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UNLV Football Travels to No. 22 Fresno State Still in Search of the Rebels First Win

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Football

UNLV (0-3) opens Mountain West play by traveling to No. 22/25 Fresno State (3-1) Friday night. With the Bulldogs entering the polls this week, the Rebels will now face three consecutive ranked opponents for the first time in history and three overall in a season for the first time since 2011. UNLV is 8-8-1 all-time in games played on Friday.

The Rebels are 13-26 in conference lid-lifters and are looking to win a MW opener for the first time since 2017. UNLV comes in after dropping a 48-3 game at home vs. No. 14 Iowa State while FS upset then-No. 13 UCLA, 40-37, at the Rose Bowl. This game will feature two of the nation's top running backs as UNLV's Super Senior and Fresno native Charles Williams heads in with the most career net rushing yards gained on the FBS level (3,194) among all current players while Bulldog Ronnie Rivers ranks fourth on that same list (2,927). Liberty's Joshua Mack has more career rush yards than Williams but a majority of them were gained on the FCS level before transferring to his current school. UNLV PK Daniel Gutierrez has made 11 consecutive field goals, which is tied for the seventh-longest streak in the nation. The Rebels are one of 19 teams still perfect in the red zone this season (8-8). After finishing last year at minus-four in turnovers, UNLV sits at plus-two this season, which is tied for 36th in the FBS.

REBELS vs. BULLDOGS NOTES...
These programs have played each other as part of three different conferences (Big West, WAC and now MW) and FS leads the overall series 16-7. This marks only the second time the Rebels and Bulldogs open MW play against each other (2016). Friday marks the third time FS will come in ranked vs. the Rebels (2013, 2018). FS first-year assistant AD for equipment Travis Hewitt is the older brother of UNLV second-year staffer Josh Hewitt who oversees the Rebels' football equipment operations. Their father, Todd Hewitt, is a longtime college and pro equipment director now at Cerritos College, and grandfather, Don Hewitt, served the same role with NFL's Rams for 32 years. UNLV Assoc. Head Coach and LB coach Kenwick Thompson was with the Bulldogs in 2018-19. Fresno State cornerbacks coach J.D. Williams worked at UNLV in 2015-16.