LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brock Purdy completed 21 of 24 pass attempts for 288 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 14 Iowa State over UNLV 48-3 Saturday night.
Purdy, who also rushed for 33 yards, finished with a 229.6 quarterback rating, the third-highest of his career.
Iowa State (2-1) finished with 486 yards of offense and 7.59 yards per play, scoring on eight of its 11 possessions, including six touchdowns.
Breece Hall, who rushed for 69 yards in each of Iowa State’s first two games, rushed for 70 of his 101 yards in the first quarter to lead the Cyclones’ rushing attack. Hall scored two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, who entered the game with 110 total receiving yards this season, had 10 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
As efficient as Iowa State’s offense was while coach Matt Campbell kept his starters in the game, the defense was just as suffocating after entering the game ranked eighth with 224 yards allowed per game.
UNLV (0-3) was held to 23 yards on 18 plays in the first half and finished with 130 yards for the game.
UNLV freshman Cameron Friel and junior Tate Martell split time at quarterback, both seeing action for the first time as Rebels. Friel was 7-for-12 for 55 yards with one interception, while Martell finished 2 of 6 for 27 yards.
Running back Charles Williams had 46 yards rushing on 19 attempts.
Iowa State set the tone by working methodically to score on its first two drives of the game.
The Cyclones went 72 yards in 12 plays over 6:51 to take a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, and then traveled 75 yards in nine plays over 5:06 to extend their lead to 14-0 at the start of the second quarter.
Iowa State added a touchdown and a field goal near the end of the half to go up 24-0 and finished the first half with 303 yards on 43 plays, an average of 7.05 yards per play. Iowa State had 18 first downs, while UNLV managed just one.
UNLV has played 49 teams ranked in at least one of the two major polls at the time of the game. The Rebels are 5-44 against such competitors.
RECORD BREAKERS
Hall increased his school-record and nation-leading streak to 15 consecutive games with a rushing TD, which also tied the Big 12 record, set by Missouri quarterback Corby Jones from 1997-98. Purdy, meanwhile, became Iowa State’s all-time leader in total yards with 10,638. The previous high was Bret Meyer, who had 10,421 yards from 2004-07.
THE TAKEAWAY
Iowa State: In their last seven games dating to 2020, the Cyclones have allowed just 25 points in the second half (excluding non-offensive TDs) and just one touchdown. The Rebels finished with three points in the second half.
UNLV: The Rebels started a different quarterback for the third straight game. UNLV started TCU-transfer Justin Rogers in its season-opener against Eastern Washington. He was replaced late in the third quarter by redshirt freshman Doug Brumfield, who started last week at Arizona State. Brumfield did not dress Saturday.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Iowa State could find itself ascending in the rankings after its impressive performance, coupled with No. 11 Florida’s loss to top-ranked Alabama. No. 13 UCLA played unranked Fresno State in a late game.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: At Baylor on Saturday afternoon.
UNLV: At Fresno State on Friday night.
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