UNLV bounces back in big way, buries Utah State — PHOTOS
LOGAN, Utah — UNLV built up a great deal of frustration as it spent a week lamenting the disappointment of a heartbreaking first loss of the season that knocked the Rebels from the national rankings.
UNLV took it out on Utah State early and often in a 50-34 victory Friday night at Maverik Stadium that was never really that close.
“We got a win,” quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams said. “That was the whole mentality was to learn from those things. The only way it’s a failure is if you let it spiral. I think we have a lot of mature guys on this team, so that was our whole standard. We know what happened. We know we’re disappointed. We know we expect more, but it’s time to go work.
“We have another opportunity to play this game we love, so let’s go out and do our best. That’s what we did.”
The Rebels got a bit loose in the second half on both sides of the ball, making silly mistakes and allowing Utah State to close the gap in the fourth quarter with some sloppy play. But the outcome had long been determined by that point on the strength of a sensational opening 30 minutes.
UNLV (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) took just four plays to convert the opening kickoff into a touchdown, the first of five first-half drives that reached the end zone in 2:19 or less.
It appeared the Rebels took to heart coach Barry Odom’s messaging all week about putting the 44-41 overtime loss to Syracuse to bed and starting anew.
If that was the goal, the team’s season got off to a great start, as it bewildered Utah State (1-5, 0-2) from the opening kickoff.
Jacob De Jesus took a shovel pass 37 yards on the opening play, and Kylin James ran for 33 on the next. Two plays later, James scored from five yards out, and the rout was on.
UNLV amassed 367 yards of offense in the first half and forced three turnovers, including an interception and fumble recovery by linebacker Jackson Woodard, as the lead expanded to 41-7 at the break.
“I thought our guys were very direct in our approach this week and our preparation,” Odom said. “I thought they did the things we needed to start the game off in the right direction.”
Williams threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns in the victory and added 65 yards on the ground. Jai’Den Thomas ran for 139 yards and a touchdown. James added 105 yards and two touchdowns for UNLV, which has now won five straight road games for the first time in school history.
“We had over 300 yards rushing (313),” Odom said. “That’s not easy to do, but it’s what we needed tonight.”
The Rebels are also 2-0 in league play, with both victories coming in one-sided fashion over teams that are part of a planned defection to the Pac-12 in 2026.
UNLV’s best players are a major reason for the success.
Woodard finished with 12 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. He added three pass breakups and a quarterback hit for good measure.
His second interception quieted any potential threat, as Utah State was driving down 47-28 with 6:54 remaining. The Aggies did eventually score a late touchdown after UNLV kicked a field goal.
The Rebels had already scored more than enough points to make Woodard’s efforts hold up, as new special teams ace Ricky White III showed he can play a bit of offense, too.
White, the All-American receiver who was named the league’s special teams player of the week, racked up 138 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions.
White had four catches for 69 yards and a score by the end of the first quarter.
He has now eclipsed 100 yards receiving in all three games since Williams took over as starting quarterback. White had just 10 catches for 126 yards in three games started by Matthew Sluka, who left the team abruptly last month.
“Big-time catches, and I thought Hajj threw the ball well when he had one-on-one matchups,” Odom said. “When they were going to give us a one-on-one, we feel good about taking that shot, and I think his body control and his ability to adjust to where the ball is placed is pretty special. We needed that tonight out of both of those guys.”
Not everything went UNLV’s way.
Utah State quarterback Spencer Petras lit up the secondary, particularly in the second half. The Iowa transfer completed 41 of 59 passes for 461 yards and three touchdowns.
Also, Caden Chittenden missed an extra point, ending a run of 152 consecutive successful conversions for the Rebels dating back to the first touchdown of the 2020 season.
Chittenden did make both of his field-goal attempts.
UNLV next plays at Oregon State at 7 p.m. Oct. 19.
“We’re 5-1 and excited to be 5-1 after six games,” Odom said. “Proud of the effort. Lot to clean up and fix, but we understand winning is hard. Ready to get home, and it’s on to the next.”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.