LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV (1-0) opened the Dan Mullen Era with a hard-fought 38-31 win over Idaho State (0-1) in a Week Zero Saturday afternoon special before a raucous crowd of 25,723 fans at Allegiant Stadium.
 
In by far the earliest game in program history, the Rebels had to rally after falling behind 10-0 after the first quarter. That's when All-America candidate running back Jai'Den "Jet" Thomas went to work – igniting his squad with two long touchdown runs in a span of just over three minutes. One from 39 yards out and the other being a 70-yard race to the end zone to give the home team its first lead.
 
The Bengals led at halftime, 17-14, and the teams continued to trade leads until back-to-back interceptions in the fourth quarter, part of four for the squad on the day, led to quarterback Alex Orji's go-ahead 11-yard rushing touchdown on fourth down with just under nine minutes remaining.
 
Orji (3 of 3) and fellow-QB Anthony Colandrea (15 of 21) combined to complete 18 of 24 attempts for 232 yards and one score (no interceptions) through the air and 127 net yards and the TD on 19 carries on the ground. Jaden Bradley led all receivers with a career-high 131 yards on six receptions and new safety Jake Pope led the team with 10 total tackles while new UNLV cornerback Laterrance Welch had two of the picks to give him four in his career (two at ASU).
 
The Rebels have now won 11 of their last 15 home games and hold a winning record at Allegiant Stadium (15-14 since opening in 2020) for the first time ever.
 
REBEL OF THE GAME:
Jai'Den Thomas was magic in his junior debut, rushing for a career-high 147 yards with a 14.7 YPC average, including a career-long 70-yard sprint to the end zone as part of his three-touchdown day. He also moved from ninth to seventh on UNLV's career rushing touchdown list with 22.
 
STAT OF THE GAME:
UNLV's defense brought in four interceptions in a game for the first time since a win over Fresno State on Sept. 28, 2024. Welch had his two, including one in the end zone, while senior captain LB Marsel McDuffie had his first career INT and Aamaris Brown grabbed one as well.
 
QUOTABLE:
"Great job by these guys. Great way to come out and get a win. It's so hard to win. We have so many new faces on the field. I could get up here and give you all the different boring things of what happened in the game and all the little things that we have to fix, but the exciting thing of what happened is we were in a tough game against a team that this is their big game. They had the opportunity to come play in our stadium, to get to come play against a team like us and they're going to come out and give everything they have and they did. Their quarterback Jordan Cooke is an unbelievable football player. But the great thing is that we found a way to win. It could have been very easy for us to find a way to lose as a team, but this team, these guys all stuck together and found a way to win when it was important. We are going to enjoy this win tonight. We are going to get into work early tomorrow and we're going to start coaching and fixing and correcting everything.
 
"I want to thank all the Rebel fans for creating the atmosphere today. We moved this game up on short notice to Week Zero and our fans showed up. I was looking around and I was shocked. I didn't know that we would pack the stadium the way that we did and they did a great job. I thank the band, they did an amazing job, and the dance team, the Rebel Girls and Company, and our cheerleaders. Everybody created a great atmosphere that certainly made it a lot of fun for everybody. I can't wait to come back here and see the type of atmosphere and home field advantage they give us in a couple of weeks against UCLA."
-UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullen
 
NOTABLE:
-This marked the second Week Zero appearance in UNLV history, joining an Aug. 27, 2022, win over these same Idaho State Bengals
-Dan Mullen improved to 12-2 all-time in season-openers during his time at Mississippi State, Florida and now UNLV
-UNLV improved to 8-2 all-time vs. ISU in a series that dates back to 1969
-All 10 meetings in this series have been won by the home team
-Rebel coaches are now 7-7 all-time in their debuts at the school
-UNLV improved to 28-30 all-time in lid-lifters, including 22-10 when they happen at home
-UNLV improved to 9-3 in non-conference play since the start of 2023 after having just six such wins from 2018-22 (6-10)
-Ramon Villela made his first collegiate field goal with a 26-yarder in the third quarter but missed his other two attempts
-Pitt transfer DaeDae Reynolds caught UNLV's only touchdown pass of the day from nine yards out
-Aussie freshman punter Cam Brown was outstanding in his debut, averaging 44.8 yards on four boots
-McDuffie, who was a captain for the game, finished with six total tackles, including one sack, to go with his interception

UP NEXT: The Rebels go on the road for the first time this season for a Friday game at Sam Houston. Kickoff is set for 6:30 pm PT and the game, which will take place in Houston, will be shown on CBS Sports Network. UNLV will return home one week later when it welcomes UCLA on Sept. 6 starting at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at UNLVTickets.com.