2019 UNLV Rebels football team

The 2019 UNLV Rebels football team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rebels were led by fifth year head coach Tony Sanchez and played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 4–8, 2–6 in Mountain West play to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the West division. On November 25, UNLV and Sanchez agreed that he would leave as head coach after the team's final game of the season.

2019 UNLV Rebels football
Conference	Mountain West Conference
Division	West Division
Record	4–8 (2–6 MW)
Head coach	Tony Sanchez (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Garin Justice (1st season as OC, 2nd overall season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Tim Skipper (2nd season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Sam Boyd Stadium

2019 Mountain West Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 23 Boise State xy$		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 22 Air Force		7	–	1					11	–	2
Utah State		6	–	2					7	–	6
Wyoming		4	–	4					8	–	5
Colorado State		3	–	5					4	–	8
New Mexico		0	–	8					2	–	10
West Division
Hawaii xy		5	–	3					10	–	5
San Diego State x		5	–	3					10	–	3
Nevada		4	–	4					7	–	6
San Jose State		2	–	6					5	–	7
UNLV		2	–	6					4	–	8
Fresno State		2	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Boise State 31, Hawaii 10
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

This was the final season UNLV played at Sam Boyd Stadium, with their November 23 match against San Jose State being the final game at the site. The Rebels Did move into the newly constructed Allegiant Stadium in 2020 where they will share the venue with the National Football League's Las Vegas Raiders.

Preseason

Media poll

The preseason poll was released at the Mountain West media days on July 23, 2019. The Rebels were predicted to finish in fifth place in the MW West Division.

West

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Fresno State	122 (17)
2	San Diego State	106 (3)
3	Nevada	74
4	Hawaii	67 (1)
5	UNLV	51
6	San Jose State	21

Mountain

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Boise State	120 (15)
2	Utah State	108 (6)
3	Air Force	73
4	Wyoming	66
5	Colorado State	52
6	New Mexico	22

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Southern Utah*	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	Stadium	W 56–23	17,421
September 7	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	Stadium on Facebook	L 17–43	18,742
September 14	12:30 p.m.	at Northwestern*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 14–30	37,714
September 28	5:00 p.m.	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	ESPNU	L 17–53	23,029
October 5	7:30 p.m.	No. 16 Boise State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	CBSSN	L 13–38	24,681
October 12	1:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN	W 34–10	20,048
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Fresno State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	CBSSN	L 27–56	26,256
October 26	7:30 p.m.	San Diego State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	CBSSN	L 17–20	19,652
November 2	12:30 p.m.	at Colorado State	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ATTSNRM	L 17–37	24,103
November 16	1:00 p.m.	Hawaii	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV (Island Showdown)	Stadium on Facebook/SPEC HI	L 7–21	21,317
November 23	1:00 p.m.	San Jose State	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	ATTSNRM	W 38–35	17,373
November 30	12:00 p.m.	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (Battle for the Fremont Cannon / Silver State Series)	ATTSNRM	W 33–30 OT	16,683
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

Southern Utah

Southern Utah at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total Thunderbirds 0 7 0 16 23 • Rebels 7 28 21 0 56 Date: August 31, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:06 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 26 minutes Game attendance: 17,421 Game weather: Temperature: 105 °F (41 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: 9 MPH Referee: Dwayne Johnson TV announcers (Stadium): Tony Cordasco and Joe Haro

Scoring summary 1 04:58 UNLV Charles Williams 22–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 7–0 1 14:13 UNLV Charles Williams 8–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 14–0 2 09:34 SUU Chris Helbig 2–yard run (Kekoa Sasaoka kick) UNLV 14–7 2 05:51 UNLV Armani Rogers 1–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 21–7 2 02:36 UNLV Mekhi Stevenson 18–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 28–7 2 00:40 UNLV Charles Williams 5–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 35–7 2 13:46 UNLV Armani Rogers 66–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 42–7 3 09:00 UNLV Courtney Reese 11–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 49–7 3 05:21 UNLV Darran Williams 4–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 56–7 4 06:08 SUU Zach Nelson 7–yard pass from Tyler Skidmore (Kekoa Sasaoka kick) UNLV 56–14 4 00:19 SUU Zach Nelson 5–yard pass from Tyler Skidmore (Kekoa Sasaoka kick) UNLV 56–21 4 00:17 SUU Team 1–yard safety UNLV 56–23

See also: 2019 Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team

Arkansas State

Arkansas State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • Red Wolves 10 13 10 10 43 Rebels 0 3 7 7 17 Date: September 7, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:06 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 5 minutes Game attendance: 18,742 Game weather: Temperature: 101 °F (38 °C) • Weather: Mostly Clear • Wind: SW 18 MPH Referee: Wayne Walker TV announcers (Stadium on Facebook): Noah Coslov, Ikechuku Ndukwe and Kristen Balboni (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 13:45 ASU Jeremy Smith 35–yard interception (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 7–0 1 04:40 ASU Blake Grupe 26–yard field goal ASU 10–0 2 13:42 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 27–yard field goal ASU 10–3 2 08:45 ASU Logan Bonner 1–yard run (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 17–3 2 02:49 ASU Ryan Graham 9–yard run (Blake Grupe kick blocked) ASU 23–3 3 12:30 ASU Kirk Merritt 37–yard pass from Logan Bonner (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 30–3 3 07:53 UNLV Charles Williams 3–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) ASU 30–10 3 05:53 ASU Blake Grupe 38–yard field goal ASU 33–10 4 12:58 ASU Omar Bayless 71–yard pass from Logan Bonner (Blake Grupe kick) ASU 40–10 4 03:33 ASU Blake Grupe 31–yard field goal ASU 43–10 4 01:53 UNLV Randal Grimes 56–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) ASU 43–17

See also: 2019 Arkansas State Red Wolves football team

At Northwestern

UNLV at Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 7 7 0 0 14 • Wildcats 10 6 7 7 30 Date: September 14, 2019 Location: Ryan Field Evanston, IL Game start: 12:46 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 2 minutes Game attendance: 37,714 Game weather: Temperature: 77 °F (25 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: SE 9 MPH Referee: Larry Smith TV announcers (BTN): Lisa Byington, James Laurinaitis and Elise Menaker (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 12:32 NU Hunter Johnson 1–yard run (Charlie Kuhbander kick) NU 7–0 1 11:14 UNLV Charles Williams 65–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) TIE 7–7 1 06:21 NU Charlie Kuhbander 33–yard field goal NU 10–7 2 10:56 UNLV Charles Williams 37–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 14–10 2 06:01 NU Charlie Kuhbander 30–yard field goal UNLV 14–13 2 01:19 NU Charlie Kuhbander 44–yard field goal NU 16–14 3 05:58 NU J. J. Jefferson 50–yard pass from Hunter Johnson (Charlie Kuhbander kick) NU 23–14 4 01:30 NU Drake Anderson 7–yard run (Charlie Kuhbander kick) NU 30–14

See also: 2019 Northwestern Wildcats football team

At Wyoming

UNLV at Wyoming

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 10 0 0 7 17 • Cowboys 7 26 0 20 53 Date: September 28, 2019 Location: War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY Game start: 6:02 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 22 minutes Game attendance: 23,029 Game weather: Temperature: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: SE 28 MPH Referee: Mike Cuttone TV announcers (ESPNU): Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia

Scoring summary 1 09:03 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 40–yard field goal UNLV 3–0 1 04:50 WYO Xazavian Valladay 7–yard run (Cooper Rothe kick) WYO 7–0 1 01:09 UNLV Giovanni Fauolo Sr. 54–yard pass from Armani Rogers (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 10–7 2 14:18 WYO Sean Chambers 17–yard run (Cooper Rothe kick failed) WYO 13–10 2 10:36 WYO Josh Harshman 56–yard pass from Sean Chambers (Cooper Rothe kick) WYO 20–10 2 03:53 WYO Cooper Rothe 41–yard field goal WYO 23–10 2 02:08 WYO Cooper Rothe 21–yard field goal WYO 26–10 2 01:04 WYO Jackson Marcotte 20–yard pass from Sean Chambers (Cooper Rothe kick) WYO 33–10 4 14:49 WYO Sean Chambers 5–yard run (Cooper Rothe kick) WYO 40–10 4 10:24 UNLV Kenyon Oblad 1–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) WYO 40–17 4 09:44 WYO Titus Swen 44–yard run (Cooper Rothe kick failed) WYO 46–17 4 09:26 WYO Xazavian Valladay 4–yard run (Cooper Rothe kick) WYO 53–17

See also: 2019 Wyoming Cowboys football team

Boise State

Boise State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 16 Broncos 7 10 7 14 38 Rebels 0 0 7 6 13 Date: October 5, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:35 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 29 minutes Game attendance: 24,681 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Clear Skies • Wind: NE 2 MPH Referee: Stephen Baron TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Dell (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:33 BSU Garrett Collingham 2–yard pass from Hank Bachmeier (Eric Sachse kick) BSU 7–0 2 13:38 BSU John Hightower 76–yard pass from Hank Bachmeier (Eric Sachse kick) BSU 14–0 2 00:00 BSU Joel Velazquez 52–yard field goal BSU 17–0 3 06:40 BSU Akilian Butler 23–yard run (Eric Sachse kick) BSU 24–0 3 02:33 UNLV Mekhi Stevenson 11–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) BSU 24–7 4 05:31 BSU Khalil Shakir 24–yard pass from Chase Cord (Eric Sachse kick) BSU 31–7 4 01:23 UNLV Darren Woods Jr. 12–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick failed) BSU 31–13 4 01:07 BSU Andrew Van Buren 6–yard run (Eric Sachse kick) BSU 38–13

See also: 2019 Boise State Broncos football team

At Vanderbilt

UNLV at Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total • Rebels 7 17 0 10 34 Commodores 7 3 0 0 10 Date: October 12, 2019 Location: Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN Game start: 3:01 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 7 minutes Game attendance: 20,048 Game weather: Temperature: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: NW 6 MPH Referee: David Alvarez TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal, D. J. Shockley and Dawn Davenport (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 12:10 VANDY Ke'Shawn Vaughn 4–yard run (Ryley Guay kick) VANDY 7–0 1 05:45 UNLV Charles Williams 5–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) TIE 7–7 2 14:52 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 44–yard field goal UNLV 10–7 2 12:05 UNLV Randal Grimes 63–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 17–7 2 09:28 VANDY Ryley Guay 48–yard field goal UNLV 17–10 2 03:39 UNLV Noah Bean 5–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 24–10 4 14:56 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 29–yard field goal UNLV 27–10 4 10:44 UNLV Chad Magyar 14–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 34–10

See also: 2019 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

At Fresno State

UNLV at Fresno State

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 3 14 3 7 27 • Bulldogs 7 21 7 21 56 Date: October 18, 2019 Location: Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA Game start: 7:09 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 25 minutes Game attendance: 26,256 Game weather: Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: NW 4 MPH Referee: Cooper Castleberry TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Dell (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:17 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 22–yard field goal UNLV 3–0 1 0:519 FS Ronnie Rivers 7–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 7–0 2 13:51 UNLV Randal Grimes 12–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 10–7 2 13:19 FS Josh Hokit 1–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 14–10 2 04:33 FS Ronnie Rivers 11–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 21–10 2 01:44 UNLV Noah Bean 60–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) FS 21–17 2 00:41 FS Jorge Reyna 3–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 28–17 3 09:03 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 22–yard field goal FS 28–20 3 03:49 FS Justin Rice 18–yard fumble recovery (Cesar Silva kick) FS 35–20 4 12:19 FS Jared Rice 12–yard pass from Jorge Reyna (Cesar Silva kick) FS 42–20 4 11:50 FS Josh Hokit 1–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 49–20 4 09:58 FS Josh Hokit 6–yard run (Cesar Silva kick) FS 56–20 4 05:16 UNLV Randal Grimes 12–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) FS 56–27

See also: 2019 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

San Diego State

San Diego State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total • Aztecs 14 3 3 0 20 Rebels 0 7 3 7 17 Date: October 26, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 7:32 p.m. PDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 15 minutes Game attendance: 19,652 Game weather: Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Weather: Clear Skies • Wind: SE 5 MPH Referee: Brad Van Vark TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor and Jenny Dell (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 07:23 SDSU Ethan Dedeaux 49–yard pass from Ryan Agnew (Matt Araiza kick) SDSU 7–0 1 00:52 SDSU Caden McDonald 0–yard blocked punt return (Matt Araiza kick) SDSU 14–0 2 03:01 SDSU Matt Araiza 25–yard field goal SDSU 17–0 2 01:26 UNLV Randal Grimes 58–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) SDSU 17–7 3 08:34 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 22–yard field goal SDSU 17–10 3 00:00 SDSU Matt Araiza 34–yard field goal SDSU 20–10 4 05:57 UNLV Giovanni Fauolo Sr. 2–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) SDSU 20–17

See also: 2019 San Diego State Aztecs football team

At Colorado State

UNLV at Colorado State

1 2 3 4 Total Rebels 0 0 3 14 17 • Rams 21 3 3 10 37 Date: November 2, 2019 Location: Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO Game start: 1:38 p.m. MDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 12 minutes Game attendance: 24,103 Game weather: Temperature: 44 °F (7 °C) • Weather: Clear and Sunny • Wind: E 5 MPH Referee: Michael VanderVelde TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner, Brad Thompson (sideline) and Taylor McGregor (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 14:46 CSU Anthony Hawkins 99–yard kickoff return (Maxwell Poduska kick) CSU 7–0 1 10:48 CSU Marcus McElroy 18–yard run (Maxwell Poduska kick) CSU 14–0 1 00:11 CSU Jaylen Thomas 11–yard run (Maxwell Poduska kick) CSU 21–0 2 07:58 CSU Cayden Camper 50–yard field goal CSU 24–0 3 09:39 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 37–yard field goal CSU 24–3 3 03:13 CSU Maxwell Poduska 23–yard field goal CSU 27–3 4 10:08 CSU Maxwell Poduska 24–yard field goal CSU 30–3 4 07:08 UNLV Randal Grimes 14–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutirrez kick) CSU 30–10 4 03:24 CSU Christian Hunter 5–yard run (Maxwell Poduska kick) CSU 37–10 4 01:39 UNLV Darren Woods Jr. 15–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) CSU 37–17

See also: 2019 Colorado State Rams football team

Hawaii

Hawaii at UNLV
(Island Showdown)

1 2 3 4 Total • Rainbow Warriors 0 7 7 7 21 Rebels 7 0 0 0 7 Date: November 16, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 1:07 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 58 minutes Game attendance: 21,317 Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Clear Skies • Wind: N 2 MPH Referee: Cal McNeill TV announcers (Stadium on Facebook/SPEC HI): Robert Kekaula and Rich Miano

Scoring summary 1 02:06 UNLV Darren Woods Jr. 31–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 7–0 2 00:22 UH Cole McDonald 1–yard run (Ryan Meskell kick) TIE 7–7 3 01:33 UH Cortez Davis 43–yard interception (Ryan Meskell kick) UH 14–7 4 11:31 UH Cole McDonald 2–yard run (Ryan Meskell kick) UH 21–7

See also: 2019 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

San Jose State

San Jose State at UNLV

1 2 3 4 Total Spartans 6 0 22 7 35 • Rebels 7 14 3 14 38 Date: November 23, 2019 Location: Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV Game start: 1:08 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 27 minutes Game attendance: 17,373 Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Weather: Fair Weather Clouds • Wind: N 9 MPH Referee: Mike Cuttone TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 10:02 UNLV Charles Williams 12–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 7–0 1 03:51 SJSU DeJon Packer 1–yard run (Matt Mercurio kick failed) UNLV 7–6 2 14:19 UNLV Shelton Zeon III 7–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 14–6 2 09:37 UNLV Randal Grimes 35–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 21–6 3 10:07 SJSU DeJon Packer 65–yard pass from Josh Love (Isaiah Holiness pass) UNLV 21–14 3 07:05 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 45–yard field goal UNLV 24–14 3 01:04 SJSU Jack Snyder 4–yard run (Matt Mercurio kick) UNLV 24–21 3 00:00 SJSU Brett Foley 26–yard pass from Josh Love (Matt Mercurio kick) SJSU 28–24 4 10:09 UNLV Charles Williams 4–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 31–28 4 06:17 SJSU Tre Walker 25–yard pass from Josh Love (Matt Mercurio kick) SJSU 35–31 4 01:15 UNLV Charles Williams 1–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 38–35

See also: 2019 San Jose State Spartans football team

At Nevada

UNLV at Nevada
(Battle for the Fremont Cannon / Silver State Series)

1 2 3 4 OT Total • Rebels 17 7 0 3 6 33 Wolf Pack 0 13 0 14 3 30 Date: November 30, 2019 Location: Mackay Stadium Reno, NV Game start: 12:08 p.m. PST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 19 minutes Game attendance: 16,683 Game weather: Temperature: 29 °F (−2 °C) • Weather: Cool Overcast • Wind: ESE 4 MPH Referee: Kevin Hassell TV announcers (ATTSNRM): Drew Goodman, Sherdrick Bonner and Brad Thompson (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 10:19 UNLV Daniel Gutierrez 40–yard field goal UNLV 3–0 1 04:43 UNLV Charles Williams 80–yard run (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 10–0 1 01:38 UNLV Mekhi Stevenson 32–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 17–0 2 13:09 NEV Devonte Lee 2–yard run (Spencer Pettit kick) UNLV 17–7 2 08:02 NEV Brandon Talton 27–yard field goal UNLV 17–10 2 03:10 NEV Brandon Talton 31–yard field goal UNLV 17–13 2 02:58 UNLV Steve Jenkins 75–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad (Daniel Gutierrez kick) UNLV 24–13 4 09:08 NEV Daniel Gutierrez 50–yard field goal UNLV 27–13 4 06:47 NEV Dominic Christian 24–yard pass from Carson Strong (Brandon Talton kick) UNLV 27–20 4 01:32 NEV Devonte Lee 1–yard run (Brandon Talton kick) TIE 27–27 OT 15:00 NEV Brandon Talton 42–yard field goal NEV 30–27 OT 15:00 UNLV Steve Jenkins 19–yard pass from Kenyon Oblad UNLV 33–30

See also: 2019 Nevada Wolf Pack football team