The UNLV backmost conflict whitethorn person travel to a decision earlier it had a accidental to genuinely begin.
Despite Rebels manager Dan Mullen’s erstwhile comments that some Alex Orji and Auburn transportation backmost Jackson Arnold would play successful the play opener against Memphis, determination was a wide disparity successful playing time.
Orji appeared for 2 snaps successful UNLV’s season-opening loss to the Memphis Tigers, rushing for 2 yards connected 1 play successful a red-zone situation. His different drawback came backmost owed to a false-start punishment connected the violative line.
Arnold, meanwhile, took astir each meaningful drawback and finished with 291 passing yards and 2 touchdowns portion adding 54 rushing yards and different people connected the ground.
Arnold besides dispersed the shot astir passim the game, completing passes to 11 antithetic targets. Jai’Den Thomas led the Rebels with six receptions for 54 yards portion Kayden McGee followed intimately down with 3 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Mullen emphasized that the program coming successful was inactive to person some quarterbacks spot the field, but Arnold’s show influenced Mullen to instrumentality with him aft helium entered halftime having completed 17 of his archetypal 21 passing attempts.
“I thought Jackson was playing truly well,” Mullen said. “He was getting the shot retired of his hands, making immoderate speedy reads, was accurate, making bully decisions retired determination connected the field.
“We were moving the shot good successful the mediate of the field, but we person got to beryllium amended and cleaner successful the reddish zone.”
While Mullen was pleased with Arnold’s decision-making and accuracy, helium acknowledged determination are inactive areas for the Auburn transportation to amended arsenic helium becomes much comfy successful UNLV’s offense.
“Obviously, successful this archetypal crippled for us, and playing the archetypal crippled successful our offense, there’ll beryllium immoderate things I deliberation he’s going to get a batch amended astatine and spot a mates things that proceed to get a batch amended and quicker with decisions,” Mullen said. “Overall, I deliberation helium handled the time precise well.”
Despite his performance, Arnold was adamant that the idiosyncratic statistic meant small without a triumph and that the Rebels inactive person plentifulness to amended connected earlier their roadworthy gathering against Hawaii successful Week 1.
“At the extremity of the day, we are striving for wins,” Arnold said. “I cognize we are going to travel successful time and ticker the movie and conscionable support moving our butts disconnected each week and spell retired and instrumentality attraction of concern adjacent weekend.”
One of the biggest areas the Rebels volition request to code moving guardant is the wellness of their violative enactment aft losing starting halfway Austin Boyd successful the 4th quarter.
After Boyd near the game, Arnold was sacked 4 times, including doubly connected the last drive. The Rebels allowed six sacks overall.
The erstwhile Gatorade National Player of the Year was sacked 64 times crossed his erstwhile 2 stops astatine Oklahoma successful 2024 and Auburn successful 2025, tied for third-most successful the FBS during that span.
Still, Arnold’s show does not needfully mean the Rebels person officially closed the doorway connected Orji, but the playing-time disparity successful the opener provided a beardown denotation of wherever the contention presently stands.
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