Back to drawing board as UNLV routed by No. 14 Iowa State
UNLV started its game against No. 14 Iowa State with a different quarterback.
It finished the game with a similar result.
The Rebels totaled a mere 130 yards of offense Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in a 48-3 loss to the Cyclones before an announced crowd of 35,193 that featured far more Iowa State than UNLV fans.
Redshirt freshman Doug Brumfield didn’t dress after missing the week of practice with an undisclosed upper body injury, clearing the way for freshman Cameron Friel to make his collegiate debut as UNLV’s starter. He completed 8 of 13 passes for 67 yards and an interception, and shared time behind center with fifth-year junior Tate Martell, who finished 2 of 6 for 27 yards while adding four carries for 2 yards.
Rebels coach Marcus Arroyo said the coaching staff decided during the week that Brumfield wouldn’t play without practicing.
“Early on in his career right now, it’s hard to play a game if you’ve only had (limited) experience. If he wasn’t ready to play, we have to get the other guys ready to play,” Arroyo said. “It would be much different if he was a fifth-year guy, had played a bunch of ball, but that’s not fair to him or anyone to say that at Doug’s stage right now that even if you were 75 percent that you feel like you could be productive.”
The Rebels (0-3) have played four quarterbacks in three games, and only Brumfield has engineered a touchdown drive.
The Cyclones (2-1) sport an offense comprised of mostly juniors and seniors, and the collective gashed UNLV in the air and on the ground amid little resistance.
Receivers roamed free in the secondary, allowing quarterback Brock Purdy to complete 21 of 24 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Breece Hall, regarded as one of the top tailback prospects in the 2022 NFL draft, sliced and diced his way for 100 yards rushing and two scores.
The two watched most of the fourth quarter as Iowa State’s backups tacked on 10 more points.
Friel played most of the first half, ceding one play to Martell, whose first play was negated by a holding penalty. Friel quarterbacked an offense that generated 18 first-half yards, registering 4 passing yards.
The two split repetitions in the second half and led UNLV on its only scoring drive, a 14-play one that culminated in a 30-yard field goal from Daniel Gutierrez.
Arroyo said the plan all week was to rotate Friel and Martell during drives and series.
“There was some small package stuff that we tried to get done,” Arroyo said. “Never easy to do. And my hat is off to those guys for the week they put in.”
Neither quarterback could crack a defensive unit that dominated the line of scrimmage, stuffed the run and blanketed receivers downfield for four quarters. UNLV sixth-year senior tight end Giovanni Fauolo Sr. said the Cyclones were one of the best teams he’s faced.
“It’s never fun losing, but that’s an elite team,” he said. “But (we’re) just moving on, practicing hard tomorrow, putting this behind us.”
The Rebels open Mountain West play Friday against Fresno State, which upset No. 13 UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
“We’ve got to continue to press on,” Arroyo said. “We’ve got a challenge as coaches to continue to look at ourselves and find out ways we can try and get creative and improve.”
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.