LAS VEGAS — Jet Thomas carried UNLV to the North Dakota State 4-yard line. The Rebels gave the next two carries to Jackson Arnold, lost five yards to a delay-of-game penalty and settled for a field goal. Thomas never touched the ball again on the possession.
UNLV had a back running well, a short field and four yards to cover. Its offense still could not score a touchdown against the Bison, leaving the defense to supply the one that won the game.
Six games into the season, Corey Dennis and Dan Mullen have an offense capable of producing 39 points against Cal and six against North Dakota State a week later. Arnold’s running has won possessions that might otherwise have ended in punts. Thomas has delivered three 100-yard rushing games. Long touchdown passes helped UNLV beat Akron and Cal.
The Rebels have also scored touchdowns on only eight of their 17 red-zone possessions. Their outside receivers have supplied little after the catch, their screens have produced almost nothing, and productive runs have too often led to possessions that end with Arnold trying to recover lost yardage.
Thomas had gained four yards and then 10 after the defense gave UNLV possession at the Bison 18. Dennis and Mullen went to Arnold on the next two carries.
Mullen said the first-down call was outside zone for Arnold. NDSU set the edge, Arnold looked for a cutback and fumbled. He recovered at the 5 and gained three yards on the next snap. The delay penalty then moved UNLV back to the 7, where a third-down incompletion preceded another field goal.
“We probably just got to feed him down on the goal line and let him try to punch that in,” Mullen said.
Thomas finished with 22 carries for 112 yards, but none of those carries came after he reached the NDSU 4.
Memphis had exposed a similar problem in the opener. Jaylon Glover gained four yards and then 44 to reach the Tigers’ 27 in the third quarter. Arnold took a six-yard sack on the next snap. UNLV returned to Glover on second-and-16 for no gain, threw incomplete toward Kayden McGee and completed the fourth-down pass to McGee for 15 yards when it needed 16.
Two runs had produced 48 yards. The next four plays produced nine net yards and a turnover on downs.
After the sack, the second-down run left UNLV needing 16 yards on third down. Memphis was beginning to overwhelm the protection, and the Rebels could not recover from the loss on first down.
In the fourth quarter, McGee gained 18 yards on a run to reach the Memphis 21. Arnold then threw incomplete to Keyan Burnett, kept for no gain, scrambled for three yards and took a fourth-down sack. Thomas and McGee had helped advance the possession. Neither touched the ball over those final four snaps.
All six of Memphis’ official sacks came after halftime. UNLV nevertheless left Arnold responsible for finishing that drive through two called passes and a quarterback run, with another pass becoming a scramble.
Thomas gained 17 yards on six second-half touches. Glover and McGee combined for 115 yards on eight, yet neither finished a drive with a touchdown.
PFF’s rushing reports list Thomas with 12 carries against Memphis, 20 against Hawai‘i, 10 against North Texas, 15 against Akron, 16 against Cal and 22 against NDSU. His 22 carries against the Bison were a season high. The issue was the decision to go away from him four yards from the end zone.
The alternatives have received small roles. Glover had five carries against Memphis, five against Hawai‘i and six against North Texas before missing Akron and Cal. Darrien Jones had three carries against Akron, two against Cal and three against NDSU. McGee had two rushing attempts against Cal and one against the Bison.
Glover’s absences reduced the staff’s options against Akron and Cal. He and McGee were available and producing against Memphis, and Thomas had just gained 14 yards before UNLV went away from him near the NDSU goal line.
Arnold has given the staff good reason to keep calling his number. PFF charts 18 scrambles for 194 yards through six games, nearly 11 yards per attempt, separate from his designed runs.
Against NDSU, Arnold scrambled for a first down while linebackers dropped underneath the routes.
On a designed 19-yard keeper against the Bison, Ray James Jr. closed toward the running back and Arnold took the space outside.
UNLV needs that threat. Arnold’s 110 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns were central to beating Cal, alongside his 177 passing yards and three scores. The problem comes when his ability to create a gain becomes the offense’s answer to too many different situations, including those in which another runner has already put it in position to score.
Against Memphis, Arnold completed 17 of 21 passes before halftime. PFF’s full-game report has him completing nine of 13 intermediate throws for 145 yards and both deep attempts for 71 yards and a touchdown. UNLV had a quarterback distributing the ball successfully before the protection collapsed. The Rebels led 21-14 early in the third quarter and never scored again.
Hawai‘i required much less from the passing game because Thomas ran for 143 yards and Arnold scored twice on the ground. Arnold completed eight of 18 passes for 116 yards. His four completions on throws traveling zero to nine yards produced only 27 yards in PFF’s charting. The rushing attack gave UNLV a way to win while the shorter passing game supplied little.
PFF has Arnold completing 12 of 13 attempts from zero to nine yards for 91 yards, but only one of four deep attempts. UNLV scored six points, lost four turnovers and damaged another scoring opportunity with intentional grounding. Three of the turnovers were fumbles; the interception belonged to Alex Orji.
Akron gave the offense room to create larger gains. Arnold escaped a would-be sack on the 59-yard touchdown pass to Taz Reddicks, drawing defenders forward before finding Reddicks behind them. Thomas’ 40-yard touchdown came after UNLV aligned most of its receivers toward the short side and released the back uncovered up the opposite sideline.
PFF charts four deep completions for 180 yards and two touchdowns against Akron, but only three completions on 11 intermediate attempts for 37 yards. Arnold finished with 290 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Cal brought another three passing touchdowns and two of Arnold’s four PFF big-time throws this season. McGee also supplied something UNLV has needed from more of its receivers: he broke a tackle on his 70-yard touchdown and ran away from the remaining defense.
The shorter throws remained uneven. PFF has Arnold completing two of seven attempts from zero to nine yards for 13 yards. In the second quarter, UNLV used motion from a split-back formation before Arnold rolled out and threw incomplete to Tavian McNair. McNair had room to turn upfield for a first down. The play created an opportunity, Arnold missed it and the Rebels settled for a field goal.
NDSU limited the long gains and forced UNLV to find another way through the passing game. Mullen said the Bison played softer zones to reduce the downfield opportunities the Rebels had converted against Cal. Arnold completed his lone deep attempt for 28 yards, but PFF charts only one completion on five intermediate attempts for 12 yards and an interception.
The Bison pressured him on 16 of 24 dropbacks. He scrambled six times and took two sacks. UNLV finished with eight completions for 77 yards and no offensive touchdown.
Arnold has eight touchdown passes against one interception through six games, but the passing game has depended heavily on long gains.
PFF credits him with four big-time throws, a designation for particularly difficult, well-placed passes, rather than every long completion. It also records five turnover-worthy plays, all under pressure and three against North Texas. That category includes avoidable fumbles as well as dangerous passes. Its separate rushing report lists five fumbles, which should not be read as five lost possessions.
His season passing grade falls from 85.1 in a clean pocket to 45.5 under pressure. The protection has failed him on some of those snaps. On others, he has needed to deliver an available throw before the rush arrives.
Across the season, PFF has Arnold completing 11 of 17 passes traveling at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage for 464 yards and five touchdowns. He is 23-for-45 from 10 to 19 yards and 38-for-55 from zero to nine yards.
The receivers have contributed heavily to that problem. Taeshaun Lyons, McNair, Vincent Carner and Troy Stellato have combined for 21 catches, 252 yards and only 32 yards after the catch in PFF’s season report. All four have primarily lined up outside on passing snaps. Their individual production ranges from 0.57 to 0.98 yards per route run, including routes on which they were not targeted.
Only 32 of those 252 yards came after the catch, leaving Arnold and the protection to sustain drives through more completions.
McGee has averaged 6.4 yards after the catch per reception. Reddicks averages 18.7 yards per catch, although PFF credits him with only 2.7 yards after the catch per reception and no forced missed tackles. Both have predominantly worked from the slot. Their production has not resolved the shortage outside.
After NDSU, Mullen said he saw opportunities against one-on-one coverage and wanted the receivers to win outside convincingly enough for Arnold to trust the throw.
PFF records 10 drops by its pass catchers through six games. Against NDSU, Arnold made one catch difficult with a low throw, while Lyons later dropped a pass that hit him in the chest. McGee’s absence against Akron and DeAngelo Irvin Jr.’s absence against NDSU limited the available targets..
Their blocking matters just as much when the offense tries to get the ball out quickly. After North Texas, Mullen criticized perimeter blocks that had kept potential long gains to short plays. Through six games, PFF charts 11 screen attempts for seven completions and nine yards.
The screens have given UNLV little relief from the rush. Against Memphis, a second-down completion to Thomas lost three yards and created third-and-11.
Dennis also has to get Arnold comfortable throwing into the windows the staff creates. After North Texas, Mullen described reviewing film and finding an opening the coaches wanted Arnold to use. They then had to understand why he had not thrown into it.
“I might like a play, but if he’s not comfortable running it, it really doesn’t matter what I like,” Mullen said.
Three games later, Arnold is still leaving completions on the field. The missed rollout throw to McNair against Cal cost UNLV a chance to extend a drive, and the Bison held the passing game to 77 yards the following week.
Against NDSU, UNLV rushed for 178 yards and controlled enough field position to protect its lead. The defense held the Bison to seven points and scored a touchdown itself. The offense’s two field goals kept NDSU one touchdown from winning throughout the second half.
“We didn’t play great offense,” Mullen said Monday.
UNLV did not need Arnold to account for five touchdowns again to put that game away. It needed to turn a possession at the NDSU 18 into seven points. Thomas covered the first 14 yards on two carries. The offense never covered the last four.
See something that needs correcting? Report a correction.