FRISCO, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV (10-4/6-2) could not overcome multiple self-inflicted wounds and fell to Ohio (9-4/6-2), 17-10, in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl in front of 6,521 fans at Ford Center at the Star late Tuesday night.
 
The Rebels, who were shut out in the first half in a bowl game for the first time ever and first time overall since the 2024 Mountain West Championship game vs. Boise State, turned the ball over twice, had a punt partially blocked and a touchdown wiped out by penalty in the first half alone and trailed 6-0 at the break. The Bobcats took the opening drive and made it 14-0 and held on to win their seventh-straight bowl game.
 
The Rebels, who were making a third-straight bowl trip for the first time in program history, failed in their quest to reach 11 wins in back-to-back seasons but have 30 total wins in the last three campaigns.
 
Ramon Villela finally got his team on the scoreboard with a UNLV bowl-record 50-yard field goal during the first drive of the third quarter. The previous long by a Rebel was 48 yards by Caden Chittenden in last year's LA Bowl win over Cal. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea found the end zone (his 10^th rushing score of the season) from two yards out on fourth-and-goal to draw the Rebels to within seven points but never got the ball back to attempt the equalizer.
 
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie, who played high school football in nearby Grand Prairie, led all tacklers with nine and recovered a fumble in the first half. He finished his final season as a Rebel with 112 total tackles.
 
STAT OF THE GAME:
UNLV lost to a Mid-American Conference opponent in a bowl game for the first time in three all-time matchups. The Rebels previously defeated Toledo (1984 California Bowl) and Central Michigan (1994 Las Vegas Bowl).
 
QUOTABLE:
"I didn't do a good enough job of preparing us for this game. Our goal was to come out and start fast, so that's on me and the preparation that I need to have everybody clicking and rolling (but) I don't take anything away from Ohio. They're a really good football team. They came out and executed the game they wanted to, and we didn't execute the game we wanted to.
 
"We're going to continue to grow, continue to build and continue to raise that standard of being a program that's going to compete for championships year in and year out."
-UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullen
 
NOTABLE:
--UNLV and Ohio played each other only the second time as the Rebels won a regular-season meeting in Las Vegas in 1988 at now-shuttered Sam Boyd Silver Bowl
--The Rebels played a bowl game in the state of Texas for the second time. UNLV lost to North Texas in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on New Year's Day 2014 at Cotton Bowl Stadium
--Junior RB Jai'Den Thomas passed the 1,000-yard mark during the game for the first time in his career and posted the 15th such season in UNLV history. Jet, who came in leading the nation in yards per carry, finished with 51 on 11 carries
--Latarrence Welch hauled in his team-leading fifth interception of the season. It marked the third straight season that UNLV had a player grab five picks
--While this game was a neutral-site affair, UNLV leads the nation with 11 road wins since the start of the 2024 season
--Cam Brown saw a punt blocked for the first time this season