An injury-riddled UNLV (0-8/0-4) football team lost 51-20 to in-state rival UNR (6-2/3-1) in a game played on the Nevada Day holiday in front of an announced crowd of 28,960 at Mackay Stadium Friday night.

The famed Fremont Cannon will stay blue another year after the Wolf Pack built a 20-0 halftime lead and bumped its advantage to 34-0 before the Rebels came to life offensively in the second half. UNR also earned three points in the Silver State Series presented by IBEW Local 401 and Nevada Donor Network.

UNLV's Phillip Hill intercepted UNR QB Carson Strong with just over a minute remaining before halftime and the Rebels were driving for a score when true freshman signal-caller Cameron Friel threw an interception in the end zone to end the threat. However, Friel engineered a 75-yard scoring drive late in the third quarter capped by a 23-yard strike to Kyle Williams, the first TD of the season for the receiver.

Charles Williams scored his team's second touchdown with a four-yard scamper on fourth down in the fourth quarter, marking the Chuck Wagon's 27th career score on the ground. After recovering a Pack fumble, Friel then found Steve Jenkins from 18 yards out for the Rebels' final points. Friel, who also threw two pick-sixes, gutted his way to 283 yards while completing 27 of 41 attempts on the night.

REBEL OF THE GAME:
Steve Jenkins shined at Mackay Stadium for the second straight trip, finishing with 12 receptions for 133 yards. It was his second 100-yard game of the season and second at UNR after a 140-yard, 2-TD performance here in 2019. The dozen catches on Friday tied for the third-most in school history and were the most by a Rebel since Phillip Payne had 13 vs. Southern Utah in 2011.

STAT OF THE GAME:
Game-planning to stop UNLV RB Williams, the UNR defense held the Rebels to 10 net yards rushing after five sacks for minus-28 yards were included in the total. It was the lowest mark for UNLV on the ground since gaining just five yards at TCU in 2005.

QUOTABLE:
"Obviously disappointed to come in here and play the way we played. They are an experienced group and we didn't play well enough or consistently enough to beat a team like that. We've got to go back and make sure we get some things cleaned up."

-UNLV Head Coach Marcus Arroyo

NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV heads to New Mexico for its first Saturday game since mid-October. Kickoff is set for 4 pm PT and the game will be televised by Stadium.