UNLV quarterback makes most of starting opportunity in road victory

Like most quarterbacks who just had a successful outing, UNLV’s Anthony Colandrea gave credit late Friday night where it’s due.

“We really blocked well up front,” he said. “The offensive line did a great job protecting. No sacks. That’s huge.”

It meant opportunity for Colandrea and he took full advantage. The junior transfer had himself quite a game in leading the Rebels to a 38-21 road victory against Sam Houston at Shell Energy Stadium.

Colandrea completed 19 of 23 passes for 249 yards with two scores and an interception. He also ran for a touchdown.

It was unknown beforehand who would start — Colandrea or junior transfer Alex Orji.

The former did, played a majority of snaps and followed advice from the guy in charge.

“I talked to (Colandrea) and said, ‘Hey, you have to be close to a 70 percent completion guy’ and he did it,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “He has done a really nice job making plays, making good decisions. There are one to two misses he’ll get cleaned up. It’s just about him constantly learning and being more comfortable in the system to make the right decisions.”

Two weeks and two wins later, Colandrea has found a nice combination with wide receiver Jaden Bradley, who has gained 256 yards so far this season.

The two hooked up for a 48-yard scoring pass Friday and a 49-yard strike that helped set up another touchdown.

“He’s a great receiver,” Colandrea said. “We’ve been working on go-routes since I’ve been here. I just have to put it around him and he’s going to make a play.

“The biggest thing is giving those guys a shot downfield. If I overthrow it, we might as well just spike the ball.”

Mullen was happy with most of what he saw from UNLV, save for a handful of plays. Sam Houston twice scored on fourth-and-1, first from 53 yards out and again from 59.

The Rebels also lost an onsides kick they had covered and threw a late interception.

“The focus and attention to detail for four quarters, just focusing on every individual snap,” Mullen said. “But there were so many positives for us to build on if we can focus on eliminating some of those mistakes.

“We also have to do a better job of coaching. We sputtered at different times during that game and that frustrates me. That’s on our coaching staff. We have to keep the rhythm going.”

Despite giving up the two long touchdowns, UNLV was far better this week defensively than in a seven-point victory against Idaho State. Aamaris Brown punctuated the effort by returning an interception 52 yards for a score.

That made it 24-7.

“It was third-and-long for them and I was just in my zone playing my coverage,” Brown said. “I saw the quarterback looking at me and I was like, ‘No way you’re throwing me the ball.’ He ended up throwing it right to my face. I just saw green grass and the end zone.

“The biggest improvement was the details. Last week, we lacked them. This week, we focused on them. That’s what helped us get a victory.”

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