3 takeaways from UNLV football’s blowout win at Akron

AKRON, Ohio – So is 44-6 officially dead and buried?

UNLV’s football team played Saturday as if it was, coming off a blowout loss at North Texas two weeks ago to do a little rolling of its own.

The Rebels turned a 14-10 halftime lead against Akron into a 38-10 laugher of a victory at InfoCision Stadium.

“I think we were able to put guys in position to succeed,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “We did that a little better today. There’s a lot to get better at. We really had some guys come out and step it up in the second half.”

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

1. Bye came at the right time

They weren’t entirely sure coming off that loss at North Texas. Would the fact UNLV followed such a moment with a week off ultimately prove to be such a good thing?

Would it be better had the Rebels played the week immediately after being pummelled by the Mean Green?

Um, no.

The beat-down of Akron showed how much work the Rebels put in during their bye. Mullen had said they would use the time to figure out what players did well and what they didn’t do well. And it happened. And it paid off with an impressive outcome.

“I guess it was a good time,” Mullen said. “We had such a bad taste from (North Texas) but this today was also our fourth game in four time zones and not the one right next to us. The bye allowed our guys to take a breath and we became a fresher football team. We need to as coaches look to keep building on what we saw here.”

Said linebacker Cam Santee: “I feel the bye couldn’t have come at a better time. After that North Texas loss, we really needed to take the time and look at what we were doing. I said this was a huge week for us. Are we going to come together or fall apart? We came together and had a new edge about us. We came out of it a brand new team.”

2. Second-half defense

It was spot on.

The Rebels actually played well defensively over the opening 30 minutes as well, but Mullen and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther pointed out no one was really making plays. Akron had 17 first downs the opening half.

But adjustments by Guenther at intermission spelled an entirely new look as the Rebels emerged from their locker room.

Once the UNLV lead grew, Akron was forced to abandon much of its run game and RPOs.

Once the Zips became primarily a passing side, the Rebels feasted with consistent pressure.

Two of UNLV’s three interceptions came in the second half, including a pick-6 from Mumu Bin-Wahad, who returned his 35 yards for the score.

Santee and Trey Fulton also grabbed interceptions.

UNLV had three sacks on the day, including one by Fulton, while its offensive line didn’t allow one.

“We were kind of sleepwalking there in the beginning of the game and not getting to our gaps,” Guenther said. “Just trying to figure out what they were trying to do. Once I got a feel for it, we came in and drew some things up and adjusted because they were doing some things we hadn’t practiced. Our guys really executed in the second half.”

3. Arnold has a day

UNLV’s offense has certainly had its share of inconsistent efforts through four games. That includes the play of quarterback Jackson Arnold.

But the Auburn transfer who beat out returner Alex Orji for the starting job played well on Saturday, completing 17 of 29 attempts for 290 yards and three scores.

He missed on some passes that might hurt a whole lot more in the coming weeks as the schedule toughens, but was also able to extend plays with his feet and find receivers downfield better than he has to this point.

The Rebels next host Cal on Saturday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium and, as the Golden Bears come off a home loss to Clemson, the visitors will pose a serious threat to UNLV’s modest one-game win streak.

Arnold needs to raise the level of his game even more.