Rebels regroup after defeat; QB Brumfield’s status uncertain

The UNLV football team’s strong start to the season has hit a major speed bump.

The Rebels didn’t just drop their first Mountain West game of the season Friday, falling 40-7 to San Jose State at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, California. They are also uncertain of the status of starting quarterback Doug Brumfield, who was injured late in the first quarter and did not return.

Even the nature of his injury is uncertain. Brumfield appeared to hurt his leg on a sack, but stayed in the game. He later took a hit while throwing the ball away and was down for a few extra seconds holding his head, but again remained in to finish the drive.

Brumfield left the field as the first quarter ended with a towel over his head and did not return. He completed 1 of 6 passes for eight yards before he was removed.

UNLV did not specify the nature of his injury and provided no update on his condition Saturday.

Backup quarterback Cameron Friel might be in line for the start at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday when the Rebels (4-2, 2-1) take on Air Force at Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV has to move forward after the disappointing loss, coach Marcus Arroyo told reporters after the game.

“There’s a lot of season left,” he said. “We’ve got to get healthy. Guys have got to step up. Everything’s still in front of us. We’ve just got to make sure we can rebound, check this, watch the film, get better and go back to work.”

By the time Friel entered Friday’s game, the Rebels were already down 14-0. Then, on his second play, he couldn’t handle the shotgun snap, and San Jose State recovered at the UNLV 15. The Spartans (4-1, 2-0) scored on the next play to go up 20-0.

“We’ve got to do a better job,” Arroyo said.

Outside of the early fumble, Friel, the reigning Mountain West freshman of the year, was calm and efficient. He completed 15 of 22 attempts for 153 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Senika McKie.

Friel also connected with McKie on a 38-yard completion off a reverse flea flicker, the Rebels’ longest play of the game.

The vaunted San Jose State defense, which entered Friday allowing just 15.8 points per game, caused problems for UNLV all night. The Spartans amassed three sacks and six tackles for a loss and held Rebels running back Aidan Robbins without a touchdown for the first time this season. He finished with 55 yards on 13 attempts.

“They have continuity as a staff. They have guys who’ve been there for four of five years,” Arroyo said. “Their front line is really good, a lot of cohesion.”

San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 109 yards and two more scores. The Spartans outgained the Rebels 433-213.

Linebacker Austin Ajiake led UNLV with 13 tackles and two sacks.

“This isn’t how we envisioned the game going, but I don’t want to just leave it at that,” Ajiake said. “I want to find a way for us to turn this into a positive. We can learn from this.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.