One week after being benched, Jackson Arnold responds with 3 TDs in UNLV win

It was just last week in a loss to Wyoming that UNLV quarterback Jackson Arnold was replaced by Alex Orji in the second half.

The former Gatorade National Football Player of the Year bounced back with a three-touchdown performance in the UNLV Rebels’ 21-17 upset win over the No. 23-ranked New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-1-inch Denton, Texas, native threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score and 98 yards on 14 carries. After totaling 63 passing yards in the first half, Arnold more than doubled that production in the final two quarters.

The Auburn transfer completed six passes for 143 yards in the second half, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to Kayden McGee. He also scored the game-winning TD himself, breaking loose for a 44-yard rushing score.

UNLV’s third touchdown marked the first time this season that the Lobos defense had allowed more than 18 points. New Mexico entered the matchup ranked No. 1 nationally in both total defense and turnover margin.

The loss marked New Mexico’s first at home since coach Jason Eck took over the program in 2025 and the Lobos’ first defeat at University Stadium since a 49-45 loss to Wyoming in 2024 under the previous coaching staff.

Following the win, Arnold said the victory meant a great deal to his journey to play for the Rebels.

“My girlfriend’s dad texted me this morning and we talked about the last time I was this much of an underdog and there was this game where we played (Alabama) my sophomore year and we won that game,” Arnold said during the postgame telecast. “It is a surreal feeling. This place was absolutely packed with a great crowd.”

The Rebels were 16½-point underdogs at kickoff, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

“On that last touchdown that we had it wasn’t even a quarterback draw,” Arnold said. “It looked like it but the way they twisted up front and the way we had the play called I knew that I had the option to tell the running back to go block and go out and make a play.”

Through 10 starts at UNLV, Arnold has thrown for 1,738 yards and 15 touchdowns. His game-sealing touchdown run was his sixth rushing score of the season and the 18th of his collegiate career.

While his performance will be remembered for his second-half production, there were stretches in the first two quarters when the Lobos defense showed why it had been so effective this season.

New Mexico allowed one scoring drive in the first half and forced Arnold to fumble deep in Lobos territory after stripping him of the football on its only sack in the UNLV backfield.

Keeping Arnold upright played a significant role in the Rebels’ victory after he was sacked four times in the loss to Wyoming the previous week.

Arnold also threw his fifth interception of the season in the third quarter, but the UNLV defense, which held New Mexico to 88 yards in the second half, kept the Lobos off the scoreboard after their lone field goal with 12:30 remaining in the third quarter.

The Rebels’ sixth win of the season keeps them tied with Air Force and North Dakota State for third in the Mountain West Conference standings while making the program bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.