Following a disappointing blowout loss to North Texas two weeks ago, UNLV will look to regroup on Saturday when it travels to face the Akron Zips in its final nonconference road game of the season.
The Rebels enter the matchup coming off their first bye week of 2026 before returning home for the first time since their season-opening loss to the Memphis Tigers for two consecutive games.
The Zips, who have dropped two games this season against Power Four competition, have still impressed UNLV coach Dan Mullen with their intensity and talent on both sides of the ball.
“Obviously a tough opponent,” Mullen said. “Going to play Akron and you see them, they’ve lost two games to two good Power 4 teams. You can see the physicality they have with a big time defensive line, really good linebackers, great athletes on the back end and another good quarterback.
“He got a little banged up last week, but the backup comes in and is probably just as good. So going to be a huge challenge for our guys this week against a really good football team.”
The starting quarterback Mullen is referring to is freshman Cibastian Broughton, who leads the MAC in completion percentage at 80.3 percent on 66 attempts.
That mark also ranks among the top five nationally, putting Broughton alongside quarterbacks such as Georgia’s Gunnar Stockton and Miami’s Darian Mensah while ahead of USC quarterback and former Rebel Jayden Maiava, who is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
Broughton has thrown for 380 yards and four touchdowns while adding 170 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Akron has also mixed in sophomore Brayden Roggow under center in each of its first three games. The second-year quarterback has thrown for 231 yards and two touchdowns, giving the Zips another option if Broughton is unable to play or sees limited action on Saturday.
In addition to Akron’s passing game, the UNLV defense will have to prepare for Zips running back Jordan Gant, who returns after earning All-MAC honors last season, when he rushed for 1,032 yards and six touchdowns.
Gant will be a key piece of an Akron offense that uses RPOs (run-pass options) to create additional rushing lanes while using the run to set up its passing attack. That forces defenses to make the correct read and tackle efficiently.
“You can run to set up the pass or pass to set up the run and the majority of teams you’re going to play they’re going to run to set up the pass,” Mullen said. “They do a great job and their run to set up the pass is a lot of RPO stuff that they do.
“They’re gonna try to have the perfect play called every single time so we got to do a great job of tackling.”
That will be an especially important area for the Rebels after a difficult defensive performance against North Texas, in which they missed 29 total tackles, including seven on a single play.
The Zips are led by coach Joe Moorhead, who has been at the helm since 2021. Moorhead previously spent two seasons as the coach at Mississippi State from 2018-19.
Mullen views the matchup as the beginning of another stretch within the season as the Rebels continue their push toward a first Mountain West title in program history and a fourth consecutive Mountain West championship appearance.
“This is starting the second quarter of the season, if you will,” Mullen said. “We had a three-game run and we got a break, then we’ll have a four-game run, and get a break, and then a five-game run, so it’s kind of building.
“Obviously, we’ve got to find ways to get better and hopefully find a way to get a win and keep building towards our goals of being a better football team at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year.”
Akron’s combination of an efficient quarterback and an RPO-heavy offense will give the Rebels another test as they attempt to bounce back from the North Texas loss and pull back to .500 on the season.
Kickoff of UNLV’s Week 4 matchup is set for 9 a.m. PT on Saturday, with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
Contact Donovan Hicks at dhicks@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HicksSports on X.
