UNLV broke the losing skid Saturday night in a dominant 42-10 victory over the Colorado State Rams. UNLV is a team that has been struggling defensively, but was able to hold the Colorado State offense to only ten points, marking the second time they have held a team to under 20 points this season. A positive sign in the right direction.
OFFENSE
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has himself a night. He had a slow start, but was able to recover and have plenty of big plays. He threw for 251 yards with two
passing touchdowns as well as 33 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Colandrea would’ve had a 71-yard rushing touchdown, but it was called back due to a holding call. He showed his elusiveness and was able to air out plenty of deep balls, including a 68-yard touchdown to wide receiver Troy Omeire in the third quarter.
The run game was outstanding. Running back Jai’den Thomas had himself a night, rushing for 131 yards on only seven carries. He was bouncing around and was unable to be taken down. He broke free for a 57-yard touchdown as well as another 59-yard rush that he almost scored on if it wasn’t for a shoestring tackle. Running back Jaylon Glover also played well, getting the bulk of his work in the second half, rushing for 99 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. As a whole, there were 320 yards on the ground, the most UNLV has had all season.
The receiving game didn’t get as much work because of how great the run game was, but there were still some standout performances. Omeire, who caught the 68-yard touchdown, only saw that ball. He had one reception for 68 yards and a touchdown, a pretty good day at work. Wide receiver Jaden Bradley also had a nice 37-yard catch that set up a Colandrea touchdown. He had 64 yards on three receptions. Wide receiver Taeshaun Lyons caught his second touchdown of the season on a 39-yard grab in the 4th quarter, which was the final score of the game.
UNLV had 571 yards of offense and was highly efficient once again.
DEFENSE
UNLV has been a team that has lost games due to its defense. This week’s game was an incredible new sight to see. The defense held Colorado State to 292 total yards of offense, the least they’ve given up all year.
Quarterback Jackson Brousseau didn’t perform very well, passing for 153 yards and a touchdown before getting benched for quarterback Darius Curry.
Tight end Rocky Beers had a solid performance, hauling in a 48-yard bomb and a touchdown in the game. Wide receiver Lavon Brown had four receptions for 50 yards, and the running back duo of Justin Marshall and Jalen Dupree combined for 110 yards.
Initially, it looked like the defense would give up a ton of points again after letting Colorado State score ten points only a few minutes into the second quarter, but the UNLV defense was able to hold the Rams in check. They were able to put immense pressure in the backfield with eight tackles for loss and three sacks. Linebacker Marsel McDuffie led the way for the defense in tackles for loss with 1.5, and he finished with eight total tackles.
Defensive back Laterrance Welch also picked off Curry late in the fourth quarter to finish off the game. Linebacker Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu finished with ten tackles and half a tackle for loss. Defensive linemen Tunmise Adeleye, Waisale Muavesi, and linebacker Elias Rudolph all got a sack.
The defense was also able to force Colorado State to go 1-for-13 on third-down conversions, with the Rams only converting 7.7% of the time.
It was a game filled with great performances, something the defense had been itching for all season.
WHAT’S NEXT?
After a successful week to keep hopes of making the Mountain West Championship Game alive, UNLV heads back to Vegas to take on Utah State on November 15 at 4:00 PM PST.
