How is this for a spooky thought, UNLV football fans?

The Rebels on Saturday night had to escape winless Northern Illinois by a 31-24 final at Allegiant Stadium.

It was a Halloween game in which UNLV was a 24½-point favorite but got all it could handle from the Huskies.

The victory improved UNLV’s record to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in Mountain West play. Northern Illinois fell to 0-8 and 0-4.

It was 24-17 UNLV at halftime as quarterback Jackson Arnold was 12 of 16 passing for 223 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also had 11 carries for 68 yards.

The Huskies would do most of their damage on the ground, rushing for 124 yards before intermission.

The game’s first play was a 75-yard scoring pass from Arnold to Kayden McGee, but Northern Illinois answered with a 10-play scoring drive. The Huskies would hold leads of 14-10 and 17-10 before the Rebels scored touchdowns on consecutive series to end the half.

The Rebels struggled over the first 30 minutes running the ball other than Arnold. Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas was held to just 9 yards on six carries. But he went for a 60-yard score on his first carry of the second half.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.