LAS VEGAS—Ever since the bye week, the UNLV Rebels were hoping to figure out just what they had with Jackson Arnold.
Despite some early struggles to start the season, the high-profile Auburn transfer seemed to come into his own after an impressive return to play against the Akron Zips. However, the next step would be sustaining that level of play, especially with a Power Four opponent in the California Golden Bears coming up. If Arnold wanted to cement himself as the quarterback UNLV can rely on, he was going to need another massive effort.
Thanks to his gutsy effort, Arnold proved to be the catalyst of an inspired 39-31 victory over California on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium, giving UNLV some much-needed momentum after a stop-and-start September.
“When you watch what Jackson’s done early on, he did a really good job picking the system up and was very efficient in our first couple games,” said UNLV head coach Dan Mullen about the development of his quarterback. “Now, you’re seeing the comfort of when are they going to give you a shot.”
While Arnold was scattershot with his arm with only 10 completions on 21 attempts, he was effective when he had to be with 158 passing yards and three touchdowns. The quarterback would also be a weapon with his legs, leading the Rebels with 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
The latter becomes especially more impactful with primary running back Jai’Den Thomas struggling to get anything going, producing 46 yards on 16 carries.
“I think Jackson did an amazing job of understanding, when it’s man-to-man coverage, who’s got the quarterback man to man,” said Mullen about Arnold’s willingness to get involved in the run game. “Even if one guy does, if he makes that guy miss, everybody else’s back is turned to you and you get an explosive play running.”
However, the game was not without its ebbs and flows for the Rebels.
Heading into the second half with a 24-7 lead and with key California players like quarterback Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele and safety Kingston Lopa out of commission, UNLV was feeling confident about their chances.
Instead, the Golden Bears rallied around backup quarterback and Colorado State transfer Jackson Brousseau, who threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns to push California back into the lead during the fourth quarter.
Losing that lead, however, would only fuel Arnold to get his team back into the driver’s seat.
While UNLV was aided by a targeting penalty by California cornerback Daniel Harris, as well as a pass interference and roughing the passer call, Arnold would put together an efficient pair of final drives for the Rebels to get them back in the lead, then keep them there for good.
“When things go down like today in the game, we end up losing a lead after being up 24-7, you just got to move on to the next play,” said Arnold about his mindset after his team fell behind in the fourth quarter.
Despite the challenging stretch to begin the second half, the Rebels did manage to make big plays defensively at key moments.
Quandarius Keyes recorded an interception that stopped an early California drive, while Andre Porter recorded two pass breakups against Keawe-Sagapolutele before sacking Brousseau during the final drive. Mumu Bin-Wahad recorded another sack, and seven different Rebels put up at least one tackle for a loss of yards.
“It’s a blessing and I don’t take it lightly,” said Bin-Wahad about being trusted to make big plays at key moments. “Coach Mullen and [defensive coordinator Paul] Guenther gave me the ability to take charge of the defense. I don’t take it lightly.”
The Rebels were also responsible for three turnovers on downs to start each half and once they got the lead back in the fourth quarter, ending California drives at key times.
“Any time you get it, you’re stealing possessions,” said Mullen on the importance of those fourth down stops.
“You stop them on fourth down, that’s buying a possession. They stole some, we stole some, and those fourth down stops were huge.”
It was a major victory for the Rebels at a point in the season where they need to keep the momentum going, especially with an undefeated North Dakota State Bison team hoping to continue their rampage through Allegiant Stadium next Saturday.