UNLV looks to take their first victory by beating New Mexico
UNLV fans it’s time to get your hopes up. Your Rebels Football team, (0-8) overall, (0-4) in the Mountain West Conference will try to win it’s first game of the season when they take on the New Mexico Lobos, (3-5) overall, (1-3) in the Mountain West Conference. On Saturday, November 6 the two teams play at the Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 7 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Rebels Season/and reactions
So far it’s been a dreary season as the Rebels have lost so many close games. While the losing has been frustrating, it has not stopped the Rebels from looking for win number one since the season finale in 2019.
“Guys are bought in. Locked in,” senior linebacker Austin Ajiake told The Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s tough losing these games, but people come the next day ready to work with a good attitude. It’s always a good atmosphere. It’s easy to be down on each other right now, but there’s none of that, which is great.”
The team is moving on from last Friday’s blow-out of 51-20 which they suffered from rival UNR and are looking to end their 14-game losing streak.
Head Coach Marcus Arroyo said that the team may have been too excited before playing against an in-state rivalry game. He also said that the excitement before the game translated to poor play and execution on the field.
“The psychology of that, that many of all alluded to in the rivalry and all that stuff that builds it up, there’s a delicate balance there and there’s an inherent danger to putting all your emotional and psychological power into that and not focused in on what to get done to get the win,” he said to the Review-Journal.
“When you start getting emotionally and psychologically overpowered, you lose sight of all the little fundamental intricacies that put you in position to win those games,” he added, according to the source. “That’s the balance we’re learning there.”
Arroyo believes that they have calmed down and have forgotten about the emotions of the rivalry game and are ready to do it on the field against the Lobos.
“I’m really hoping we can get that win. But it doesn’t happen by accident,” Arroyo added. “They dialed into that … these guys want to get better.”
Keys to the Game
UNLV has been so, so, so close to finally coming up with that critical first win. Here are some of the reasons why either UNLV or New Mexico could win the game.
Why UNLV Could Win
- The Rebels are going to hang in there with a close game with the Lobos.
- The Rebels are playing well enough with a decent passing game and they’ve got a dynamite running-back in Charles Williams.
- New Mexico comes into the game with the worst team in the country on converting 3rd downs. Its offense is constantly on and off the field and it can’t sustain drives.
Why New Mexico Should win
- The defense has been strangely stout.
- The offense can’t seem to move the ball, but the defense has been okay at stopping the run and also have not given up the big plays to the other team’s passing game.
- The Lobos are a fast-paced, no-huddle-offense, in which they have scored a lot of points to keep games close.
- If the Lobos keep the game in the teens—late in the game—then they can get back on defense and try to force a late UNLV blunder.
So UNLV fans, lets keep our fingers crossed and see if they can pull off the win!
