LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV (9-3/6-2) football lost at home for the first time in more than a calendar year, 37-31, at the hands of San Jose State (7-5-4/6-2) before 25,554 fans at Allegiant Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
The Rebels finished in a tie with both Boise State and the Spartans for the Mountain West regular-season championship at 6-2 and all three teams will wait for Sunday morning's computer rankings that will dictate which two schools play in next Saturday's conference championship game.
 
SJSU snapped UNLV's three-game win streak and won its sixth straight after jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, in part because of a fumbled kickoff that was converted into points. The Rebels rallied to pull within 20-17 after the first drive of the second half but saw the Spartans eventually go up 37-17. The hosts were not done, however, scoring the game's final two touchdowns and getting the ball back with just over a minute left with a chance to win it before ultimately turning the ball over on downs.
 
UNLV had come into the game having won its first five at home for the first time since 2000 and six straight at Allegiant dating back to November of last year.
 
REBEL OF THE GAME:
True freshman running back Jai'Den Thomas scored three touchdowns on the ground and finished with 48 yards on 10 carries. "Jet" extended his UNLV freshman record for touchdowns scored by a Rebel with a nation-leading 12 on the year.
 
STAT OF THE GAME:
UNLV saw its streak of forcing at least one turnover snapped at 16 games dating back to last season as SJSU won the turnover battle 1-0.
 
QUOTABLE:
"We haven't been in this situation very many times this year and that's a good thing. Hate it for our team that we couldn't get it done today and came up short. San Jose is a really good team, they are playing their best ball.
 
"As a coaching staff, we hate it for our team that we didn't get that win because of what was going into that game and now we have to leave it to chance to see what happens. That's not the way we want to live, but that's what we've earned. As soon as they tell us, we'll get back to work as soon as we know what our future is. We will rebound and regroup and find a way to go play winning football.
 
"We've got a locker room full of guys that are tired, they are hurt, they are upset, frustrated. They also understand, I hope, someday they will be able to look back and know that they went 9-3 and had a chance to compete for (an outright regular-season) championship in the last weekend in November, which is a huge step for this program in the right direction.
 
"I don't want to minimize the fact of what this team has done for 12 weeks and I'm excited about what they've done and the progress that we've made. This one stings a lot, but we'll use it motivationaly and we'll dust ourselves off and be ready to go."
-UNLV Head Coach Barry Odom
 
NOTABLE:
-All-America candidate receiver Ricky White III caught five passes for 111 yards to break a tie with Randy Gatewood (1993-94) and become the first Rebel player in history with five consecutive 100-yard receiving games
-Marsel McDuffie led all tacklers with a dozen while fellow-LB Jackson Woodard posted 11, including two TFL, to increase his season total to 104
-Lou Groza Award candidate kicker Jose Pizano extended his school-record streak of consecutive field goals to 19 with a 34-yarder before halftime. However, he missed a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter to end the streak and make him 23-of-25 on the season
-Vincent Davis Jr. ripped off another long run with a 61-yarder, finishing with 88 yards rushing on just nine carries to go with four catches for 21 yards
-Freshman All-America quarterback Jayden Maiava finished with 229 yards on 19-of-29 passing. It marked the local product's seventh straight 200-yard passing game of the season and eighth overall, which ties him for ninth in school history for a career
-True freshman WR Corey Thompson Jr. not only made his first reception as a Rebel but later hauled in his first collegiate touchdown, finishing with three grabs for 50 yards
-UNLV saw its opponent score first for only the fourth time in 12 games this season
-The Rebels scored at least 24 points for a school-record 11th time this season
-The Rebels remained stellar in the red zone, going 4-for-4 to improve to 50-of-53 on the year overall
-These two teams met in the regular-season finale for the first time since both were members of the WAC in 1997
 
NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV will await word on if it is playing – and still possibly hosting – the 2023 Mountain West Championship on December 2. Kickoff is set for noon PT and if the game is played in Allegiant Stadium, tickets will be available by calling (702) 739-FANS or visiting UNLVTickets.com.