Memphis Edges UNLV 27-21 on Two Late Field Goals
Tied three times, and Memphis got the last word. Two Philippe Laforge field goals, 32 yards with 43 seconds left in the third and 36 yards with 12:11 left in the fourth, turned 21-21 into a 27-21 win.
UNLV scored first. Jackson Arnold hit Tavian McNair from 38 yards in the second quarter, and after Marcus Stokes tied it with a 16-yard pass to Hunter Tipton, Arnold ran in a 6-yarder to make it 14-7. Memphis tied it again on a 48-yard Stokes pass early in the third. Arnold then found Kayden McGee from 22 yards to go back up 21-14, and Jaylin Carter's 36-yard run tied it at 21-21 with 8:38 left in the third. Laforge's two kicks did the rest, and nobody scored over the final 12 minutes.
UNLV actually outgained Memphis, 460 yards to 418, and did not turn the ball over. Memphis lost a fumble, but its defense sacked UNLV six times to one for the other side, and that is the difference that does not show up in yardage. Memphis threw for 223 and ran for 195, and UNLV threw for 291 and ran for 169. Carter ran 15 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, and Jai'Den Thomas had six catches out of the UNLV backfield for 54 yards. Hunter Tipton's touchdown was one of three Memphis catches he made for 31 yards.
Memphis is 1-0 and UNLV 0-1. Arnold still led everyone with 35 fantasy points on 291 passing yards, 54 on the ground and three touchdowns. Stokes had 25.4, and Carter made 15.7 on 97 rushing yards.