Been a tough go for the Rebels
There were plenty of complaints about how Arizona State played against Southern Utah, a FCS opponent, but when the Sun Devils look at their Week 2 matchup, it could’ve been worse. UNLV comes into Tempe with a 0-1 record after falling in double overtime to Eastern Washington, also a FCS team. The Rebels also don’t have a clear picture of their quarterback after the team announced Doug Brumfield would start against the Sun Devils despite Justin Rogers starting the season opener.
Marcus Arroyo Searching for his First Win
Heading into his eighth game as the UNLV head coach, former Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo is still searching for his first win since taking over the position. And maybe Tempe isn’t the most ideal place to try and end that streak taking in account the last time Arroyo came.
Nevertheless, Arroyo’s offense does have its own issues. A mentioned above, the quarterback picture — which doesn’t even include Tate Martell, who is on the roster — is still murky. The team only had six points against Eastern Washington through three quarters. Outside of running back Charles Williams and wide receiver Kyle Williams, there was no big contributors to the offense.
Don’t be surprised if Arroyo involved some trickery into his offense to get his team going. Also maybe the guy that seemed to be holding Justin Herbert back at Oregon just might not be very good.
Trying to Defend Arizona State’s Offense
In the harsh reality, UNLV had one of the worst defenses in the nation last year. The Rebels didn’t allow a ton of rushing yards in the Week 1 loss but had trouble against Eric Barriere. The Eastern Washington dual-threat quarterback threw for 374 yards and added 46 more on the ground.
Jayden Daniels could have a similar day if the Sun Devils want to try and get the pass catchers more involved than the Southern Utah contest. Arizona State proved it can win games simply by using its stars in the backfield. However, getting the likes of Andre Johnson, LV Bunkley-Shelton and Johnny Wilson more involved doesn’t seem to be the worst plan against UNLV’s secondary.