodgers can keep this up against the better competition, the Rebels could be bowl-bound this year.
Charles Williams Running Back
Charles Williams had a monster game rushing the ball. Williams ran for 143 yards on just 15 carries. He averaged 9.5 yards per rush, which is outstanding. Williams also added three rushing touchdowns Williams scored on runs of 22 and 8 yards in the first half. Williams looked explosive running the football, hopefully, he can stay healthy this season.
UNLV Offensive Line
The Rebels offensive line physical dominated the Thunderbirds defensive line. Anytime you run for 334 yards on 7.4 per rush; your offensive line is doing an excellent job. The running attack is a strong point for the Rebels; they will need to prove they can run against much tougher competition which should not be a problem. UNLV ranked 19th in the country last season in rushing.
UNLV Defense
The UNLV defense was without Gabe McCoy, but that was no problem. The Rebels front seven held the Thunderbirds to just 46 rushing yards on 38 attempts. Southern Utah averaged 1.2 yards per rush. It was an outstanding defensive performance by the Rebels front seven. If you can take away a teams strength, you will be able to dominate and that what UNLV did.
Conclusion
It was a great way to start the season, but next week will be a different story. Arkansas State is coming to town after losing a close game to SMU 37-30. It will be much better competition, so UNLV better be ready and should not think it will be an easy game like it was against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
