3 takeaways: UNLV survives slugfest with Air Force, stays undefeated — PHOTOS

What a wild, wild ride.

The perfect season for UNLV continues because the Rebels won a contest that might as well have been played as a video game.

In an expected shootout from two of the Mountain West’s top offenses, UNLV outlasted Air Force 51-48 before a homecoming crowd of 32,932 at Allegiant Stadium.

After trading blows with the Falcons for more than 3½ hours, the Rebels improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in the conference.

“Heck of a team win,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “ So proud of our team. Give Air Force a lot of credit. That’s a really good football team. Every one of their games have come right down to the wire. We knew they were an explosive offense and we were going to have to score. Look at the score — 51-48. Back and forth. It could have gone either way.”

The numbers were incredible on both sides.

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

1. Silly stuff

UNLV rolled up 597 total yards. Junior quarterback Anthony Colandrea finished 20 of 32 passing for 361 yards and a touchdown, the first 300-yard passing game for the program since November 2023.

It’s the most passing yards for a UNLV player since 2018.

Eight players caught passes for the Rebels, led by Daedae Reynolds. He had four catches for 139 yards and a score.

There were 11 lead changes, and the teams combined for 65 second-half points, which surpassed the betting game total of 64½.

“The confidence the offense has to make plays when we needed them most,” Mullen said. “That’s what matters. Our coaching staff steers the ship, but to have the ability to (make plays) comes from within the locker room. That’s a credit to our guys.”

2. More stats

Say this for Air Force (1-5) — it certainly wasn’t going to be outdone when it came to putting up numbers.

Think about it: The Falcons totaled 603 yards, including 428 on the ground.

They were led by a terrific sophomore quarterback, Liam Szarka, who ran for 136 yards and two scores and threw for 175 and another touchdown.

Junior fullback Owen Allen rushed 17 times for 192 yards and two scores.

“(Szarka) did an unbelievable job,” Mullen said. “He made some great throws.”

UNLV coaches watched film this past week that showed Air Force receivers running free down the middle of the field time and again. As poor as UNLV was defensively in numerous areas, the Rebels did a sound job keeping the Falcons from converting on many deep balls.

“Hey, their guys made some plays,” Mullen said. “They made some contested catches, and with option teams, you’re not used to seeing that.”

3. Two minutes, not four

When given the choice, Colandrea said he preferred UNLV’s final drive to have the least amount of time. Maybe because the Rebels didn’t want Air Force to regain possession with enough clock left to drive the length of the field for a game-winning score. Yeah, that was it.

As it went, UNLV took over at its 25 with 1:13 remaining trailing 48-44.

Colandrea then drove UNLV for the game’s final points, running in from 17 yards with 37 seconds left.

“I was hoping they would score and we would get the ball back to run a (two-minute offense),” Colandrea said. “I knew (offensive coordinator Corey Dennis) would have a great game plan for us.”

Air Force did score. The Rebels then took just six plays to drive 75 yards, capped by Colandrea’s touchdown.

From there, the Falcons’ Jacob Medina missed a 40-yard field goal with two seconds left that would have forced overtime.

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