LAS VEGAS – To say that the Dan Mullen era didn’t start the way anyone at UNLV expected it to would be the understatement of the century.
Despite entering Saturday’s season opener as a 31.5-point favorite and a dark horse College Football Playoff contender, the Rebels came out as flat as can be defensively in a 38-31 win over middling FCS foe Idaho State.
Fortunately, the Rebels found their bearings with enough time left in the fourth quarter to avoid catastrophe. Quarterback Alex Orji scored the game-winning touchdown on an 11-yard scramble with 8:51 remaining, bailing on a broken-down pass play in favor of a clear running lane to the end zone.
Colandrea Leads The Platoon
Orji and Anthony Colandrea each received action on the opening play from scrimmage, with Orji taking the snap before handing the ball off to Colandrea for an unsuccessful reverse pass attempt. Orji ended up taking a majority of the snaps on that first drive and led a largely successful charge down the field before fumbling the ball at the goal line to end what was a promising drive. Whether it was as a result of the miscue or part of the original plan, Orji’s opportunities from that point on were few and far between.
Colandrea all but secured the QB1 position for the season with a 47-yard dot of a completion to receiver Jaden Bradley with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. Colandrea also found Bradley for a huge 41-yard completion early in the fourth quarter en route to the game-tying
Defense? What Defense?
UNLV allowed a staggering 555 total yards, giving up 296 in the first half and an only slightly improved 256 yards after halftime. Paul Guenther’s defense put together a laughably bad effort from the opening play until midway through the fourth quarter, when they were finally able to start stringing some stops and turnovers together as opposed to simply letting Idaho State do whatever they pleased.
Aside from three costly interceptions, Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke had an eye-opening performance for an Idaho State team that wasn’t particularly impressive last season, to be kind.
Cooke completed 10 of his first 12 passes en route to a 380-yard performance that saw him complete 30-of-50 passes overall with a touchdown included. Cornerback Laterrance Welch snagged two interceptions for UNLV, while linebacker Marsel McDuffie and safety Aamaris Brown each intercepted a pass of their own. Regardless, Mullen had high praise for his opponent.
“Paul (Guenther) was saying all week, this kid's a legitimate NFL quarterback we're playing,” Mullen said. “You watch him, he gets the ball out of his hands, he can throw off-platform. He can drop every ball in. He's accurate. He can throw when he gets hit, he can hold it for a second. He knows when to get rid of it, when to scramble around, extend plays. You saw that today, he's one heck of a player.”
The Rebels were lucky Cooke forced some late mistakes, because they didn’t have any measurable success stopping the run either. Idaho State’s Dason Brooks ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and the Tigers’ offensive line had little trouble setting the edge and overpowering the defensive tackles on inside runs. Brooks did his part with a diet of stiff arms and jukes as well.
Anything You Can Do, Jet Can Do Better
The lone bright spot for UNLV in an incredibly concerning first half was the performance of running back Jai’den “Jet” Thomas, who finished with 147 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. Thomas tallied 96 yards and two touchdowns on six carries in the first half before tacking on a third touchdown on his lone carry the third quarter. For whatever reason, Thomas saw his usage decrease in the second half in what was one of several puzzling divisions by the UNLV’s coaches.
Regardless, the Rebels have at least one star worth the price of admission in Thomas. It’s only fitting that he’s one of the few holdovers from the Barry Odom era, a period that may be considered a lost Golden Age sooner rather than later if Saturday’s concerns continue to snowball.
Mullen praised his returning captains Thomas and McDuffie, who chose to stick around for what is looking like a legitimate project at UNLV this season instead of pursuing Power Five offers.
“These two guys are, they're more committed to the program than I am,” Mullen said. “They've given more to this program than I have. That says a lot. It means a lot to be a rebel. There are people that have given so much for this program, and these two guys here have done that.”