Live coverage: Turnovers trip up UNLV in 14-10 loss at San Diego State

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Published Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022 | 7:19 p.m.

San Diego State slammed the door on UNLV, successfully running out the final 5:41 to secure a 14-10 win over the Scarlet and Gray.

After trailing 14-0 in the third quarter, it looked like UNLV was going to get a chance to mount a potential go-ahead drive in the closing minutes, but SDSU's game-ending drive was a clinic in clock-killing execution. The Aztecs took over at their own 6-yard line after a UNLV punt and called nine runs on the next 10 snaps. They picked up five first downs and kept the timer ticking; UNLV burned all three of its timeouts on defense and still couldn't get off the field.

The loss drops UNLV to 4-5 on the season, putting them below .500 for the first time. The Scarlet and Gray haven't won a game in more than a month.

They'll host Fresno State at Allegiant Stadium next week.

UNLV trails San Diego State, 14-10 in fourth quarter

UNLV survived a near-disastrous turnover, and with 10:40 remaining the Scarlet and Gray have improbably pulled within 14-10 at San Diego State.

They had a chance to tie the game, but on 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line Doug Brumfield was intercepted in the end zone. The damage was mitigated by the UNLV defense, which forced a 3-and-out, and then they received a gift when SDSU's punter fumbled the snap and was tackled before he could get off a kick.

Given a short field, UNLV played it safe and ran the ball twice before calling a screen that was snuffed out by the Aztecs defense. Daniel Gutierrez kicked a short field goal, and suddenly UNLV is a stop and a score away from possibly taking the lead.

Still a long way to go in this one.

UNLV mounting fourth-quarter comeback at San Diego State

Just when it appeared the game was slipping away from UNLV, quarterback Doug Brumfield brought them back.

On a 1st-and-10 play, Brumfield avoided pressure in the backfield, extended the play and gave receiver Nick Williams time to leak out behind the defense. Brumfield then uncorked a pinpoint line drive that Williams pulled in and took the length of the field for a 70-yard touchdown.

After forcing a punt from SDSU on the next possession, Brumfield once again has UNLV on the move. He hit Kyle Williams for another long gain on a broken play to get across midfield, and when the fourth quarter opens the Scarlet and Gray will have a 2nd-and-10 from the SDSU 8-yard line.

Brumfield is now 15-of-23 for 203 yards, with one TD and one interception. If he can get UNLV over the goal line here, they'll have a real chance to steal this game.

San Diego State scores, leads UNLV 14-0

The second half has started poorly for the Scarlet and Gray, and with 7:24 left in the third quarter San Diego State has increased its lead to 14-0.

The Aztecs marched 75 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive, capped by a 24-yard TD pass from Jalen Mayden to Mark Redman that saw UNLV blow the coverage and leave Redman unaccounted for down the field.

On UNLV's ensuing drive, Doug Brumfield took the team to the fringe of the red zone, but a 1st-and-10 lob into the end zone came up way short and SDSU cornerback Dezjhon Malone was able to come up with a fairly easy interception.

It was the third turnover of the game for the Scarlet and Gray, and unless the tide turns suddenly and significantly, it might have doomed the team to a loss.

UNLV trails San Diego State at half

UNLV had a chance to put some points on the board before the end of the half, but a costly turnover has sent them into the locker room trailing San Diego State, 7-0.

The Scarlet and Gray have only crossed midfield twice so far — on the opening drive of the game, and on their second-to-last drive of the half, when Doug Brumfield hit Ricky White over the middle for an 18-yard gain. That should have given UNLV a fresh set of downs in scoring range, but White fumbled at the end of the play and SDSU recovered at the 28-yard line.

It was the second lost fumble of the day for UNLV, which is too many in a game that figures to be tight and low-scoring most of the way.

Aside from those two drives, UNLV has not been able to generate any offense. Doug Brumfield has completed 7-of-12 passes for just 56 yards. As a team the Scarlet and Gray are averaging a paltry 2.7 yards per play.

San Diego State will receive the kickoff to begin the second half.

San Diego State leads UNLV, 7-0

San Diego State has taken a 7-0 lead late in the first half, and given the way UNLV's offense has looked so far, that's a daunting deficit.

Jalen Mayden hit Jesse Williams on the right sideline, and Williams broke two tackles before diving into the end zone for a 28-yard TD.

Aidan Robbins got UNLV off to a good start on the ensuing possession with a 13-yard run that advanced the ball past midfield, but the next play was a bad shotgun snap that eluded Doug Brumfield's grasp. San Diego State recovered, and the two teams have since traded punts.

San Diego State will have the ball on its own 20 with 3:55 left in the half.

UNLV, San Diego State tied in second quarter

Doug Brumfield isn't the only UNLV player returning from injury, as cornerback Ricky Johnson just made his presence felt with a timely interception.

UNLV was in a precarious position after being forced to punt from its own end zone, and it appeared SDSU had capitalized when Kenan Christon broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run. The play was called back for holding, however, and on the next snap Johnson picked off a Jalen Mayden deep ball in the end zone to get the ball back to UNLV.

Johnson is making his season debut today after suffering an arm injury in training camp.

At the end of the first quarter, we're still locked in a scoreless tie. UNLV will face a 3rd-and-long when play resumes.

UNLV, San Diego State scoreless in first quarter

Midway through the first quarter, UNLV and San Diego State are engaged in a scoreless tie — and from the Scarlet and Gray perspective, that's fine.

UNLV has been terrible early in games this season, getting outscored 73-26 after each team has had two possessions, so four combined punts and a 0-0 score is a good outcome so far today.

Doug Brumfield has looked lively and completed a nice third-down pass to Ricky White on UNLV first drive, but the sophomore quarterback also looked rusty on a bad overthrow on the sideline on the second possession.

San Diego State just downed a punt on the 1-yard line, so Brumfield will have his work cut out for him on UNLV's third drive.

Williams, Robbins active for UNLV football at SDSU

UNLV is on the field for pregame warmups, and it's mostly good news for the Scarlet and Gray, as two of their most important offensive weapons appear to be playing today.

Junior receiver Kyle Williams and junior running back Aidan Robbins are in uniform and going through warmups in full pads, which is a decent indication they're available to play. Williams left UNLV's game at Notre Dame after suffering an ankle injury, while Robbins sat out that contest entirely due to injury; the bye week appears to have worked wonders for both.

On the flip side, it looks like junior receiver Jeff Weimer won't be making his return to action today. Weimer hurt his shoulder a month ago against New Mexico and has missed the last three games, but made a gradual return to practice over the bye week. He worked out on the field (sans pads) a few hours before game time, but is not in uniform now.

So quarterback Doug Brumfield won't have a full complement of skill players at his disposal today against a tough San Diego State defense, but Williams and Robbins certainly help the cause.

Doug Brumfield returns for UNLV football at San Diego State

UNLV has scuffled since losing starting quarterback Doug Brumfield to injury, dropping three straight games to even their season record at 4-4. Now Brumfield is back, and just in time for a pivotal road showdown at San Diego State (4 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

Can the Scarlet and Gray ride their star passer back into the win column? Three keys:

Brumfield back

UNLV is getting Brumfield back, and that’s great — he has completed 68.4% of his throws this year for 1,231 yards and eight touchdowns — but is he going to be himself right out of the gate?

That’s going to be important against a San Diego State defense that looks, as usual, quite formidable. The Aztecs rank 51^st in the nation in points allowed (25.0 points per game), and UNLV has gotten off to slow starts all season. If Brumfield comes out rusty after spending a month in concussion protocol, the Scarlet and Gray could find themselves in an early hole.

Head coach Marcus Arroyo liked what he saw from Brumfield in practice this week and doesn’t think it will take long for the sophomore to catch up to game speed.

“He’s not a guy where you’re talking about a 10-year NFL vet, so there’s going to be rust on any guy. Even if it’s just a week off sometimes it happens,” Arroyo said. “I think Doug will work his way back into the mix right away and we’ll try to get those out of the way as fast as we can.”

Look for Arroyo to call plays that get Brumfield into a rhythm early.

Pass defense spotlight

San Diego State had big issues on offense early in the season, but since switching to Jalen Mayden at quarterback three weeks ago the Aztecs have looked more than competent moving the ball.

In three games, Mayden has completed 64.7% for 769 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions. And San Diego State has gone from scoring 19.0 points over the first five contests to 22.3 under Mayden — a modest but clear improvement.

UNLV will get some reinforcements in the secondary, as junior cornerback Ricky Johnson will make his season debut on Saturday. Johnson was injured on the second play of training camp and hasn’t played since, but the team will welcome his playmaking ability (three interceptions in 2021) against SDSU’s newfound passing attack.

Special teams tweak

The last time UNLV took the field there was a complete meltdown on special teams, as Notre Dame blocked back-to-back punts in the first half of last Saturday’s game. So it would make sense for San Diego State to test them early by sending pressure at the punter.

In preparation, the Scarlet and Gray spent significant time during the bye shoring up their punt protection.

Senior linebacker Kyle Beaudry, who serves on the punt team, didn’t disclose details but said UNLV will be better in that area.

“We definitely did do a lot of punt stuff this week,” Beaudry said. “I don’t want to say what we changed schematically, because that stuff goes on Twitter and then I get in trouble. We don’t take that as a joke or anything. We work on that and that’s been one of our main focuses over the bye and we’ve been working on some things to get that squared away.”

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