Last season the UNLV Rebels were quietly one of the most exciting teams in College Football as Barry Odom led the team to a 10-3 record while going 6-1 in league play. After such an exciting season, the Rebels were victims of their own success as Barry Odom was hired by Purdue while offensive coordinator Brennan Marion got a much deserved Head Coaching gig at Sacramento State.
The Rebels hired former Florida and Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen looking to continue their upward rise in the Mountain West. Dan Mullen brought in a ton of former highly sought after recruits who didn't work out at their last programs to try and build the most talented team in the Mountain West.
UNLV opted to open their season against Idaho State a team they were favored to beat by more than four possesions. When Dan Mullen's first career game began, it couldn't have started worse for the Rebels.
Idaho State got the football to start the game and the defense looked like some of the groups Mullen had at Florida, allowing the Bengals to go on a 10 play, 67 yard drive to score a field goal.
When UNLV went on offense, Dan Mullen sent out former Michigan quarterback Alex Orji as he still has a quarterback battle. Orji looked the best he has in his college career marching UNLV all the way down the field with both his arm and his legs. The issue was that Alex Orji dove for the endzone on a 9-yard run fumbling the ball and giving it right back to UNLV.
Alex Orji fumbles right at the goal line on UNLV’s opening drive and Idaho State recovers in the end zone 😳 pic.twitter.com/1jwrfjjs3R
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) August 23, 2025
On the ensuing drive, the UNLV once again looked like Swiss cheese as Idaho State marched down the field on a 6 play 80 yard touchdown drive. The play that allowed Idaho State to score was an incredible screen throwback which UNLV clearly never saw coming.
IDAHO STATE IS MAULING UNLV’S DEFENSE RIGHT NOW
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) August 23, 2025
10-0 BENGALS 🐅 pic.twitter.com/0Vh4inc3pl
After Alex Orji had his chance to lead the offense, Dan Mullen sent out former Virginia starter Anthony Colandrea. The ex-Cavalier proved to be a worse option than Alex Orji as his drive resulted in a three and out.
There's still plenty of time for Dan Mullen to get his team back on track but, falling behind 10-0 to Idaho State in this game is a massive concern for the UNLV Rebels.
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