Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV misfires late in frustrating 20-14 loss at Cal

UNLV football falls at Cal

Jed Jacobsohn / Associated Press

UNLV running back Aidan Robbins (9) is tackled by California safety Daniel Scott (32) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

UNLV had five chances to win on Saturday.

Trailing at Cal, 20-14, UNLV’s defense came through in a big way, holding Cal scoreless in the fourth quarter. That gave the Scarlet and Gray five crucial offensive possessions down the stretch, needing only a single touchdown to take the lead.

All five came up empty.

Final score: Cal 20, UNLV 14.

It was a bitter, bitter defeat for Marcus Arroyo’s squad, which appeared poised to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 1999. And that would have been hugely significant, as 16 of the last 17 Mountain West teams to begin a season 2-0 have gone on to qualify for a bowl game.

Instead, after five failed drives, the team is heading back to Las Vegas at 1-1, wondering what it has to do in order to change its fortunes in close games.

UNLV went 2-6 in close contests last year, and they did themselves no favors on Saturday, as Arroyo pointed to penalties (eight for 105 yards) and third-down conversions (1-of-12) as areas that cost his team.

“We let that one get away,” Arroyo said. “We’ve got a locker room full of guys right now that are disappointed because they want to finish that game, but you’ve got to capitalize against quality opponents.”

Cal blitzed UNLV early and late, in different ways.

The Golden Bears marched the length of the field on each of their first two possessions, scoring both times to take a blink-and-you-missed-it 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. UNLV was clearly staggered, but the defense regrouped and didn’t allow another touchdown the rest of the way.

UNLV clawed to within 20-14 midway through the third quarter, but the Doug Brumfield-led offense stalled until late in the fourth, when he drove the Scarlet and Gray inside the Cal 10-yard line with three minutes to play.

With UNLV facing a 3rd-and-goal from the 8, Cal blitzed in a more literal sense, sending extra pass rushers at the snap. Brumfield was overwhelmed and barely got off an incomplete pass before being hit. The Golden Bears brought the pressure again on the biggest play of the game, rushing Brumfield on fourth down and forcing him to loft a pass into the end zone before intended receiver Kyle Williams got a chance to turn around and look for the ball.

The pass fell harmlessly to the turf, giving possession back to Cal with 2:46 on the clock.

The Bears ran it three times, exhausted UNLV’s timeouts and punted back with a minute remaining. That gave UNLV’s creaky offense one final chance to steal the win, and Brumfield provided some hope by firing a 14-yard pass to Ricky White on first down to move the ball across midfield.

But Cal came after him again on the next play, and Brumfield fell victim to panic, as he twisted and turned backward before being dropped for a demoralizing 13-yard loss. With the clock running, UNLV rushed its next play and Brumfield was sacked again, this time for a loss of four yards.

The final play was a hail mary that Cal defensive back Isaiah Young intercepted at the 20 as time expired.

Brumfield finished 18-of-33 for 206 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. It was a letdown after his sterling performance in the Week 0 win over Idaho State, in which he passed for 356 yards and four touchdowns.

On the final five offensive possessions, UNLV ran a total of 34 plays and gained 101 yards (3.0 yards per play). Three of those drives ended in turnovers on downs, including the penultimate misfire inside the 10-yard line.

Cal quarterback Jack Plummer opened the game by hitting his first 11 passes, but once the UNLV defense settled in the entire tenor of the game changed. Plummer ended up completing 28-of-39 for 278 yards, with one touchdown and one INT.

Junior defensive back Jerrae Williams was a big factor in keeping UNLV close. With Cal driving inside the red zone late in the second quarter, he stepped in front of a pass over the middle at the 8-yard line and snagged his first career interception.

Williams described the pain he and his teammates felt after such a frustrating defeat, but said UNLV can be a better team because of it.

“Hurt,” Williams said. “We hurt. But we know we’re better than that. We can play way better than that. But it’s going to hurt, and it’s going to hurt for a minute. But you let that hurt make you better. Let the pain make you grow as a man. So we look forward to coming back next week and playing a better game.”

UNLV will head home to host North Texas at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday.

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

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