Heartbreak In Sin City For Winless UNLV: Utah State Comes Back To Defeat Rebels, 28-24, In Final Minute Despite Chuck Wagon’s Career Night At Allegiant Stadium Saturday
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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The UNLV football team hitched a ride on the Chuck Wagon against Utah State at Allegiant Stadium Saturday, but even super-senior running back Charles Williams’s headline-grabbing efforts could not deliver the Rebels’ first win of the season after five losses.
It was a career night for Williams, who ran for 221 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.
But it was Utah State who scored the winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and left Allegiant Stadium with a 28-24 win over the heartbroken Rebels.
“It stings,” Williams said of the last-minute loss.
UNLV dropped to 0-6. Utah State is 4-2.
UNLV’s last win? Nov. 30, 2019. Tony Sanchez, not Marcus Arroyo, was the coach then and UNLV defeated Nevada, Reno, 33-30.
UNLV said attendance was 21,322. An usher told LVSportsBiz.com that staffers were told 15,000 were expected at the stadium.
The team’s new celebration slot machine behind the bench, used after touchdowns and turnovers, was a hit, drawing lots of attention on social media.
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The Rebels led, 17-7, in the first half and, 24-21, with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.
But the Rebels could not crank out any first downs to chew up clock in the final quarter.
Utah State came away with the four-point, comeback win.
The Aggies outgained UNLV, 440 total yards to 330. UNLV’s 330 included a 75-yard run by Williams in the first quarter, which followed Utah State’s first quarter touchdown with a 100-yard kickoff return by speedy Savon Scarver.
Fans left the big domed stadium to “Don’t Stop Believing.”
On Thursday, UNLV plays San Jose State at Allegiant Stadium at 8PM.
Williams’ 200-yard-plus night pushed him past former Reb Lexington “Lightning” Thomas into second place on the UNLV career rushing list with 3,565 yards.
Arroyo lost his six games in his first season in 2020 during the pandemic. He has now lost his first six games of the season in 2021. He’s 0-12 overall.
“It doesn’t amount to one call or one play, we’ve got to do a better job collectively to put ourselves in position to close that one out,” Arroyo said. “We had the lead the entire game and did a lot of good stuff, but we’ve got to get healthy again and we’ve got another one Thursday night. Quick turnaround, but we’ve got to go forward.”
