Coach Dan Mullen and the new-look UNLV football team survived their first major test of the season, beating Big Ten foe UCLA 30-23 on Saturday night in Las Vegas in the Rebels’ lone regular-season matchup against a Power 4 opponent this year.
Defensive back Aamaris Brown intercepted a deflected pass from UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava with 52 seconds remaining, ending the Bruins’ comeback bid while sealing a statement win for the Rebels (3-0).
UNLV managed to build a 23-0 first-half lead but allowed 13 unanswered points before responding with a timely touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, ultimately providing sufficient cushion to take it to the finish line.
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea found Var’keyes Gumms for a 17-yard touchdown completion with 12:04 remaining on an impressive six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The highlight of the drive was Colandrea’s 33-yard run that brought UNLV from midfield to within the red zone.
Iamaleava and UCLA (0-2) answered UNLV’s response with a 30-yard touchdown run, again trimming the lead to 10 points as the extra point set the score at 30-20.
It appeared UCLA quickly struck paydirt again by intercepting an ill-advised Colandrea pass and returning it for a touchdown, but referees ruled the UNLV quarterback was down before he threw the ball.
The Bruins managed to march down the field again on their next possession, but a dropped pass in the end zone forced them to settle for Mateen Bhaghani’s 33-yard field goal to cut UNLV’s lead to 30-23. Their final drive appeared destined to tie the game, but Iamaleava’s untimely mishap spoiled it.
UCLA’s second-half rally began with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ate the first 7:12 of the third quarter. The march culminated with a 4-yard touchdown connection from Iamaleava to tight end Noah Fox-Flores to bring UCLA within 13 points, 23-10.
After forcing a three-and-out on UNLV’s first offensive drive of the second half, UCLA marched down the field again for a 14-play, 54-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal from Bhaghani to cut UNLV’s lead to 23-13 while consuming another 6:50. In total, UCLA maintained possession for 14:02 in the third quarter alone.
UNLV began the early scoring on a 50-yard field goal from Ramon Villela with 8:01 remaining in the first quarter, as the Rebels’ opening drive ate nearly seven minutes of clock. After the first of many stops by UNLV’s defense, the Rebels marched down the field and closed the quarter on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Colandrea to tight end Nick Elskins to go up 10-0.
While the defense remained uncharacteristically stout against Iamaleava and the Bruins’ offense, UNLV’s offense continued to produce. Colandrea found Troy Omeire, who made an impressive grab in the end zone for a touchdown that put UNLV up 17-0 after the extra point with 5:39 remaining in the first half.
UNLV’s hot start continued on its final drive of the half, as running back Keyvone Lee capped a five-play, 44-yard trek with a 19-yard touchdown carry.
Bhaghani booted a 33-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the UNLV lead to 23-3.
