Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 | 11:20 p.m.
The expectations have changed for the UNLV football team.
The days of finding positives in a close defeat to compensate for the helpless feeling of coming up short are thankfully over.
When the Rebels lost last season to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game, the consensus was the program overachieved in playing for the league title. There would be better days ahead, especially with a newfound support from locals who packed Allegiant Stadium.
The loss to Boise State on Friday, a 29-24 heartbreaker that went down to the wire, is much different.
UNLV wasn’t content to be in the conversation for the inaugural College Football Playoff. They expected to beat Boise State to continue the dream of reaching the initial 12-team postseason field.
I desperately want to write that the record 42,228 fans who showed up to support the home team was a moral victory of all moral victories. UNLV, after all, for most of my five decades of living in Las Vegas has played games in front of sections of empty seats.
So, yes, it was significant seeing all of that Rebel red in the Allegiant stands to reaffirm what I’ve long argued: Residents love the hometown university and simply needed a reason to show up.
They were treated to a tremendous game — one the Rebels had plenty of opportunities to win. The Rebels showed they have a quality program and gave another quality program fits. This one stings because they let one get away.
UNLV coach Barry Odom called it a heavyweight matchup, saying “our guys battled. We have a really good team, and so does Boise. There is no consolation. We lost the game.”
UNLV couldn’t overcome untimely penalties, the offensive line was overwhelmed on multiple occasions in giving up six sacks, and the defense that entered ranking second nationally in turnovers couldn’t force Boise State into coughing up the ball.
There was a missed field goal, a poor pass for an interception late in the first half, and somehow a burned timeout early in the third quarter.
“Devastated for our team that we couldn’t win that one,” Odom said.
It’s weird to be critical of the outcome when this UNLV football team is one of the best in the program’s existence. They were ranked in the top-25 earlier in the season for the initial time in school history, have qualified for a bowl game for the second straight season and have two defeats by a combined eight points.
Make no doubt about it, UNLV football is here to stay.
This is the fifth season playing at Allegiant, where the ticket revenue from tonight’s game easily surpassed $2 million. Some of that will surely funnel back to the program, especially with a significant pay bump for Odom on the horizon.
Odom has won 15 games in two seasons at UNLV, showing that having success in Las Vegas can be done. His teams are well prepared, fun to watch and only getting started.
There are four games left in the regular season and a bowl game to play in. Don’t be surprised if UNLV closes with five straight wins.
Tonight sure stings. It won’t feel much better tomorrow.
And knowing that UNLV is an improved program won’t help ease the pain. That’s because the expectations are different.
The big-time atmosphere of Friday night is the new normal, but moral victories don’t matter anymore.
“Those who win in November are remembered,” Odom said. “The only way to make it right is to get back to work and correct the mistakes. (There are) still a lot of things we can obtain as a program.”
Odom said the program will eventually earn its spot on the national stage. “We aren’t there, but we will be,” he said.
Yes, the expectations are certainly different.