Live coverage: UNLV beats Hawaii for third straight win

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 | 4:10 p.m.

UNLV football is officially on a roll.

The Scarlet and Gray just notched their third straight win to improve to 4-1 overall, and they're also 1-0 in Mountain West play after dropping Hawaii, 44-20.

Once again it was the rushing attack doing the heavy lifting on offense, as UNLV ran for 307 yards at a clip of 6.5 yards per carry. Donavyn Lester led the way with 98 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Courtney Reese chipped in a pair of touchdown runs.

Defensively, UNLV harassed Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager from the opening kick, sacking him six times and forcing a fumble late in the first half that led to a crucial UNLV touchdown.

Redshirt freshman Jayden Maiava is now 2-0 in his two starts. He completed 11-of-21 passes for 142 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers.

UNLV will now head into its bye week before traveling to take on UNR on Oct. 14.

UNLV holding 30-20 lead over Hawaii in fourth quarter

Hawaii is not going away easily.

Brayden Schager tossed his second touchdown of the game, this one a 48-yarder to Alex Perry, to pull the Warriors within 30-20 with 12:47 remaining in the fourth quarter.

If Jose Pizano hadn't come through with a 48-yard field goal for UNLV minutes earlier, this game would be very much up for grabs. And Pizano barely made it, bouncing his kick off the crossbar and through for three points to give UNLV a 30-13 lead.

A long drive ending in points here would give the Scarlet and Gray a little more room to breathe.

Second TD for Courtney Reese gives UNLV 27-10 lead over Hawaii

Courtney Reese just found his way into the end zone again, and with 8:11 left in the third quarter UNLV leads Hawaii, 27-10.

Hawaii got its first touchdown of the day on a trick play, as the Warriors ran an end around with a pitch back to quarterback Brayden Schager; Schager then hit Steven McBride uncovered for a 51-yard touchdown.

UNLV answered with a long drive, covering 75 yards in eight plays. Reese took an inside handoff and juked several defenders on his way to a 21-yard touchdown run. Reese now has 26 yards and two touchdowns on five productive carries.

UNLV is now up to 188 rushing yards as a team while averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Late touchdown gives UNLV 20-3 halftime lead over Hawaii

The UNLV defense made a big play before the half, sending the Scarlet and Gray into the locker room with a 20-3 lead over Hawaii.

With Hawaii facing a 3rd-and-9 in its own territory with two minutes left, UNLV linebacker Zavier Carter sacked quarterback Brayden Schager and forced a fumble. Thomas Anderson recovered, giving UNLV possession inside the 20.

Four plays later, Courtney Reese scored on a 4-yard run, and now UNLV has some breathing room.

It was a productive half for the running game; UNLV racked up 126 yards on 5.5 yards per carry. The defense also stacked up big plays, recording five sacks and the fumble recovery.

Hawaii will get the ball to start the second half, but with the way the UNLV defense is playing, it might not make much of a difference.

UNLV leads Hawaii, 13-3

UNLV and Hawaii traded field goals, leaving the Scarlet and Gray with a 13-3 lead with 4:56 left in the first half.

Hawaii kicked a short field goal to pull within 10-3, but Jayden Maiava responded by taking UNLV 66 yards in 13 plays to put another three points on the board.

Maiava converted three third downs on the drive, including one with his legs when he picked up a 3rd-and-15 to move the chains initially. The offense finally stalled out at the Hawaii 9-yard line, and UNLV brought out Jose Pizano for his second field goal of the day.

Hawaii's passing game is starting to find some holes in the defense; Warriors quarterback Brayden Schager is 9-of-16 for 91 yards. Hawaii will receive the ball after the half, so there is some pressure on the UNLV defense to deny a score heading into the break.

UNLV football up 10-0 on Hawaii

UNLV just tacked on three more points, and with 13:31 left in the second quarter the Scarlet and Gray have a 10-0 lead over Hawaii.

UNLV leaned on its rushing attack to produce the first score of the game. On the first play of the drive, Jordan Younge-Humphrey took a handoff and broke off a 32-yard gain down the right sideline. After a few more productive runs, Jayden Maiava found running back Vincent Davis on a swing pass that went seven yards for a touchdown.

Another good sign for UNLV in the early going is that the defense is back in big-play mode. Hawaii's second drive went nowhere, as the Scarlet and Gray racked up back-to-back sacks on second and third down (Marsel McDuffie, Alexander Whitmore) to force a punt.

UNLV snuffed out Hawaii's next drive with a fourth-down stop. Maiava then took the offense to the fringe of scoring range, and kicker Jose Pizano nailed a 52-yard field goal to make it a double-digit lead.

UNLV, Hawaii scoreless in first quarter

As expected, redshirt freshman Jayden Maiava is once again the starter at quarterback after incumbent Doug Brumfield was limited all week in practice.

The offense wasn't able to do much on the game's opening possession, as Maiava had two passes deflected on second and third down, causing both to fall incomplete. The defense held, however, forcing Hawaii to punt on the ensuing drive, so Maiava and his crew will get another shot with the scored tied, 0-0, midway through the first quarter.

Let's see if the Scarlet and Gray try to power up the ground game, which produced more than 300 rushing yards last week at UTEP.

UNLV football hosts Hawaii in quest for third straight win

After banking back-to-back victories over Vanderbilt and UTEP, the UNLV football team will try to make it three in a row when they host Hawaii on Saturday (1 p.m., Silver State Entertainment Network) in the first game of Mountain West play.

Can UNLV keep up its hot start? Three keys to watch:

Who’s the QB?

For another week at least, the quarterback question is paramount for UNLV. Established starter Doug Brumfield is still working his way back from an injury that knocked him out of the Vanderbilt game two weeks ago (hip/ribs) and may not be ready to resume duties. Fortunately for the team, freshman Jayden Maiava has stepped in and proven himself to be more than capable.

Maiava was solid again last week at UTEP, hitting 15-of-27 passes for 190 yards while being sacked zero times. He also added 28 rushing yards of his own. He did make one freshman mistake, tossing a red-zone interception on a very risky throw, but other than that, the coaching staff should have all confidence that Maiava can lead UNLV past Hawaii.

Jerrae out

UNLV has gotten by on defense by producing a ton of big plays, so that side of the ball is going to be tested now that senior cornerback Jerrae Williams is out with a foot injury.

Williams has been UNLV’s most productive defender, leading the team with 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and a fumble return for a touchdown, and his position — slot cornerback — is a key in Barry Odom’s defense, so his replacement will be counted on to make things happen.

As of now, junior defensive back Jett Elad is the next man up on the depth chart, and he played well last week at UTEP, breaking up a pair of passes. Whether Odom goes with Elad at the “playmaker” position or rotates multiple players in that role, it’s going to be under a microscope.

Pass defense

One thing that has perturbed Odom this season is the amount of long gains UNLV has allowed in the passing game, and Hawaii is sure to test that weakness at every opportunity.

With junior quarterback Brayden Schager at the helm, the Warriors throw the ball more than almost anyone else in college football; they rank No. 2 overall in pass ratio, throwing on more than 67% of their offensive snaps, and they are 35^th in passing yards per game (273.3). So UNLV will be stretched in the secondary.

Cameron Oliver, Thomas Anderson and the rest of the defensive backs will have to hold up in coverage, but maybe more importantly, they will have to take good angles and tackle in order to limit yards after the catch.

Odom warned that Hawaii can kill with YAC.

"They've got great receivers," Odom said. "The quarterback is doing a nice job on delivering the ball and with his decision-making, and the run after catch is so important to their offense. They have shown that they're an explosive group and they've got playmakers. They find mismatches."

What: UNLV (3-1) vs. Hawaii (2-3)

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

TV: Silver State Entertainment Network (TV Channel 5.2, Cox Channel 125)

Radio: 1100AM, 100.9FM

Line: UNLV -11.5

UNLV leaders

Passing

Jayden Maiava: 58.9%, 559 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

Rushing

Jai’Den Thomas: 211 yards, 5.4 yards per carry, 7 TDs

Receiving

Ricky White: 18 receptions, 263 yards, 0 TDs

Defense

Jerrae Williams: 19 tackles, 7.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, 1 INT

Hawaii leaders

Passing

Brayden Schager: 63.9%, 1,348 yards, 12 TDs, 6 INTs

Rushing

Jordan Johnson: 159 yards, 6.6 yards per carry, 0 TDs

Receiving

Pofele Ashlock: 34 receptions, 439 yards, 3 TDs

Defense

Isaiah Tufaga: 30 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.