UNLV’s football team defeated Cal in the LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium. And now begins the start of Dan Mullen’s tenure as coach.
Ed Graney
Sports columnist
Email: egraney@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 383-4618
X: @edgraney
Ed Graney came to the Review-Journal in May of 2006 as its lead sports columnist. He has covered all major sporting events, including Super Bowls to NBA championships to every Final Four since 1995. Graney also covered the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). A graduate of San Diego State University, he is a five-time Nevada Sportswriter of the Year and past winner of Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10 for columns. He and wife Bonnie have two children, a son (Tristan) and daughter (Bridget).
UNLV football’s coaching change could have caused players to opt out of the LA Bowl. Instead, the team stayed together to face Cal on Wednesday.
The Raiders are so bad that 10 straight losses don’t do things justice. The 2-12 record doesn’t completely define how inept things are for Antonio Pierce’s team.
The Raiders received an awful performance from their special-teams unit in their loss to the Falcons on Monday, as Atlanta got its hands on two punts.
Last year’s NBA Cup final in Las Vegas featured LeBron James. This year’s matchup is just as juicy. It could be a Finals preview the way both teams are playing.
The two-man game of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for Milwaukee proved too much for Atlanta in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
Las Vegas Bowl executive director John Saccenti has known Dan Mullen since 2008. That friendship played a big part in Mullen becoming UNLV’s football coach.
The NBA Cup semifinals return to T-Mobile Arena on Saturday with games between the Bucks and Hawks, along with the Rockets and Thunder.
Raiders defensive tackle John Jenkins will wear special cleats supporting the Avery Burton Foundation on “Monday Night Football” against the Falcons.
K’Lavon Chaisson, a former first-round pick of the Jaguars, signed with the Raiders’ practice squad in September. He’s since made some splash plays.
The blueprint for winning at UNLV was created by Barry Odom. It’s possible to keep such a thing going, but Dan Mullen has work to do as the Rebels’ new coach.
The Rebels weren’t going to win a bidding war with Purdue for coach Barry Odom, who left the UNLV program in far better shape than he found it two years ago.
UNLV athletic director Erick Harper needed just 10 days to hire Barry Odom his last football coaching search. He wants to move even faster this time. Here are some names the Rebels could consider:
The Rebels lost the Mountain West football championship game to Boise State, but the historic strides UNLV has taken can’t be discounted.
Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez believes the winner of the UNLV-Boise State conference title game deserves a bye into the College Football Playoff.