UNLV had the ball at the Wyoming 11, down six, with Allegiant Stadium shaking. Two passes later, the game was gone.
Wyoming beat the Rebels 41-35 on Saturday night, November 7, at Allegiant Stadium. The Cowboys led by 20 in the third quarter, then survived a comeback that will sting in Las Vegas all week.
A 20-Point Hole, Then a Real Game
Wyoming owned the first half. The Cowboys scored on six of their seven drives and led 34-21 at the break.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | 10 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 41 |
| UNLV | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
They did it on the ground. Wyoming ran for 351 yards and outgained UNLV 483 to 304 on the night.
Both teams lost their starting quarterback along the way. Wyoming starter Tyler Hughes threw for 107 yards and a touchdown and ran for 71 more before leaving late in the first half with an injury, and backup Landon Sims added a 13-yard touchdown run.
Samuel Harris pushed the lead to 41-21 on a 42-yard touchdown run with 5:14 left in the third quarter. Harris finished with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Markell Holman added 110 yards on the ground.
UNLV answered by changing quarterbacks. Jackson Arnold finished 7-for-18 for 83 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, and Alex Orji came in and changed the temperature of the game.
The Comeback, and the Two Throws That Ended It
Orji's first pass went for 48 yards to Tavian McNair. He ran in a 2-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the third quarter, and the comeback was on.
Jai'Den Thomas scored on an 11-yard run with 8:32 left to make it 41-35. Thomas finished with 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
UNLV got one more shot and marched to the Wyoming 11 behind five straight running plays that gained 60 yards. Then the Rebels threw twice, and Tyson Shamsid-Deen intercepted Orji in the end zone with 1:56 left.
It was Shamsid-Deen's second interception of the night, and he made both plays with a club on his injured hand. His first pick, late in the first half, set up a field goal on the final play of the half.
Head coach Dan Mullen did not hide from it after the game. "Obviously, extremely disappointed in our performance tonight," he said.
What It Means, and the Trip That Decides the Season
Wyoming is 6-3 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West, bowl eligible for the first time since 2023 and alone in second place. The Cowboys have won four straight games.
UNLV falls to 5-4 and 3-2 in league play, and the Rebels no longer control their own path to the Mountain West championship game. The run defense is the emergency, because Wyoming's 351 rushing yards pushed UNLV past 1,000 rushing yards allowed across the last three games.
Here is the part Rebel fans can actually use this week:
- The season now runs through Albuquerque. UNLV plays at first-place New Mexico on Saturday, November 14, at 4:30 p.m. PT at University Stadium, and a loss there likely ends the title race.
- The quarterback question is live all week. Orji's legs powered the comeback, so who starts in Albuquerque is a real decision, not a formality.
- One more win still gets UNLV to six victories and bowl eligibility. The chances left are at New Mexico, at San Jose State on November 21, and home against Nevada on November 28.
Six points. Eleven yards. That is how close UNLV came to stealing this one, and how far the Rebels still have to go.
