The time has come again for another UNLV football season as the Rebels took down the Houston Cougars on the road at TDECU Stadium by a final score of 27-7 and opened the season 1-0 in front of a crowd of over 25750.
An announcement was made before the game that transfer quarterback Matthew Sluka would start at quarterback, winning the training camp long battle to lead the go go offense onto the field for the first time in 2024, beating out Hajj-Malik Williams and longtime Rebel Cameron Friel.
Luckily for the Rebel faithful, they would not have to wait long to see the new-look offense with Sluka at the helm, as Houston would win the coin toss at center field to open up the game but defer their choice of possession to the second half.
This was the first opportunity for the Rebels’ top returner, Jacob De Jesus, to return a kick, and he would bring the ball up to the 33-yard line off of supporting blocks in front of him.
The first snap with Sluka under center would be a five-yard rush for Jai’den Thomas, and the next play would result in another five-yard gain for Sluka for the opening first down of the drive.
However, after back to back runs on the Rebel’s second set of downs that resulted in little to no movement of the line of scrimmage, an incompletion to the UNLV tight end Kaleo Ballungay would force a punt on fourth down.
On the first drive for senior quarterback Donovan Smith and the Cougars, UNLV would force a first down on their opening two plays after a penalty to the Rebels for having two helmets with Radio communication with the sideline, captain Jackson Woodard, and Masel McDuffie, a new implementation for the 2024 season in the NCAA.
When asked how the mixup occurred, Odom stated, “I didn’t catch it, we didn’t catch it as a coaching staff, that’s not the player’s fault. That was a replacement helmet, and (Marsel) McDuffie grabbed it, but we can learn from that.”
This mistake would not phase the Rebel defensive front as the next set of downs would result in a three and out and the ball back in the hands of Sluka and the Rebel offense after a 46-yard punt to UNLV’s own 25 yard line.
With a fresh set of downs for the Rebel offense, the opening play was a reverse trick, resulting in a 42-yard completed pass by wide receiver Deangelo Irvin Jr. and the despite pass interference on the Houston defense.
Following the big play, a quick pass for 13 yards on the option play results in the Rebels’ first touchdown of the new season from Sluka to De Jesus and a 7-0 UNLV lead.
After the successful Rebel drive, the Cougar offense took the field for their second drive, looking to answer back with six points of their own, and it would start on the right foot as return man Bryan Massey would bring the ball out to the Houston 41 yard line on a 39-yard return.
However, their momentum would be haunted after three consecutive runs for short gains, bringing up fourth down, and coach Fritz on the Cougar sideline elected to go for it, but Smith would be sacked in the backfield by McDuffie as the Rebels would take over at the Houston 45 yard line.
As the Rebels looked to cross into the end zone again on their third drive of the game, captain and star wide receiver Ricky White picked up a gain of 14 yards after a nice spin move.
On the fresh set of downs, Sluka would show off his legs and pick up a gain of 10 and six yards, respectively, on consecutive runs in the red zone, but a failed fourth down conversion would force the Rebels off the field and keep the score 7-0.
After the change of possession, the Cougars backed up on their end of the field, failed to obtain a first down, allowing the Rebels to take the ball back after a three and out.
On the first down of the new drive, Sluka had a slick run through the middle for six yards to help set up a 24 yard toe-tap touchdown at the far corner of the endzone for De Jesus, his second of the night, making the score 14-0 In favor of UNLV.
When asked about the importance of De Jesus to the Rebel receiving room, White said, “He’s a dog, and he practices exactly how he plays. I push him every day at practice, and he pushes me; it’s just motivating to see each other go out and make big plays.”
After the change of possession, back-to-back tackles in the backfield by the Rebel defense would force a punt and change of possession again.
During the next Rebel drive, a 36-yard third down conversion down to the Houston five yard line would set them up for an opportunity to take a three score lead before the half.
Despite UNLV’s field position, a blocked field goal attempt from the 20 yard line would result in the score remaining 14-0 entering halftime.
Entering the second half, the Cougars would start with possession, but a holding call on the kick return would set them back to the nine yard line.
The opening Cougar possession of the second half would continue to resemble their previous efforts as a sack by Jackson Woodard would lead to a punt and a three-and-out for Houston.
The Rebel’s first possession of the third quarter would also mirror their first-half play as continued runs through the middle of the field seemed to wear down Houston’s defense and eventually would lead to a 40-yard field goal by Rebel kicker Caden Chittenden, making the score 17-0.
After another unsuccessful drive by the Houston offense and a shanked punt, Sluka and the UNLV offense would take over at the 34 yard line on the Houston side of the field.
Despite the field position, Matthew’s first interception of the game would be brought back to midfield by defensive back AJ Haulcy, and the Cougars would look for their first points.
However, despite good field position, UNLV defensive back Jalen Catalon would read a screen pass thrown by Smith and return it for a touchdown, resulting in a 24-0 Rebel lead.
After the momentum shift of the pick-6 by the Rebel defense, the Cougars responded with their longest pass completion of the night of 53 yards as Mekhi Mews reeled in the pass from Smith down to the 14 yard line.
However, the drive would ultimately come up empty, as after a sack from defensive back Cameron Oliver, Houston missed a field goal attempt wide right, keeping the score 24-0.
Following the missed field goal attempts, both teams traded multiple empty possessions as the Rebels looked to wind down the game clock.
During Houston’s drive with 7:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, Jalen Catalon recorded his second interception, setting the Rebels up in the red zone.
After failing to cross the goal line for six points, Chittenden would place a field goal through the uprights to score 27-0.
With under a minute remaining, the Cougars would eventually find the end zone as Joseph Manhack would hall in a pass to the side of the end zone to make the score 27-7 and conclude things in Houston.
With the win, the Rebels move to 1-0 for the second consecutive season under Barry Odom and head back home next week to take on the Utah Tech Trailblazers at Allegiant Stadium.
