Cannon still red: UNLV piles on the points in 45-27 win at UNR

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 | 6:26 p.m.

On UNLV’s second play from scrimmage in Saturday’s 45-27 rout in Reno, quarterback Jayden Maiava rolled right and hit receiver Ricky White for a short gain. Except White turned up field, got a block and raced along the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown.

Later in the half, with UNLV facing a 3^rd-and-12 in its own territory, White blew past a UNR cornerback and hauled in an 82-yard touchdown pass from Maiava to give his team a 28-7 lead at the break.

On the third snap of the second half, running back Donavyn Lester took a handoff, barreled off tackle and went untouched for a 66-yard score.

Going short, going long, handoffs, punt returns, quarterback keepers — just about everything UNLV did on Saturday turned into an explosive play in the Fremont Cannon rivalry game. And once all those big gainers were stacked together, the Scarlet and Gray had 516 yards of offense, their fourth straight 40-point performance and their fourth consecutive win.

More important, it marked the second straight season the program beat UNR.

Now that Barry Odom’s squad sits at 5-1 and 2-0 in the Mountain West, it’s fair to ask the question: Who is going to stop this UNLV offense?

It certainly wasn’t going to be UNR. The Wolf Pack came into the game with the lowest ranked defense in Division I, by multiple metrics, and UNLV had no issues tearing through them at a rapid pace. UNLV averaged 7.1 yards per play and probably could have put more points on the board had Odom not opted to throttle down and play the clock in the second half.

Odom spread his praise around after the game, complimenting just about every aspect of his well-rounded attack.

“We’re doing some good things,” Odom said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can make yards after catch. Tight ends stepped up, had some big plays today. We’ve got four running backs that, depends on the day, who’s making some ground there. And it’ll start up front. If the offensive line can block the point of attack, that opens things up. Ricky White had a huge game, getting behind the coverage on defense. We were able to score when we needed to.”

A second straight win over UNR allows UNLV to keep possession of the Fremont Cannon, college football’s biggest rivalry trophy, for another year.

UNLV is now averaging 37.5 points per game, which ranks them among the top 20 scoring offenses in the nation.

The go-go offense of first-year coordinator Brennan Marion was on display against UNR. Though UNLV didn’t break 300 yards rushing for the third straight game, the visitors consistently produced chunk plays, ground out 5.4 yards per carry and racked up four rushing touchdowns.

And Maiava continued his revelatory play at quarterback. The redshirt freshman started the last two games in place of injured Doug Brumfield, but even with Brumfield healthy and suited up on Saturday, Maiava got the call and turned in his best statistical performance, completing 20-of-25 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

While Maiava did take two sacks — his first in the last three games — he mostly made the right reads and kept the offense moving fast.

“I thought he was smart with his decisions,” Odom said. “There were a couple that we wish we had back, but that’s learning. That’s experience. That’s part of the process.”

Maiava’s connection with White especially paid dividends, as they hooked up for eight catches, 174 yards and two long touchdowns.

“Jayden, he played good, man,” White said. “That’s a smart young guy. He knows the QB position. He’s mature. He’s going to take what the defense gives us.”

Right now, defenses are giving UNLV a lot. The schedule will stiffen considerably over the second half, with road games at Fresno State (Oct. 28) and Air Force (Nov. 18) and a home date against Wyoming (Nov. 10); coming into Saturday, those teams had a combined record of 16-2.

The Scarlet and Gray need one more win to qualify for a bowl, and that will be a big achievement for the program. But if the offense can get to another level, there’s reason to believe this team could go beyond that goal and make some noise in the Mountain West title race.

White thinks they’re in position to do just that.

According to UNLV’s big-play machine, the offense is still striving to hit top gear.

“We’re getting better each and every week,” White said.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.