‘We’re a Top 25 team’: Despite Odom’s plea, voters all but ignore UNLV

UNLV football coach Barry Odom’s plea went unheard.

The Rebels received only a single vote in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Tuesday.

That came after Odom made a public appeal to voters during his weekly Monday news conference, saying that he’s not a coach who ignores the media.

“I used to be acting like I didn’t read (the polls),” Odom said. “I read them (now), and I read them then. Everybody reads them. I’m done with coach talk. That’s boring. I think we’re a Top 25 team. If you haven’t put your vote in yet, you should vote for the Rebels.”

Odom said the Rebels understand the importance of receiving votes because they’ve “earned” plenty of accolades after their solid 2023 season.

“Now, we’ve got to uphold those things,” Odom said.

The Rebels opened this season with a bang, visiting Big 12 member Houston on Saturday and returning with a 27-7 victory.

Only Sean Reider of the Albuquerque Journal was impressed enough to give UNLV the final spot on his ballot. (The Review-Journal does not have a vote in the poll.)

“Houston’s just starting a rebuild, no question about it. And there was a pretty congested bubble for that 25th spot — Georgia Tech, Boise State and Memphis all got long looks,” Reider told the Review-Journal. “But to go on the road, hold a (Power Four) team to 38 rushing yards and nearly pitch a shutout, yeah, that’s well-deserving of a vote in my book.”

UNLV received nine votes in the coaches poll.

Odom’s other appeal

Odom appeared at a pep rally on UNLV’s campus Wednesday, telling students that the team needs their help, a request the coach also made in July.

“I think slowly we’re becoming a hot ticket. So this is my plug for: ‘Get your season ticket now,’” Odom said at Mountain West media days. “I think (Allegiant Stadium) is the greatest home atmosphere venue in college football. OK, how do we turn that into a great home-field advantage?”

For Odom, the answer is selling out Allegiant’s lower bowl. He doubled down on that perspective Monday, saying that the Rebels need the continued support of Las Vegas because a loud Allegiant Stadium will “create a nightmare” for opponents.

The team averaged a program-high 23,660 fans over its six regular-season home games last season. But that number skyrocketed to 31,473 fans when UNLV hosted the Mountain West championship game, a turnout Odom hopes to see consistently this year.

Although the Rebels’ home opener against Utah Tech on Saturday doesn’t represent the team’s toughest competition of the season, UNLV is treating it as such.

“What a huge opportunity for us to play at home, to improve from Week 1 to Week 2. We know we left a lot on the field in Houston,” Odom said. “It’s got to be our biggest game, and that is coach talk.”

Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.