To start the game, the Rebels receive on kickoff but fumble at the 14-yard line giving the Falcons a short field to score. Air Force’s running back (RB) Brad Roberts ran all 14 yards on three plays finishing in the endzone to put Air Force on the board 7-0.
UNLV went three-and-out on their opening drive, however, on the punt return, the Falcons got a penalty for having two players wearing the same number, which gave the Rebels the first down.
On third-and-8, UNLV’s quarterback (QB) Justin Rogers was sacked by the Falcon’s Jordan Jack for a loss of 16 yards, forcing Rogers to fumble, giving the Falcons the ball near the 46-yard line.
A half field drive on nine plays by the Falcons ended with Roberts scoring his second rushing touchdown of the game putting Air Force up two scores at the end of the first quarter.
To open up the second quarter, UNLV made a drive to set them up into field goal range. On the field goal attempt, the snap was too high, leading placeholder Evan Silva to run the ball but was quickly brought down by the Falcons, leading to a turnover on downs.
UNLV’s defense held Air Force to a field goal on the next drive, Falcons led 17-0 midway through the second after kicking a 37-yard field goal. On the Rebels' next drive, they were only able to gain a net total of 5 yards before Rogers was sacked for the second time, this time by Air Force’s Bo Richter for a loss of 7 yards.
To end the half, UNLV goes three-and-out, the Falcon’s offense comes in with less than a minute but finds the endzone on their first play out. Falcon’s Brandon Lewis finds open field running 41-yards to the house to put Air Force up 24-0 at the half.
Air Force entered the half without putting up any passing yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry compared to the Rebels 2.6 yards per carry.
To open the second half, Air Force went on a four-minute drive ending in the endzone once again, this time Falcon’s Zachary Larrier ends the drive, running it 12 yards to put Air Force up 31-0. UNLV goes three-and-out once again on the next drive.
On the Falcons' next possession, they add their fifth rushing touchdown of the day to the board, RB Emmanuel Michel runs it into the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown making the score 38-0 Falcons. UNLV answers right back as Rogers finds receiver Zyell Griffin for a 55-yard catch which set up RB Charles Williams for a 1-yard touchdown run, putting UNLV on the board 7-38.
The Falcons attempted to answer back with another touchdown on the next drive but were stopped by UNLV’s defense at the 38-yard line, forcing them to kick a field goal which put them up 41-7 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Falcons rushed for their sixth touchdown of the game, this time Jenson Jones ran it 12-yards putting Air Force up 48-7. UNLV answered right back on the next drive as Williams ran all 75 yards of the drive to score his second touchdown of the game, making the final score 14-48.
Williams finished his last UNLV game with 137 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. This game marked Williams’ fifteenth 100-yard rushing game at UNLV which puts him fourth all-time.
Williams also sits fourth in all-time career rushing touchdowns at UNLV with 34. Williams is still at the top of UNLV’s all-time career rushing leaders, he ends with a total of 4,201 rushing yards at UNLV.
As a team, the Rebels finished the season 2-10 and sixth in the Mountain West-West division. Despite a tough season of facing a record-setting five ranked teams, three of them back-to-back at the beginning of the season, the Rebels saw many highs throughout the season.
In week nine, UNLV upset New Mexico for their first win since 2019, and in week 10 the Rebels took the Golden Pineapple Trophy in the Ninth Island Showdown against Hawai’i to get their first win at Allegiant Stadium.
The focus for next season begins now, as new recruits begin committing to play for UNLV, three have signed just this past week as more are expected in the coming weeks.
UNLV Football is set to open up the 2022 season on Sept. 3 at Allegiant Stadium against the Idaho State Bengals. UNLV will play three back-to-back non-conference games spanning from Sept. 3 and ending Sept. 17.
On Oct. 22 the Rebels will travel to Indiana to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, mixed into the schedule will, of course, be conference games, but the dates have yet to be announced.
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