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It was a fast start but a slow finish as the UNLV Rebels fell short of a road upset at Fresno State, losing to the Bulldogs, 38-30 Friday, Sept. 24.
The team is now 0-4 this season and 0-10 in two seasons under head coach Marcus Arroyo.
UNLV football has not won a game in 663 days.
The record for most consecutive days without a win is 683 days from October 1997 to September 1999.
Another road test, this time at University of Texas - San Antonio, looms for the Rebels Saturday, Oct. 2.
Coming into this game, UNLV had been outscored 85-13 in its last two games.
In addition, Fresno State averaged 48.0 points per game in its last three against its Mountain West foe and entered the game as 30-point favorites.
The Bulldogs didn’t get its first lead of the game until 3:47 left in the third quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Haener.
He connected for another long touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 29-21.
The Rebels would not go away easily as the team would cut the lead to as little as five after scoring nine points in the fourth quarter with a failed two-point conversion.
However, after a 30-yard field goal from kicker Daniel Gutierrez, it only took Fresno State a minute and 37 seconds to add six more points to the lead.
UNLV’s gusto may have faltered due to the exit of starting quarterback Doug Brumfield in the third quarter.
Brumfield made his return to the field after missing last week’s game vs. Iowa State.
It was a fast start for him as he bursted through a hole for a 37-yard run on his first play from scrimmage.
Five minutes into the game, he completed his first career collegiate touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Jenkins, giving the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
That came after two dropped passes in the end zone by tight end Giovanni Fauolo Sr.
With 3:20 to go in the second quarter, freshman Cameron Friel entered the game at quarterback as Brumfield was being examined on the sideline.
He would return in the second half and toss an 80-yard screen pass to wide receiver Tyleek Collins to give UNLV a 21-9 lead.
He would leave the game for good shortly after that, leaving with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 6-of-13 passing.
Friel had some marginal success before some unfortunate drives late in the game.
On a second and 11, Friel was sacked and stripped for a fumble.
One drive later, he threw incomplete passes on both third and fourth downs from 14 yards out.
Friel ended the game with 138 yards on 9-of-15 passing.
Senior running back Charles Williams made his last collegiate outing in his hometown of Fresno, despite receiving no offers from the Bulldogs out of high school.
Now he ranks as the No. 1 active rusher in all of FBS.
Williams stretched an early 7-0 lead to 14-0 after scoring a touchdown from a yard out before the end of the first quarter.
He had another burst in the second quarter which resulted in back-to-back rushing gains of 15 and 28 yards with another 28-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
Williams also played a major role in the passing game with a 50-yard reception on a screen pass in the third quarter.
By the end of the night, he had tallied 199 all-purpose yards on 22 touches.
Coming into the game, Williams averaged 111.3 yards per game on 21.5 carries against his hometown school.
However, the loss knocks him to 2-4 all-time against the Bulldogs with a 1-4 record in games he’s eligible to play.