Fremont Cannon stays blue as Nevada dominates UNLV

Carson Strong led the way for the Wolf Pack offense in a smashing victory over their in-state rivals, the UNLV Rebels.

This was a very disappointing loss for the Rebels. They were hoping to return home with the Fremont Cannon after UNR captured it in their win at Allegiant Stadium last season.

With this loss, UNLV’s season record now drops to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play. Their overall losing streak has now been extended to 14 games. The longest losing streak in UNLV football history is 16 games, which happened in the 1997-98 seasons.

The UNR offense was led by Strong, who finished with 417 passing yards and four touchdowns to go along with his completion percentage of 75.5%. This was his second consecutive game with over 400 passing yards.

Melquan Stovall and Cole Turner were Strong’s top receivers of the day. Stovall finished with a team-high nine catches and 90 receiving yards. Turner finished the game with 63 receiving yards to go along with his two touchdowns on seven catches.

After being shut out in the first half, the UNLV offense was able to get things going in the second half. They finished with 20 points in the second half, including two touchdown passes by quarterback Cameron Friel.

Friel finished the game with 283 passing yards and the two touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw three interceptions on the day. Two of his interceptions were very critical because they were returned for touchdowns by the Wolf Pack defense.

Wide receiver Steve Jenkins finished the night with game-highs for both catches, with 12, and receiving yards, with 133. Jenkins and fellow wide receiver Kyle Williams had both of the receiving touchdowns for the Rebels’ offense.

Senior running back Charles Williams was able to salvage a less-than-stellar performance when he added a touchdown of his own early in the fourth quarter. Williams, who sits in second place on the all-time rushing yards list at UNLV, had just 30 rushing yards on 17 carries. Williams needs just 50 rushing yards to break Tim Cornett’s UNLV record of 3,733 rushing yards.

Williams will have a chance to break the record in UNLV’s next game when they travel to New Mexico to take on the Lobos. University of New Mexico is giving up an average of 148.8 rushing yards per game to their opponents. With UNLV’s average of 104.8 rushing yards per game, Williams should have a good chance at breaking the record.

UNLV’s game against New Mexico will be on Saturday, Nov. 6, in Albuquerque. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Rebels’ next game will be on Saturday, Nov. 6, when they host the Spartans of San Jose State. The Spartans are coming into the game having won three of their last five games, including two consecutive wins. Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Contact Sports Editor Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com