Talk about a rough day in Las Vegas.
It wasn’t the worst loss — based on point difference — in Fresno State football history.
But it might’ve been one of the most deflating in recent years.
Fresno State had prime opportunity to take down an undefeated UNLV team that was juggling the loss of its starting quarterback just four days before the big Mountain West conference showdown.
The Rebels, who were ranked No. 23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, also had their third-most productive running back abruptly quit the team, too.
But instead of taking advantage of UNLV potentially in disarray, it was Fresno State that looked like a disaster.
The Bulldogs never led, threw four interceptions, averaged less than 1 yard per carry and gave up touchdowns in a multitude of ways en route a 59-14 loss to the Rebels on Saturday afternoon before an announced crowd of 24,638 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
It was Fresno State’s worst loss based on points differential since 2015 when a Bulldogs team that went on to finish 3-9 for the season was annihilated 73-21 at No. 14 Ole Miss.
UNLV (4-0, 1-0) might not be a Southeastern Conference power.
But the Rebels certainly produced like one against the Bulldogs while looking sharp in all three phases of the game despite the abrupt departures of former starting quarterback Matthew Sluka and running back Michael Allen earlier this week.
The Rebels also were aided by having a bye week entering Saturday’s game.
Fresno State (3-2, 1-1), meanwhile, gets a bye this upcoming week to try to recover from this big beatdown.
The Bulldogs can only hope that all of their problems that they had in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Like Fresno State’s turnover issues.
Bulldogs quarterback Mikey Keene had gone two straight games without throwing an interception.
He was picked off twice Saturday, both during the first half.
The junior’s first interception resulted in a short field that aided in a UNLV touchdown.
Keene’s second pick halted a Fresno State drive with 33 seconds left in the first half — when the Bulldogs were in position to score and cut into UNLV’s lead but instead turned over the ball at the UNLV 1 to go into halftime down 21-0.
In 21 games over three seasons at Fresno State, Keene never has strung together three straight games without throwing an interception.
But Saturday’s poor play was hardly just by Fresno State’s quarterback.
The Bulldogs running game entered halftime with 15 carries for -4 yards. By the end of the game, the ground attack tallied 31 attempts for a mere 30 yards.
The Bulldogs offensive line gave up eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including four sacks.
As if the offensive woes wasn’t tough enough to deal with, Fresno State’s defense struggled so much that UNLV scored a touchdown on 6 of 12 drives.
It wasn’t necessarily big, long plays that the Bulldogs were vulnerable to but rather methodical marches down the field.
New Rebels quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams completed 13 of 16 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 12 times for 119 yards and a touchdown.
UNLV’s running game, in all, generated three touchdowns while amassing 252 yards on 39 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per attempt.
The big plays that hurt Fresno State occurred on special teams.
The Bulldogs had a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown late in the first quarter that gave the Rebels a 14-0 lead.
Then Fresno State gave up a 90-yard kick return for a touchdown that put UNLV ahead 52-14 late in the fourth quarter. UNLV is undefeated through its first four games for the first time since 1976.
Rallying the Bulldogs from an all-around poor performance will be interim coach Tim Skipper’s toughest challenge yet.
Next up for Fresno State after the upcoming bye week is Washington State on Oct. 12 at Valley Children’s Stadium. The Cougars were 4-0 entering Saturday night’s game vs. Boise State.
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