‘What just happened?’: Rebels blown out in error-filled second half at Fresno State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Oct. 18, 2019 | 11:20 p.m.

With four minutes left in the third quarter at Fresno State, UNLV took over possession, trailing 28-20 but with momentum on its side and a real chance to steal another crucial road win behind freshman quarterback Kenyon Oblad.

Nine minutes later, Fresno State’s lead was 56-20 and the Rebels were left wondering how it all spiraled out of control so quickly.

UNLV made too many crucial mistakes — errors that led directly to an avalanche of points for the opposition — and left Bulldog Stadium with a self-inflicted loss by a score of 56-27.

UNLV is now 2-5 on the season (0-3 in the Mountain West) and needs to win four of its final five games in order to qualify for a bowl berth. Fresno State improved to 3-3 with the victory.

The final turnover tally for UNLV was five, with four of the giveaways turning into touchdowns for Fresno State. That was simply too much for UNLV to overcome, given everything else that was working against the Rebels as they sought their second consecutive road win as a double-digit underdog.

A “ticked off” Tony Sanchez rued all the mistakes, especially when the Rebels had a comeback win within reach.

“When you turn the ball over five times, you’re not going to win the football game,” Sanchez said. “There’s not many 29-point losses that I’ve ever been a part of where when you watch the film, you’re going to be sick to your stomach because it’s a game you could have won. It’s unbelievable. It’s unacceptable to have that many turnovers.”

The nine-minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters proved to be the worst football UNLV has played this season, and if the team ends up one game short of bowl eligibility when all is said and done, they’ll want nothing more than to go back and replay that half-hour in real time.

It began with such hope, down 28-20 near the end of the third quarter. Fresno State had just missed a 20-yard field goal, giving the Rebels a big morale boost as they took over at the 10-yard line in a one-possession game. But on the first play, running back Charles Williams took a handoff and fumbled into open space, allowing Fresno linebacker Justin Rice to pick it up and run it back 18 yards for a touchdown.

UNLV never recovered. The Rebels never even had a chance to catch their breath again.

“In the latter part of that third quarter you have a one-score game,” Sanchez said. “You’ve got the momentum, you got a good stop, you’re gonna go punch one in, make a 2 to tie it up, and what do you do on the first snap? You fumble and a scoop and score.”

Still, even trailing 35-20, the Rebels weren’t completely out of it as Oblad led a drive into Fresno State territory looking to cut the deficit in half. UNLV found itself faced with a fourth-and-12 on the Fresno State 33, and Oblad went for it all with a deep ball to Tyleek Collins in the end zone. The pass was slightly behind Collins and fell incomplete; three plays later, Fresno had driven 67 yards the other way for another touchdown to make it 42-20.

UNLV’s next possession lasted two plays before an Oblad pass was deflected up into the air and picked off; Fresno stuffed it into the end zone on the next play to make it 49-20. Oblad was intercepted again two plays later (this time on an overthrow) and the Fresno State offense needed just 94 seconds to convert that into a touchdown as well.

That was it for UNLV. Those nine blunder-filled minutes turned a potential season-making win into another laughable loss.

“It happened really fast,” Oblad said. “It was a couple plays where we had turnovers on the first plays of the drives. That shouldn’t have happened. So it happened really fast and you’re just looking there like, what just happened? Because we were in the game at one point, and then out of nowhere it’s 20 points.”

Despite his three interceptions, Oblad was a bright spot for most of the night. Making his third career start, the redshirt freshman connected on 16-of-34 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his interceptions were deflected, making them easy pickings for waiting Fresno State defenders.

It was a bittersweet homecoming for Williams, who had torn up Fresno State defenses in two previous meetings. The Fresno native managed just 82 yards on 25 carries on Friday (3.3 yards per attempt), and his first fumble of the season proved to be a killer.

UNLV now has to focus on hosting San Diego State next Saturday. The Rebels will likely be big underdogs again, but they defeated San Diego State last season and will have to win to stave off their sixth loss of the season, which would put them in win-or-else mode for the remainder of the schedule.