UNLV football gets hard things right, but can it do the simple stuff?

The truth: UNLV’s football team is making things way too hard on itself.

It happened again Saturday in a 40-35 home loss to New Mexico. Small details led to big mistakes.

Little things added up to game-changing plays.

It’s not easy rallying from down 21-0 to take a 35-34 lead with 6:35 remaining. But that’s what the Rebels did.

That should be the hard part. Not forgetting where you’re supposed to be in a specific coverage or lining up in the wrong spot or being in the wrong gap.

“We do things that are really hard and mess up things that shouldn’t be, things that we can control,” coach Dan Mullen said. “That’s the frustrating part. We dug ourselves out of a massive hole. But that goes back to me.

“I have to make sure every part of our preparation — how we practice, how we meet, how we teach — is that if we have a problem, we find the solution. We have to change some of the things we’re doing and we’re going to.”

It takes a certain energy and resilience to come back from a 21-0 deficit. The Rebels have rallied for wins this season before. They just couldn’t finish the job against the Lobos.

UNLV (6-2, 2-2 Mountain West) next plays at Colorado State (2-6, 1-3) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve been playing a lot of catch-up this season, but coming back like that shows the grit we have and that we’re never going to give up,” junior safety Jake Pope said. “We’re not going to lay on our backs. But we also can’t get down like that in games because sometimes you come up short. We need to start faster and keep the lead.”

UNLV needs to start doing the easy things better. It needs to take what it learns in its meetings this week and carry it onto the field.

“Hopefully, we’re not down 21-0,” Mullen said. “I always think it’s much harder to keep that mindset, that fight, that positive energy, that, ‘Hey, we can make this happen,’ type of attitude. That’s what makes some of the other things we’re not doing so frustrating.

“If we have a problem, what’s the solution? Oh, hey, just do it better. That’s not a solution.”

Scouting Colorado State

You won’t find the Rams — who are coming off a bye — at or near the top of the Mountain West leaderboard in several defensive categories.

But they’re No. 1 nationally in blitz rate.

Colorado State comes after you.

“They’re going to blitz from every direction,” Mullen said. “We have to be careful in warmups — they might blitz us when we’re stretching. A lot of times if you’re going to pressure at that level, it’s a high risk-reward. But that’s the challenge we’re facing.”

The Rams fired coach Jay Norvell after a 2-5 start and replaced him with interim coach Tyson Summers, who was on Mullen’s Florida staff as an analyst in 2021.

“A really intelligent football coach,” Mullen said. “A very, very innovative coach who’s not afraid to think outside the lines.

“That’s how we got to where we are today. We weren’t afraid to think outside the box and try things other people won’t try. (Summers) does a real good job doing that. I’m sure he’s hoping he runs the program well enough that they give him an opportunity to become the permanent head coach.”

Mullen is certain the Rebels will encounter a motivated Colorado State team. One that used its bye to tinker with things.

“They’re probably going to present us with a lot of different looks and things we haven’t seen,” Mullen said.

Colandrea update

Mullen said quarterback Anthony Colandrea is healthy again after his bout with the flu. One would never have known the junior was ill Saturday, when he threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns. He was listed as questionable before kickoff.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.