18 of UNLV's 21 points came from Jackson Arnold
The underdog pulled off the upset — here's how Memphis did it.
Memphis wasn't supposed to win this one. They stun UNLV, 27-21 at Allegiant Stadium. Nobody pulled clear, and Memphis had the better end of the last ten minutes. Marcus Stokes threw for 223 yards on 26 attempts with two touchdowns and ran seven times for 45 yards.
We had this one the other way
Before kickoff we made UNLV the pick by about 1. The model missed the side: it favored UNLV by ~1, but Memphis won by 6 as the underdog.
Memphis lived in the backfield
Memphis sacked UNLV's quarterback 6 times to UNLV's 1, chiefly Elijah Kinsler (2.5 sacks), Taylor Burton (1 sack) and J'Mond Tapp (1 sack). Memphis scored on 42% of its drives to UNLV's 23%, led by Marcus Stokes (12 pts), Jaylin Carter (6 pts) and Hunter Tipton (6 pts). That's what carried Memphis.
How the two sides actually played on the night.
Where it swung
Three plays carried most of the swing. Jackson Arnold's 38-yard throw to Tavian Mcnair for a touchdown on 2nd-and-9 at Q2 08:14. Then Marcus Stokes's 48-yard throw to Braylon Burnside for a touchdown on 1st-and-10 at Q3 13:07. Later, Jackson Arnold's 54-yard run on 2nd-and-10 at Q3 12:47.
Who carried it
Marcus Stokes threw for 223 yards on 26 attempts with two touchdowns and ran seven times for 45 yards — that score from inside the 20, three third-down conversions and a hand in nine plays of 15 yards or more. Jemyri Davis caught three passes for 62 yards. Jaylin Carter ran 15 times for 97 yards and one score. For UNLV, Jackson Arnold threw for 291 yards on 37 attempts with two touchdowns and ran 21 times for 54 yards and one score — that score from inside the 20, three third-down conversions and a hand in 10 plays of 15 yards or more. Tavian Mcnair caught one pass for 38 yards for a touchdown. Kayden McGee ran one times for 18 yards and caught three passes for 48 yards, one of them for a touchdown, with a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Elijah Kinsler was the disruptive one for Memphis: 2.5 sacks, 2.5 TFLs, 6 tackles.
The takeaway
Historically similar games since 2019 — close margin, both offenses held far below norm — and how often that offense outperformed this level the following week.
Memphis has a signature win to point to. For UNLV, it's the kind a contender has to avoid. Jackson Arnold was responsible for 18 of UNLV's points; there was not enough behind him.
Discussion
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