UNLV left lamenting disastrous end to 1st half after season-opening loss

UNLV's season‑opening 27‑21 loss to Memphis at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night left the Rebels lamenting a disastrous finish to the first half. Dan Mullen’s team rued the final two minutes of the opening period after Ramon Villela’s 32‑yard field‑goal attempt sailed wide, a kick that would have put UNLV ahead 17‑7. Instead, the Rebels headed to the locker room leading by a touchdown. “The missed accidental close earlier fractional wherever we didn’t capitalize connected the 1 turnover successful the game,” Mullen said. “That was a accidental to make a large momentum sway, and I deliberation it was the lone accidental of the crippled wherever determination was that accidental to make a swing. We evidently travel distant with zero points. That was a unsmooth one.” The miscue came after a promising stretch. Jackson Arnold gave UNLV a 14‑7 edge with 1:58 left in the second quarter, and Denver Harris forced and recovered a fumble by Memphis receiver Tychaun Harris on the Tigers’ first play of the ensuing drive, presenting a chance to seize momentum before the break. Arnold then connected with Taz Reddicks for 33 yards on the next snap, but was stopped for no gain at the 15‑yard line on the following play. UNLV called an immediate timeout with 1:06 remaining. After an incompletion, Arnold found Taeshaun Lyons for nine yards, prompting another puzzling timeout with 50 seconds on the clock at the six‑yard line— a situation where draining the clock might have aided the Rebels. The timeout allowed short‑yardage back Alex Orji to enter the game; he picked up two yards for a first down. However, Orji lined up for what would have been his second touchdown, and a false‑start penalty moved the ball from the four to the nine, a costly setback. Arnold later handed off to Jai’Den Thomas for two yards, then attempted a pass to Keyan Burnett that was blown up in the backfield for an eight‑yard loss. After Arnold spiked the ball to stop the clock, Villela’s 32‑yard field‑goal try missed wide. The mistake permitted Memphis to retreat to the locker room for halftime despite trailing by a touchdown. “I thought that was a large momentum swing,” Memphis coach Charles Huff remarked. “But it wasn’t adjacent conscionable the momentum. It was a reminder that it’s going to beryllium a 60-minute game.” Memphis opened the second half with a score to tie the contest. Those seven points could have altered the outcome; even three would have been significant for UNLV. Instead, the Rebels opted to go for it on fourth‑and‑seven from the Memphis 16‑yard line with 6:16 left while down six. The conversion attempt failed. Mullen acknowledged he might have chosen differently had the deficit been only three points. “We had already missed a tract extremity earlier successful the game,” he said. “I don’t cognize that I wanted it to past travel down to (another) tract extremity to necktie erstwhile we had an accidental close determination to people (a touchdown) and instrumentality the lead.” Those two fruitless trips to the end zone proved decisive. “Red portion scoring is simply a large happening for us,” Arnold stated. “If we spell successful determination and people successful the reddish zone, it’s a wholly antithetic crippled and we each person smiles connected our faces.”