UNLV escaped with a 31-24 victory over winless Northern Illinois on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, improving to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in Mountain West play. The Rebels entered the Halloween matchup as 24½-point favorites but got all they could handle from the Huskies, who fell to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
Quarterback Jackson Arnold threw three touchdown passes and ran for 68 yards on 11 carries. He was 12 of 16 for 223 yards with one interception at halftime, when UNLV led 24-17. The game opened with a 75-yard scoring strike from Arnold to Kayden McGee, but Northern Illinois answered and held leads of 14-10 and 17-10 before UNLV scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to close the half.
The Huskies did most of their damage on the ground, rushing for 124 yards before intermission. UNLV's running game struggled early; Jai'Den "Jet" Thomas managed just 9 yards on six carries in the first half but broke a 60-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the second half.
The win keeps UNLV in contention for the Mountain West title game, which the Rebels can clinch by winning their remaining conference games.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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