Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 | 10:05 p.m.
The UNLV football team scored 70 seconds into their game Friday night at Utah State, amassed 546 total yards, forced four turnovers and — at times — looked like the Mountain West’s best team in a 50-34 victory.
However, the Rebels showed they are still very much a work in progress, letting Utah State rally in the second half and giving up nearly 600 yards.
UNLV led 41-7 at halftime and was outscored by 18 points in the second half.
But, a win is still a win — especially considering last week.
One week after a heartbreaking overtime loss to Syracuse, the Rebels came ready to play and were crisp offensively early in the game.
All-American Ricky White was the best player on the field, catching six passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns — in the first half alone — to help UNLV lead by 34 points at halftime.
UNLV’s other standout, linebacker Jackson Woodard, was equally impressive in forcing three turnovers. He had 12 tackles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery to help UNLV explode for 27 points in the second quarter.
But instead of continuing the momentum in the second half, the Rebels defense allowed the Utah State offense to gain big chunks of yards. Spencer Petras passed for 451 yards and three scores for Utah State — although he was intercepted three times.
UNLV dominated in the run game in rushing for 313 yards, including a Kylin James 5-yard touchdown run 70 seconds into the game to cap a four play, 75 yard drive to give UNLV the lead for good.
Jai’Den Thomas led the ground attack with 139 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, while James recorded 105 yards and two scores on 13 carries.
Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams was efficient leading the UNLV attack in his third start, completing 13 of 20 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 65 yards.
UNLV (4-1, 2-0 Mountain West) is back on the road 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at Oregon State.