Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 OCT. 22, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA T here aren't many schools a pro- gram with as much prestige as Notre Dame will line up against that don't have much of a history when it comes to college football, but UNLV is certainly among the few. For starters, the Rebels weren't an FBS member until 1978. And it was only a decade before that when the univer- sity fielded a football team at any level for the first time. UNLV competed as a Col- lege Division Independent program from 1968-72 and a Division II Independent from 1973-77. The Rebels were an FBS In- dependent, like Notre Dame, from 1978- 81. They played in the Pacific Coast/Big West conference from 1982-95 and the Western Athletic Conference from 1996- 98 before finding a long-term home in the Mountain West in 1999. What have they done since then? Not much. UNLV has played in two bowl games since joining the Mountain West. They haven't appeared in the postseason since losing the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2013. Some of the program's worst foot- ball has been played since then. It's been played very recently, in fact. Current head coach Marcus Ar- royo took over a team that went 4-8 in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In the COVID-altered 2020 season, Arroyo, a San Jose graduate and a longtime as- sistant with stops including California (2011-12), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014), Oklahoma State (2015-16) and Oregon (2017-19), went 0-6. Last year, UNLV went 2-10. The 2021 Rebels were a train wreck. They ranked 112th out of 130 FBS teams in points per game (20.8) and 107th in points allowed per game (32.8). The combined record of the two teams they beat, New Mexico and Hawaii, was 9-16. Per ESPN, UNLV welcomed back 80 percent of its production from the 2021 season. That's generally a good thing; to have experience on the roster. But what does it matter if the production came from a bunch of players who, quite frankly, had a tough time producing the prior season? Fair question. But UNLV had other ideas than turning a streak of eight straight losing seasons into nine. The Rebels started the 2022 season 4-1 be- fore suffering a blowout loss (40-7) at San Jose State on the road. Still, the four wins in the first five games matched the program's highest win total in the last five seasons. With winnable home games against Fresno State and Nevada in two of the last three weeks, UNLV could be aimed at the pro- gram's fifth-ever bowl appearance. So, throw all those losing seasons and the perceptions of UNLV as a bot- tom feeder out the window, for now. At the current moment, this is a team that picked a good time to trend upward considering the Rebels are set to play on the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame Stadium for the first time ever. "Halfway through the season, we've done a lot of good things we're excited about," Arroyo said. "Some real strong indicators of a real program rise and in a real way, too. "That's solidified in the way we look at a lot of things empirically. We've glanced back at the growth of our product and seen our guys improve in all three phases. We can really ball on offense, defense and special teams in the big picture." 'STILL THE HUNTERS' On offense, it starts with junior quar- terback Doug Brumfield. He came into the season with 60 ca- reer pass attempts. Through Week 6, he had completed 106 of 155 passes (68.4 percent) for 1,231 yards with 8 touch- downs and 2 interceptions. He averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. Sound familiar? Through his first three starts plus a couple series against Marshall, Notre Dame junior Drew Pyne had 9 touch- down passes and 2 interceptions on 7.9 yards per attempt. Followers of Notre Dame know it was a struggle to go downfield aerially in the early going of 2022. Brumfield hasn't turned many heads with his deep ball either. But like Pyne, he can play within GAME PREVIEW: UNLV RISING REBELS UNLV is not the same team that went 2-16 in the last two seasons Sophomore quarterback Doug Brumfield has been efficient for the Rebels in 2022, but he got banged up with head and ankle injuries against San Jose State Oct. 8. PHOTO COURTESY UNLV Facts & Figures UNLV AT NOTRE DAME Date: Oct. 22, 2022 Site: Notre Dame Stadium Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET Television/Streaming: Peacock Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: This is the first meeting between UNLV and Notre Dame. Head coaches: UNLV — Marcus Arroyo (6-19, third season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (3-4 first season). Noting UNLV: The Rebels play their home games at the Las Vegas' Raiders Allegiant Stadium, the same venue at which Notre Dame beat then-No. 16 BYU 28-20 in the Shamrock Series Oct. 8 … UNLV's 16 sacks through Week 6 ranked second in the Mountain West and tied for 20th nationally … Those 16 sacks came from 10 different players with at least 1 each … UNLV's 11 interceptions through six games are the most the Rebels have any in any season since recording 13 in 2015 … UNLV was plus-6 in the turnover margin department against Utah State; Notre Dame was not positive in turnover differential in any of the first five games … UNLV's 48.15 percent opponent touchdown percentage in the red zone ranked 32nd nationally through Week 6 … UNLV's red zone touchdown percentage of 75 percent ranked 19th nationally through Week 6 … UNLV has Tennessee transfer quarterback Harrison Bailey on the roster; Bailey started three games for the Volunteers in 2020 … UNLV has not returned a punt for a touchdown in 21 years, the longest drought in the nation.