UNLV vs Idaho State Week 0 Recap: Rebels Win Thriller in Mullen’s Debut

It was the UNLV Rebels vs. the Idaho State Bengals in a thrilling Week 0 matchup on Saturday inside Allegiant Stadium, setting the stage for this recap. Favored by 25 points, UNLV was tested in all three phases by the Bengals. And while the Rebels put 38 points, they had to claw their way back into this game to avoid spoiling the debut of the Dan Mullen era. 

Jai’den Thomas was incredible; the defense came away with four interceptions, and each transfer quarterback found their way into the endzone. It may not have been pretty, but winning is the only thing that matters in college football.

UNLV vs Idaho State: Week 0 Recap

Shaky Start

After giving up a field goal on the Bengals’ opening drive, UNLV opened its season by uniquely addressing the quarterback situation. Alex Orji took the shotgun snap, flipped it to Anthony Colandrea, and Colandrea launched a deep ball down the right sideline. It fell incomplete, but a pass interference on Idaho State gave the Rebels a first down.

The rest of UNLV’s opening drive saw Orji working the RPO to move the Rebels into the red zone. But on a read-option to the right, he tried to hurdle a defender and lost control of the ball, sending it into the end zone for a touchback. Idaho State capitalized quickly, extending its lead to 10-0.

From the second drive on, Colandrea took the majority of the snaps for UNLV, and to open the second quarter, he used his legs to push the Rebels into the red zone. But the Bengals defense held firm, and the Rebels had to settle for a field goal attempt. Ramon Villela missed the attempt from 30 yards out, and just like that, nothing was going UNLV’s way.

The tides started to turn after Idaho State quarterback Jordan Cooke tossed a deep ball into double coverage, which Aamaris Brown intercepted. UNLV’s star running back, Jai’Den Thomas, put the stagnant offense on his shoulders and ripped off a 30-yard touchdown run to get the Rebels on the board. 

That was Thomas’ first of two scores in the first half. His second was remarkable; he got shifty to make multiple defenders miss, and went 70 yards for a score to put the Rebels into the lead, 14-10. 

The lead would not last into halftime, as the Bengals’ defensive front forced multiple three-and-outs for the Rebels. And the Cooke-to-Burton connection for Idaho State took advantage of the Rebels’ secondary. Right before halftime, Dason Brooks shook off two arm tackle attempts for a 27-yard touchdown, giving the Bengals a 17-14 lead. 

Jai’Den Thomas Shines In Rebels Opener 

To start the second half, UNLV stuck with Colandrea as the quarterback. His elusiveness showed on a 27-yard scramble, stepping out at the three-yard line. The Rebels hurried to the line and handed it to Jai’Den Thomas, who punched in his third touchdown to put UNLV back on top, 21-17, early in the third quarter.

Thomas would finish game with an absurd stat line, 147 yards, off of 10 carries and 14.7 yard average. It may be safe to say that without Thomas, UNLV would have never really gotten anything going. 

Idaho State’s first drive of the third quarter featured plenty of UNLV cornerback, Laterrance Welch. He broke up a pass on first down, then got flagged for pass interference on third, which kept the Bengals’ drive alive. After the penalty, the Bengals found themselves working inside the five. Cooke again floated a ball into the endzone in double coverage, and Welch came down with the interception.

After the turnover, Colandrea showcased his arm strength, launching a beautiful deep ball to Jaden Bradley, who adjusted midair to haul it in. He went back to Bradley in the end zone from the 12-yard line but couldn’t connect, and the Rebels settled for a field goal to extend their lead to 24-17.

The lead didn’t last long. UNLV’s rebuilt secondary suffered a few busted coverages in the third quarter, none bigger than Cooke’s 64-yard strike to a wide-open Ian Durate, who strolled into the end zone untouched.

Colandera Makes Case For Starting Role

Pass interference calls plagued the Rebels’ defense all night, bailing the Bengals out of multiple three-and-outs. Early in the fourth quarter, another flag in the end zone set up Dason Brooks for a one-yard touchdown, his second of an impressive day on the ground.

Tailing 31-24, Anthony Colandrea flashed his dual-threat ability again, hitting Jaden Bradley for 41 yards before firing a nine-yard strike to Daejon Reynolds to tie the game at 31.

Colandera and Bradley were on fire in this game. As Bradley reeled in six passes for 131 yards, with two of those catches being splash plays. 

With the game tied, UNLV picked off Cooke for the third time; this time, it was Marsel McDuffie setting up prime field position for the Rebels’ offense. Alex Orji capped the drive with a rushing touchdown, hurdling across the pylon to redeem himself from his first-quarter miscue.

Up 38-31, Welch snagged his second interception of the night, giving UNLV the ball deep in Bengal territory. But after Colandrea was sacked on third down, Mullen sent out the field goal unit to push the lead to 10, only for Villela to miss his second attempt of the game.

On the next drive, Cooke hit Mike Shulikov down the right sideline for a 32-yard gain. This was Shulikov’s second highlight grab of the game, and the Bengals refused to go away. But an intentional grounding on 3rd-and-11 stalled the drive, and on 4th-and-24, Cooke’s desperation heave fell incomplete.

UNLV would burn out the clock and hold on to win by seven, 38-31. 

A Win Is A Win 

“If you ain’t jumping up and down and celebrating with your team, then you are playing the wrong game. Because our team won,” said Mullen in his post-game press conference.

Clearly the expectations of this match-up were no where close to reality. But, UNLV much rather be sitting here with things to correct 1-0, than 0-1. 

Jai’Den Thomas is clearly the best player on this UNLV Rebels offense, his vision and ability to make defenders miss is what makes him so special. At times throughout this game, the Rebels newly assembled offensive line struggled to open up rushing lanes and providing enough time for Colandrea to go through his reads. 

Of 300 rushing yards for the Rebels, 240 of them came from the combined efforts of Colandrea and Thomas. With many of Colandrea’s rushes coming from him steeping up in a collapsing pocket and making defenders miss in the open field. 

The defense although creating four takeaways in this ball game, three of them were some very questionable throws by Cooke. The biggest interception of this game was Marsel Mcduffie’s as he stepped up into his zone and got the interception from his linebacking spot. 

But overall, the busted coverage and penalties will need to be corrected in a hurry. The front four struggled to stop the run in the game as well, Dason Brooks scored two touchdowns today off of 18 touches and 132 yards. Brooks could of had a third if the call wasn’t overturned due to a holding. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Mullen expressed his concern with the red zone offense. With multiple trips inside the red zone in this game, the Rebels only went 4-7, leaving many points left on the field.

UNLV vs Idaho State Week 0 Recap: What’s Next For The Rebels? 

UNLV will head out onto the road for the first time this season next week on Friday, as they will take on the Sam Houston Bearkats. With much to improve on and a lot of tape to evaluate, the Rebels will look to put together a much more consistent effort on the road. After showing flashes in some areas in the Week 0 win, the Rebels leave a lot left to be desired.