New UNLV football head coach Marcus Arroyo arrives for an introductory news conference at the Fertitta Football Complex at UNLV Friday, Dec. 13, 2019.
Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 | 11:58 a.m.
If the UNLV football team intends to qualify for a bowl game in 2020 during coach Marcus Arroyo’s initial season, a three-game stretch in October could be the key.
The Rebels on Oct. 10 host Wyoming, travel the following weekend to San Jose State and on Oct. 24 host Colorado State in what could be a season-defining three weeks. The opponents on the UNLV schedule were previously announced, but the order of play was released today by the Mountain West.
San Jose State is projected to be one of the worst teams in the league, meaning the road tilt will be a winnable affair. Wyoming and Colorado State — two teams UNLV lost to on the road in 2019 — are average teams in the league and definitely beatable at home. That’s especially true if the Rebels see a spike in attendance at Allegiant Stadium, their new home shared with the Raiders.
The highlight of the schedule, like every season, is a Thanksgiving weekend game against visiting UNR.
UNLV has won the last two meetings in the Fremont Cannon series. Both teams will be coming off a bye week, which will surely add to the hype — not to mention the bad feelings from a postgame fight in 2019 after the Rebels’ overtime win.
UNLV opens the season Aug. 29 against Cal in what’s expected to be the first football game at Allegiant. Game times will be released later.
Arroyo touted the difficulty of the four games that make up the non-conference portion of the slate.
"The first word that jumps to my mind is ‘challenging,’” Arroyo said in a university press release. “Our pre-conference season is the most demanding in the Mountain West. In each game we play teams coming off big years and returning key starters."
Here’s the complete schedule:
Aug. 29: Cal
Sept. 5: Louisiana Tech
Sept. 12: Arizona State
Sept. 19: At Iowa State
Sept. 26: Bye
Oct. 3: At San Diego State
Oct. 10: Wyoming
Oct. 17: At San Jose State
Oct. 24: Colorado State
Oct. 31: At Boise State
Nov. 7: Fresno State
Nov. 14: At Hawaii
Nov. 21: Bye
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