UNLV football is playing under the Friday night lights at Children’s Mercy Park, the home stadium of the Kansas MLS team, to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in a rematch of last year’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl. UNLV comes into this game with a 2-0 record for the first time since 1999, while the Jayhawks are coming off a 23-17 loss against Illinois last Saturday.
UNLV starts shaky
At the start of the game, UNLV seemed to struggle to find their rhythm on defense, while Kansas was having a successful ground game. UNLV’s defense couldn’t find a way to stop Kansas running back Devin Neal in the first half. Neal made 12 carries for 95 yards in the first half and eventually would reach 100 yards rushing for the third time this season. Quarterback Jalon Daniel scored two rushing touchdowns, one of which was a 33-yard run that gave the Jayhawks a 14-3 lead.
In the lead-up to this game, Matthew Sluka has been facing difficulties passing the ball downfield. Throughout the season, he has not managed to complete more than 50% of his passes in a single game. These challenges persisted in the game as he struggled to complete long passes, missing open receivers down the field multiple times.
Additionally, the Rebels had trouble scoring touchdowns when they were in the red zone, resulting in them having to settle for a couple of field goals.
However, Jalon Daniel threw a crucial interception to Jalon Catalon, his third pick of the year. Catalon returned the interception 46 yards, setting up UNLV to put some points up before the half.
With only seconds left in the second quarter, Matt Sluka connected with Jaiden Thomas off a wheel route for a 27-yard touchdown pass, bringing the Rebels within four points as they headed to the locker room, trailing 13-17.
UNLV defense steps up
After seemingly the Rebels could not find an answer for Kansas’ run game, Berry Odom seemed to fix those problems going into the half.
To open up the half, Jackson Woodyard picks off Daniels and puts UNLV inside Kansas 10. However, UNLV had to settle for a field goal and cut the lead to 16-17.
UNLV also slowed down Devin Neal as he finished the second half with only 25 yards.
During most of the second half, it seemed like the game was centered around a single drive by UNLV in the fourth quarter. UNLV got some Vegas luck in this drive when Matt Sluka fumbled the ball at midfield, and even though at least four Jayhawks had a chance to recover it, Kylin James was somehow able to recover the ball for UNLV.
After all of that, the game comes down to a 4th and goal at the 1-yard line for the Rebels. With the game on the line, Sluka executes a read option and hands the ball off to Kylin James. James powers his way through, giving the Rebels a late 23-20 lead.
UNLV held the ball for 9 and a half minutes, running 18 plays for 75 yards down the field.
The Jayhawks, with only 1:51 left on the clock, were penalized for a bad chop block, putting them in a tough 4th and 15 position. To clinch the game, Antonio Doyle sacked Jalon Daniels, securing the win for the Rebels with a final score of 23-20.
Concluding the game
Despite Mathew Sluka’s struggles in the air, finishing the game with a 38% completion rate and throwing for only 86 yards, going 0-7 for passes of 20 yards or more, he managed to finish the game with 124 rushing yards. This is the second time this season he has finished with 70 or more rushing yards.
UNLV’s 3-0 start is their first since 1984, when Randall Cunhgan was quarterbacking for the Rebels.
This win has surely put UNLV on the radar in college football. Depending on how other teams perform, there is a possibility that UNLV could be ranked nationally. If not, UNLV will certainly receive many votes from the college committee.
UNLV will have a bye week and will return to Allegiant Stadium to face their first Mountain West opponent of the season, the Fresno State Bulldogs on the 28th.
