Live blog: UNLV football fades late in 40-27 loss to Fresno State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020 | 4:12 p.m.

UNLV had all the momentum on its side, right up until it didn't.

Fresno State wisely focused its defense on taking away Max Gilliam's running lanes in the fourth quarter, and he threw two late interceptions as Fresno State pulled away, 40-27. 

Gilliam finished with 139 rushing yards, but once the Bulldogs took the lead and forced him to throw, the UNLV offense was unable to respond. Gilliam finished 15-of-31 for 150 yards passing, with one TD and the two interceptions. 

Ronnie Rivers carried the load for Fresno, as the senior racked up 99 receiving yards, 133 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns. 

UNLV is now 0-3 on the season, and with a trip to undefeated San Jose State coming up next week, things aren't going to get any easier anytime soon.

Fresno State surges ahead of UNLV, 37-27

Fresno State just kicked a field goal to extend its lead to 37-27 with seven minutes remaining, so if UNLV is going to win this game the offense will have to make something happen quickly.

After Max Gilliam's 71-yard touchdown run tied things up, Fresno State drove the length of the field and scored on a 10-yard run by Ronnie Rivers. The teams traded punts, and then Gilliam made his first mistake of the game, tossing an interception in UNLV territory.

The UNLV defense held, forcing FSU to settle for a field goal, but it's still a two-possession game. Look for UNLV to go to an up-tempo offense on this drive in an effort to score in an hurry.

Max Gilliam runs for 71-yard TD to bring UNLV even, 27-27

Max Gilliam has never been viewed as a speedster, but he just raced 71 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to tie this game, 27-27 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

The senior quarterback dropped back to pass on the play but found no one open; a gap in the defensive line allowed him to burst up the middle, and from there Gilliam veered to the sideline and turned on the jets. He's now up to 145 yards rushing on the day, which is a lot considering he came into the game with four career rushing yards.

Thanks to Gilliam's big play, UNLV is now back in a position to possibly win this game.

UNLV fumbles away lead, trails Fresno State 27-20

The start of the second half turned into a mini-disaster for UNLV, and coupled with the mini-disaster to close the first half, it has put the scarlet and grey in a 27-20 hole.

UNLV received the kick coming out of the locker room, but Max Gilliam was strip-sacked on the second play of the drive and Fresno State recovered. It took three plays for Ronnie Rivers to cash in with a 13-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 27-17 advantage.

Gilliam did respond nicely, using his legs to pick up a couple key first downs on the next possession as he led UNLV into FSU territory. UNLV eventually settled for a field goal, and it's now a one-possession game with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's plenty of time for UNLV to dig out of the hole, if the offense can get back on track.

UNLV trails Fresno State at half, 20-17

After a touchdown drive to regain a 17-13 lead, the UNLV defense forced a Fresno State punt with 2:30 remaining in the half, and it looked like UNLV would be able to build on its advantage before halftime. And with the scarlet and grey set to receive the kick after the break, it was a chance to gain some real separation on the scoreboard.

Instead, UNLV went 3-and-out, Fresno State drove the field for a touchdown (courtesy of a 33-yard catch and run by Ronnie Rivers) and now the Bulldogs head into the locker room with a 20-17 lead.

UNLV has played its best offensive game of the season so far, as quarterback Max Gilliam has connected on 11-of-18 throws for 124 yards.. The running attack has not been productive at all, however, as Charles Williams has carried 18 times for just 50 yards (2.8 yards per carry).

Defensively, UNLV just can't seem to get Rivers on the ground. The senior back has 91 receiving yards, 49 rushing yards and two touchdowns so far.

UNLV regains lead on Max Gilliam TD pass

It's not quite a shootout yet, but we could be heading there after UNLV and Fresno State just traded touchdowns, leaving UNLV with a 17-13 lead midway through the second quarter.

Fresno State was aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty on a third down, and three plays later Ronnie Rivers walked into the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 13-10 advantage. But UNLV answered right back, first converting another 4th-and-1 from its own 40, and then on a Max Gilliam 43-yard bomb to Tyleek Collins to regain the lead.

Gilliam has now thrown for 126 yards today, and UNLV is averaging 5.5 yards per play.

UNLV takes 7-6 lead at end of first

Could Marcus Arroyo be on the way to his first win as a head coach? It's too early to say that, but he does have his first lead as a head coach, as UNLV scored on a Charles Williams touchdown run to go ahead of Fresno State.

At the end of the first quarter, UNLV is in front, 7-6.

After Fresno State's touchdown, Max Gilliam led UNLV right down the field. The senior quarterback converted a key third down by scrambling and hitting tight end Gio Fauolo in traffic, and freshman running back Courtney Reese picked up another big first down on a sweep run. On 3rd-and-goal from the 2, Gilliam handed off to Charles Williams, and the senior back dove up the middle for the score.

Daniel Gutierrez made the PAT to give UNLV the lead.

Fresno State scores long TD, takes lead over UNLV

Fresno State is on the board first, courtesy of a 54-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jake Haener with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

Haener feigned a handoff on the play, then used a pump fake to get UNLV cornerback Nohl Williams to leave his feet; Haener then streaked past Williams and into the open field. The PAT was no good, so Fresno's lead is 6-0.

Based on that long touchdown, big plays remain a fatal flaw for the UNLV defense.

The defense did force a punt on the game's opening possession, and sophomore linebacker Jacoby Windmon almost blocked it. His pressure led to a shanked kick and good field position, but the Max Gilliam-led offense couldn't capitalize. Gilliam's third-and-long pass was nearly picked off and UNLV punted it back to Fresno, leading to Haener's TD.

Can winless UNLV limit big plays against Fresno State?

You’ve heard of a “bend don’t break” defense? Well, through the first two weeks of the shortened 2020 season, the UNLV defense is simply breaking.

Instead of death by a thousand cuts, the scarlet and gray has preferred to get things over with quickly, as opposing teams are notching big plays at an alarming pace. UNLV has already allowed two dozen “chunk plays” this season, leading to a defense that currently ranks 100^th in the nation in scoring (35.5 points per game allowed).

For our purposes, a chunk play is defined as a pass play that gains 20 yards or more, or a run play that gains 10 yards or more. Those types of gains should be rare, but UNLV opponents have been feasting regularly in just that fashion. San Diego State recorded 12 such plays in the season opener, and UNR notched another 12 last week in prying the Fremont Cannon away with a 37-19 beatdown at Allegiant Stadium.

That should sound alarm bells as UNLV prepares to face Fresno State today, as the Bulldogs’ offense is more than capable of picking up yards by the bundle.

UNLV coach Marcus Arroyo said UNLV has to tighten up on defense and not give away huge swaths of yardage so generously.

“That’s definitely something we’re trying to solve each week,” Arroyo said. “Obviously you’ve got to limit the explosive plays.”

UNLV is allowing 7.1 yards per play, which ranks 125^th out of 130 teams nationally.

UNR notched six rushing plays that went for more than 10 yards against UNLV, but the bigger issue was quarterback Carson Strong’s six downfield completions. Strong connected on throws of 36, 52 and 65 yards and finished with six completions of longer than 20 yards. UNLV cornerbacks Nohl Williams and Sir Oliver Everett were both beaten in single coverage for monster gains (52 yards and a 65-yard touchdown, respectively).

Both Williams and Everett are freshmen, underscoring the challenges facing the UNLV defense as the season goes on.

Arroyo believes the youth of the defense will eventually end up being a feature, not a bug.

“The defense itself is a young group,” Arroyo said. “With the true freshmen, they’re being battle tested, which is awesome. We’re trying to find ways and pieces for them to continue to gain confidence and put them in situations where they can compete.”

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