UNLV Runs past Hawaii, Which Settles for Two Field Goals
Take away one 50-yard run and this is a 14-6 game. Jai'Den Thomas ripped that run with 4:51 left in the fourth quarter, and it turned UNLV's 14-6 lead into the 21-6 final over Hawaii.
UNLV never trailed, and the score reads that way. Jackson Arnold ran in from 7 yards in the first quarter, Hawaii answered with a 39-yard Sean Olvera-Harle field goal in the second, and Arnold pushed it back to 14-3 with a 2-yard run just before halftime. Olvera-Harle hit from 33 yards late in the third to make it 14-6. That was as close as Hawaii got, and it never reached the end zone. Micah Alejado was 17 of 41 for 176 yards and the one interception, which is a lot of throws for six points. UNLV needed only three touchdowns to win, and it never gave Hawaii a way back in.
The rushing numbers carried the game: 250 yards on 42 carries for UNLV against 118 on 33 for Hawaii. UNLV threw for only 116 yards (Arnold was 8 of 18), and still finished with 366 total to Hawaii's 294. Hawaii threw an interception, and UNLV's defense had five sacks to Hawaii's one.
UNLV moves to 1-1 and Hawaii falls to 0-2. On the fantasy side, Arnold led everyone with 25.5 points, almost entirely from 16 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns, and Thomas was right behind at 21.1. The best Hawaii skill player was running back Devon Rice with 14.0, which says plenty about how the day went for the home side.