Graney: Start of Dan Mullen Era could have been a lot worse for UNLV

It could have been much worse, what with all the hype and expectations. Could have gone down as one of those all-timers on the negative side of the ledger.

Wouldn’t have been as bad as that loss to Howard in 2017.

But, man, it would have been in the neighborhood.

UNLV’s football team opened the Dan Mullen Era on Saturday with an escape of gigantic proportions, surviving Idaho State 38-31 before 25,723 at Allegiant Stadium.

The Rebels were more than a 30-point favorite.

They need to get so much better in most all facets.

But they also made winning plays when such was on the line, when an interception or fourth-down stand or touchdown was needed as the clock wound down.

They had several players step forward at the most significant of times. Ones who saved the day.

It’s not tennis

“I could give you all the little things we have to fix,” Mullen said. “But we found a way to win. It could have been very easy for us to find a way to lose. We’re going to enjoy the win and get into work early tomorrow and start coaching and fixing and correcting. I’m sure there are a lot of guys disappointed with their personal performance. That’s fantastic.

“But if you’re not jumping up and down and celebrating, you’re playing the wrong game. Because our team won. We’re going to celebrate every time we win. So play tennis if all you care about is your individual performance. Nothing against tennis.”

Nothing at all.

It’s true Idaho State has a terrific quarterback in junior Jordan Cooke, who would throw for 380 yards and a score.

But think about it: UNLV ranked 49th nationally last season in allowing 350.9 yards per game.

It surrendered 555 on Saturday to a Football Championship Subdivision team. The defense needs some of those fixes Mullen spoke about. Many of them.

“We have a whole lot to work on,” said senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie, whose fourth-quarter interception led to UNLV’s go-ahead score and a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. “But we stayed together and when the time came to make plays, we did.”

The Rebels entered the stadium following a video titled, “Welcome to the Show.” And as they ran onto the field for the first time under Mullen, the public address announcer offered, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s showtime!”

Then they didn’t show very much over the opening half.

It was 17-14 Idaho State at intermission and the Bengals earned every bit of such an advantage.

Take away the play of UNLV running back Jai’Den Thomas, and it was hardly a display of crisp execution on either side of the ball.

Thomas would rush for 132 yards over those first 30 minutes, ripping off scoring runs of 39 and 70 yards. He finished with 147 on 10 carries and three touchdowns.

One point: Given it was their first time running Mullen’s offense in a game, quarterbacks Anthony Colandrea and Alex Orji played, for the most part, winning football.

The offense rolled up 532 yards. Not bad for a first outing.

Mullen joked earlier in the week he might start both and actually followed through, as Orji took the opening snap and tossed it to Colandrea, whose long pass down the right sideline drew an interference call. Each quarterback accounted for a touchdown.

Film will show

It wasn’t pretty in many ways. The film will show that. But escaping with a win is so much better for UNLV than the alternative.

This kind of day: The loudest cheer came when the final of Summerlin South winning the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series was shown on the scoreboard.

It could have been so much worse for UNLV, what with all the hype and expectations. But the Rebels were able to avoid all that. Made plays when absolutely necessary. Now have a winning record (15-14) at Allegiant Stadium for the first time.

“I don’t think I went ballistic, not once during the game, which is really good for my health,” Mullen said. “We did little things to win but there are little things we need to do much, much better. The guys all stuck together.”

In the end, they won as a team.

Hey, it’s not tennis.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.