UNLV overcomes wacky weather to beat Wyoming in Mountain West opener

LARAMIE, Wyo. — You know what they say about these parts: Unpredictable weather is a thing.

It sure was Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium, where UNLV’s football team won its fifth straight game to open the season.

Rebels 31, Wyoming 17.

It’s just the third time UNLV has begun a season 5-0 and the first since 1974.

“The best thing about being 5-0 is you have a chance to be 6-0,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said.

It was close to 90 minutes before kickoff when the skies opened and rain turned to hail which turned to snow, blanketing the field in a sheet of white.

The game was then delayed briefly due to lightning in the area and things didn’t begin until after the scheduled 4 p.m. PT start time.

And when it did, UNLV took off.

Defense stands tall

Weird. The Rebels began their Mountain West-opening game with a miscue on their first play when quarterback Anthony Colandrea fumbled a pitch back on an attempted flea-flicker, affording Wyoming the ball at the UNLV 19.

But what was to come in the first half — UNLV’s defense standing tall — began when the Rebels held the Cowboys to a field goal. Then, it was all UNLV over those first 30 minutes.

In a bizarre twist, the Rebels actually scored 14 points off two blocked punts. The first one saw Jaden Bradley get the block and Kayden McGee scoop it up for a score.

The two then switched spots late in the first half, when McGee blocked Wyoming’s punt attempt and Bradley recovered it and ran in for a touchdown.

“Special teams was huge,” Mullen said. “It’s Oct. 4 and the field is covered in snow. I’d understand if it was late November, but holy cow. You have to win with offense, you have to win with defense, you have to win with special teams. We certainly won the game (on special teams).”

The second block gave UNLV a 24-3 halftime lead.

But it was the defense that really came through over the half.

The Rebels deflected six passes and recovered two Wyoming fumbles. The Cowboys were limited to 138 total yards through two quarters.

“I thought we played really well defensively,” Mullen said. “We never really got into a rhythm offensively, but Wyoming has one of the better defenses in the country.”

But something was obviously said in the Wyoming locker room, because the Cowboys took the second-half kick and went 75 yards in five plays for a touchdown that made it 24-10.

The Cowboys then looked to be putting another scoring drive together, which was halted by UNLV defensive back Quandarius Keyes’ interception at the goal line.

UNLV then put the game away with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a Colandrea-to-Jai’Den Thomas 8-yard scoring pass. That made it 31-10 with 6:20 remaining.

UNLV has seen much better games offensively, the conditions obviously playing a part in the Rebels’ passing game being limited throughout.

Colandrea finished 11 of 20 for 102 yards and the one score.

Wyoming actually outgained the Rebels 356-254 in yards.

The Cowboys tried to make things interesting late, recovering an onside kick with 1:55 remaining in a 31-17 game. But four incompletions later, UNLV had regained possession and ran out the clock.

Remembering when

It wasn’t the first time Mullen experienced some unusual happenings in Laramie.

He was an assistant coach at Utah in 2004 when, just prior to kickoff, the lights went out.

When the game finally began, Mullen fashioned some huge gloves that made it difficult for All-American quarterback Alex Smith to see the offensive signals.

“I told him, ‘If you don’t see (the signals), call whatever you want. It’s too cold.’ ” Mullen said.

Seemed to work. The Utes, then ranked seventh, got out of War Memorial Stadium with a 45-28 win and a Mountain West title.

This was also UNLV’s ninth road win since the start of the 2024 season, which leads the country over that span.

Mullen is now just the second coach to begin his UNLV career 5-0. The other was Bill Ireland in 1968, the program’s first season.

UNLV next puts its undefeated record up against Air Force on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium at 12:30 p.m.

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