Two years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that UNLV could be so close to competing in the College Football Playoff. Back then, Barry Odom took over a team that had made just four bowl appearances, with none since 2013. Now, under Odom’s leadership, the No. 21 Rebels—ranked 22nd in the CFP—are heading to the Mountain West championship game for the second consecutive year after beating Nevada 38-14 on Saturday night, with quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams accounting for three total touchdowns.
UNLV (10-2, 6-1 MW) will face No. 11 Boise State on Friday for the conference title and the Group of Five’s spot in the College Football Playoff. The Rebels were able to secure this opportunity after No. 18 Tulane lost 34-24 to Memphis on Thursday, setting up a win-and-you’re-in showdown with Boise State.
Odom reflected on his journey, which started five years ago when he was fired by Missouri. He became emotional as he talked about the path that led him to Las Vegas, saying that what the Rebels have achieved goes beyond him. “There’s got to be a vision and an alignment, and when you do those things, success is going to follow,” Odom said.
“It’s not always easy. It’s not always perfect. Sometimes it’s a long away from the arena when most of the work is done and most of the victories happen. We’ve been fortunate now that we’ve won 19 games in two seasons, and our guys are hungry.”
UNLV has continued to improve under Odom’s leadership, reaching its second straight postseason for the first time and achieving double-digit victories for only the third time, the first since 1984 when Randall Cunningham was the quarterback.
Against Nevada (3-10, 0-7), Williams threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 104 yards with another score. Jai’Den Thomas added 135 rushing yards and a touchdown as UNLV outrushed Nevada 351-67.
“They stifled our run game,” Nevada coach Jeff Choate said. “We were able to get some perimeter runs going. That’s a fast team. You could see their team speed really in all three phases, and that’s an area where we’ve got to get better at.”
Nevada’s Brendon Lewis passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted once and sacked six times.
In this 50th meeting between the in-state rivals, UNLV earned its third straight win, keeping the Fremont Cannon for the third year in a row. This is the Rebels’ longest winning streak against Nevada since the John Robinson-coached teams won five straight from 2000 to 2004.
The Rebels took control in the second quarter when linebacker Jackson Woodard recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown, and Thomas added a 1-yard touchdown run for a 24-7 halftime lead.
Now, UNLV turns its focus to Boise State for a rematch after losing to the Broncos 29-24 on October 25. “Week in and week out, we’ve gotten extremely better, clicking on all cylinders,” Williams said. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing, over time the team continued to grow and have an upward trajectory.”
