FSM Essential Recap - UNLV Rebels vs Wyoming Cowboys - Week 12 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap – UNLV Rebels vs Wyoming Cowboys – Week 12 – 2023

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UNLV started fast and didn’t look back in their win over the Wyoming Cowboys 34-14 to keep pace in the race for the Mountain West Championship.

The UNLV Rebels took on the Wyoming Cowboys on Friday!

UNLV was under the Friday night lights as they took on the Wyoming Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium. The Rebels were looking to improve to 8–2 on the season. They also wanted to keep pace in the race to win the Mountain West Conference. With a win, they would control their own destiny. With a loss, they would fall to fourth place in the conference.

The Rebels were also looking to build off their blowout win last Saturday against the New Mexico Lobos. Led by Ricky White III, UNLV had their highest points output while they were in Albuquerque. The Rebels offense has become one that opposing teams are having issues stopping since both the pass and run games are working well.

Would UNLV be able to corral the Cowboys, or would the Rebels run wild on Wyoming? It was time to find out how good the Bowl-bound Rebels were against a very tough and physical Wyoming Cowboy team. 

UNLV beat Wyoming on Friday night.

The Rebels started fast vs Wyoming 

UNLV Rebels vs New Mexico Lobos was a blowout from the start of the game on Saturday.

After the rebels forced Wyoming to punt, UNLV took over and went 70 yards in just three plays, which took a total of 21 seconds, for their first score. Jayden Maiava ran the ball in from 10 yards out to give UNLV an early 7–0 lead.

Following a Darius Johnson fumble recovery, UNLV scored again in the next possession. This time, Maiava scored from 1 yard out to give the Rebels a 14–0 lead. A record was set on the next UNLV possession when freshman running back Jai’den Thomas broke the freshman rushing touchdown record with his ninth on the season. That gave the Rebels a 21–0 lead, and they were in complete control of the game.

But in the second quarter, things changed quickly. Wyoming scored on a 32-yard rush to cut the reel lead to 21–7. The Cowboys scored again on the ground and cut the Rebels lead to 21–14.

What did look like a blowout was now a dogfight. 

Late in the third quarter, UNLV found their stride offensively. Maiava led the rebels on a 13-play drive spanning 70 yards, cumulating with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kaleo Ballungay, the first of his career. The Rebels now led 28–14.

After both team’s defenses settled in, UNLV managed two Jose Pizano field goals to give the Rebels a 34–14 win. 

On the day, the UNLV defense held Wyoming to under 300 yards total offense (297), while putting up nearly 400 yards total offense (397) for themselves.

Also, with his 144 yards receiving, UNLV Wide Reciever Ricky White III went over 1000 yards on the season. Jayden Maiava had yet another good game, rushing for 46 yards and completing 17–24 passes for 232 yards and one passing touchdown to go along with two rushing touchdowns.

Receiver Ricky White III led UNLV against New Mexico on Saturday.

The fans played a big role in the win

UNLV took on Wyoming at Allegiant Stadium on Friday

Twenty-five thousand five hundred sixty-eight fans attended the game on Friday night at Allegiant Stadium. It was mainly a sea of red, except for pockets of yellow. The crowd was loud and raucous, just as the rebels needed them to create a home-field advantage. The lower bowl was nearly filled to capacity.

The Rebels also added a nice touch to their helmets on Friday night. Since it was Veterans Day, UNLV had the stars and stripes inside the UNLV arch on their helmet, honoring all who served our country.

The Rebels kept their conference championship hopes alive with the win. If UNLV wins, they will play for the Mountain West Conference championship. They could potentially host the title game should Fresno State lose to any of their next three opponents, so next week’s game has a ton of meaning for UNLV, as well as Air Force.

After the game, rebels head coach Barry Odem spoke about how his team stepped up and performed on Friday night.

“That’s a good win and we are now 8-2 and in the hunt for a conference championship, so I’m so proud of our team and our players, and really on a short week, also for what they did after we got back from New Mexico,” Odom said.

“We put the schedule out in front of them and they did a tremendous job showing maturity, willingness to continue to improve our program — and I thought this week was our best week of preparation. It was the most physical week that we’ve had.”

Odom continued, “Still, we haven’t played our best ball, but I’m excited about the progress that we continue to make and there’s a hunger in the locker room to continue to prepare the way that you’re supposed to — to have a chance to win in November.”

The final score from Allegiant Stadium was 34-14, UNLV over Wyoming.

UNLV will now hit the road for the final time this regular season when they play Air Force on Saturday with a 12:30 PM start time. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. 

 

– Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Joe on all social media: @JoeArrigoFSM

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