UCLA football (0-1) has a chance to redeem itself after a 33-point season-opening loss to Utah when it battles UNLV (2-0) on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Daily Bruin Sports senior staffer Kai Dizon, who will need to find a way to watch what the Bruins are calling a football team from Tokyo, Japan, scouts the Rebels ahead of Saturday’s bout.
UNLV’s Offense
Offensive scheme: Pro Spread
Run-pass percentage: 62.1% run, 37.9% pass
Strength: Ground attack
Weakness: Chemistry
X-factor: RB Jai’Den Thomas
Saturday may not look good for the Bruins at first glance. The Utes mopped the floor with them just a week ago, and the Rebels scored 38 points in back-to-back weeks, earning a 2-0 record.
But the season is young – sample size small – and UNLV’s two opponents were midmajors: Idaho State, hailing from the Big Sky, and Sam Houston from Conference USA.
That’s not to say the Rebels should be taken too lightly.
UNLV finished second in its conference last season behind only a then-Ashton Jeanty-led Boise State. The Broncos made last season’s inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and handed the Rebels two of their three losses. Meanwhile, UNLV’s 2024 campaign culminated in an Art of Sport LA Bowl win over California.
And despite the departure of four players to the NFL and 21 players to the transfer portal, the Rebels – who brought in 29 players via the portal – have not seemed to lose a step.
The Rebels hired former Mississippi State and Florida coach Dan Mullen. Though Mullen has not coached since 2021, he carries a 7-3 record in bowl games and a 105-61 overall record heading into Saturday.
This season marks Corey Dennis’ first stint as an offensive coordinator, but he arrives with nine years of experience at Ohio State where he was the quarterbacks coach for NFL first-round picks Justin Fields and CJ Stroud.
Paul Guenther brings 21 years of NFL-coaching experience to UNLV – though he, too, is in his first year as the Rebels’ defensive coordinator.
The Rebels have undoubtedly been carried by their offense thus far – their 468 yards per game rank first in the Mountain West, and that success can largely be attributed to quarterback Anthony Colandrea.
Colandrea spent the previous two seasons as Virginia’s starter and finished his Cavaliers’ career with a 6-12 record and a 1-4 mark against ranked teams.
However, he seems to have to turned over a new leaf with the Rebels. His 10.1 yards per attempt ranks 21st in the nation and first in the Mountain West. Additionally, his 77.3% completion percentage is 23rd and first, respectively, as he has seemingly beat out Michigan transfer Alex Orji for the starting job.
UNLV’s leading receiver, Jaden Bradley, is also putting up career bests, with 12 receptions for 256 yards – more than half of the team’s 481 passing yards.
But the Bruins’ biggest problem may be preseason all-conference selection Jai’Den Thomas.
The running back rushed for 147 yards against Idaho State and 65 against Sam Houston, spearheading a ground attack that is averaging 227.5 yards per game. Add in Colandrea’s mobility – having accumulated 116 yards with his legs thus far – and the outlook isn’t promising for a UCLA defense that allowed 286 rushing yards against Utah.
Besides redshirt sophomore linebacker Isaiah Chisom’s 17 total tackles and redshirt senior linebacker JonJon Vaughns’ 15 – ranking third and fifth in the nation, respectively – the Bruins’ defense looked miserable against the Utes. Utah converted 14 of its 16 third downs and averaged 7.9 yards per pass and 5.3 per rush. The 492 total yards allowed by UCLA ranks 11th in the nation.
There were certainly questions for Bruins’ defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe to answer after defensive departures in linebackers Carson Schwesinger and Kain Medrano, edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo and defensive lineman Jay Toia after last season – even after he stitched UCLA back together following the team’s loss of Laiatu Latu, Darius Muasau, Gabriel Murphy and Grayson Murphy just the year prior.
And after a disaster of a season opener, the second-year defensive shotcaller will not have the easiest opponent to steady his ship.
UNLV’s Defense
Defensive scheme: Multiple 4-2-5
Strength: Defensive backs
Weakness: Run defense
X-factor: DB Aamaris Brown
The upcoming match may offer a silver lining for the Bruins: the Rebels’ defense could be just what their offense needs to get going after a miserable 10-point showing against the Utes.
Through two games, UNLV has surrendered an average of 443.5 yards – 291 through the air and 152.5 on the ground. In contrast, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava threw for only 136 yards Saturday, while UCLA rushed for just 84.
While the lopsided score from the get-go likely limited the Bruins’ propensity to run the ball, it remains that UCLA running backs combined for just 37 yards on 15 carries – an unwelcoming sign for a team that averaged the third-fewest yards per game last season.
Marsel McDuffie, a preseason all-conference selection, leads UNLV linebackers with 12 tackles, a sack and an interception. However, the Rebels’ defensive backs may steal the show. Jake Pope, a former four-star recruit who spent time with Georgia and Alabama but did not play, already has 11 total tackles in his first season with UNLV.
And USF transfer Aamaris Brown co-leads UNLV’s defense with 12 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions – including a pick-six. But maybe more importantly, the defensive back downplayed Iamaleava as a threat earlier this week, saying the quarterback’s five-star rating does not excite him, and he has not seen anything special about Iamaleava him on film.
UCLA’s defense will certainly need to be better than it was Saturday, but expectations were tempered given the exodus of talent. The Bruins’ offense, however – given the additions of offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, Iamaleava and a revamped running back room – was lauded to be explosive.
Nonetheless, UCLA will need to be better on both sides of the ball against UNLV.
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