EL PASO, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) – Playing its first night game of the season, UNLV (3-1/0-0) won a third non-conference outing for the first time since 2008 with a 45-28 win at UTEP (1-3/0-1) Saturday before 28,042 at Sun Bowl Stadium.
 
True freshman running back Jai'Den "Jet" Thomas tied a school record by scoring four touchdowns – all on the ground – as UNLV imposed its will in the rushing game all evening, finishing with 306 yards to UTEP's 91, while also allowing zero sacks.
 
The Rebels' six rush touchdowns overall tied for the third-most in school history while Jose Pizano capped the evening with a field goal.
 
With starting quarterback Doug Brumfield out with an injury, Jayden Maiava made his first collegiate start and finished 15-of-27 passing for 190 yards.
 
Defensively, the visitors were led by Jaxen Turner's two interceptions to go with seven total tackles while Johnathan Baldwin led the squad with nine total takedowns.
 
UNLV, which overcame 10 penalties for 96 – a large majority of which came in the first half – doubled its team sack season total in the first half alone with four – all by different players.
 
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Jet Thomas finished with 100 yards on 13 carries and became the fifth Rebel (six times overall) to rush for four scores in one game and the first since quarterback Armani Rogers did it vs. Prairie View A&M in 2018. Thomas now has seven rushing TDs through the first four games, which is just one off the school freshman record of eight set by QB Rogers in 2017.
 
STAT OF THE GAME:
UNLV saw four different players finish with more than 25 yards rushing and three with more than 50 – none of whom had more than 13 carries. Vincent Davis finished just short of posting his first 100-yard game as a Rebel (97 yards on 13 attempts).
 
QUOTABLE:
"I'm so thrilled that we got the win. The penalties were very disappointing, it was obviously way too many. We will get those fixed. I thought the takeaways were huge on defense, and then the ability to run the football, Jet with four touchdowns and we had 300 yards rushing. Six total rushing touchdowns, that's a great output by our offense and offensive line. The coaches put together the game plan and then the players executed it. That was a big-time effort. Thrilled with the win on the road and to be 3-1 through the non-conference portion of the season, now it's on to conference play."
-UNLV Head Coach Barry Odom
 
REBEL NOTES:
-UNLV won the turnover battle 3-1 with all four turnovers in the game being interceptions
-Cam Oliver's second quarter interception was the sixth of his career
-UNLV did not score during a trip to the red zone for the first time this season when Jayden Maiava's pass was tipped and intercepted in the third quarter. The Rebels had been 15-for-15 before the turnover. They finished 6-of-7 in the game
-The Rebels wore an all-white uniform, including a retro helmet decal inspired by the design worn from 1987-89 on a silver helmet
-No less than 11 Rebels graduated from Texas high schools
-UNLV played at the Sun Bowl for the first time in 30 years
-Head coach Barry Odom earned his first road victory at UNLV
-The Rebels won a non-conference game on the road for the first time since downing Vanderbilt in Nashville in 2019
-The last time these programs faced each other in El Paso, UNLV was a member of the Big West and UTEP was in the WAC
-These two schools will play another home-and-home series in 2029 (El Paso) and '30 (Las Vegas)
 
NEXT FOR THE REBELS:
UNLV will open Mountain West play next Saturday by hosting Hawai'i in the annual Ninth Island Showdown presented by the California Hotel. The battle for the Golden Pineapple will kick off at 1 p.m. Tickets are available by calling (702) 739-FANS or visiting unlvtickets.com.