Live coverage: Odom gets win in UNLV debut

Barry Odom's first game as head coach is in the books, and he's in the win column after UNLV handled FCS opponent Bryant, 44-14, at Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter and extended the advantage to 24-0 at the half. The lead ballooned to 41-14 early in the fourth quarter, which is when Odom pulled most of the starters and throttled down.

It was a successful debut for the team's new Go-Go offense, as the Scarlet and Gray racked up 283 rushing yards at a clip of more than seven yards per carry. The passing game lagged a bit — junior quarterback Doug Brumfield completed 11-of-18 passes for 86 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception — but Brumfield did run in a 19-yard TD on the final play of the first half to really blow the game open.

Junior receiver Jacob De Jesus was all over the field, posting a team-best four catches for 50 yards while also notching 127 return yards. Freshman running back Jai'Den Thomas surprised by carrying eight times for 60 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Vincent Davis made an explosive first impression, taking the handoff on the game's opening snap and breaking away for a 69-yard score.

On defense, Odom's gameplan featured plenty of packages with six defensive backs. Junior cornerback Thomas Anderson snagged an interception in the third quarter, while senior DB Jerrae Williams recorded two tackles for loss and half a sack. For the game, UNLV limited Bryant to 4-of-13 on third downs.

Now that the Scarlet and Gray have taken care of business against an inferior opponent, they will hit the road next week to take on No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor.

UNLV football routing Bryant heading into fourth quarter

UNLV posted three scoring drives in the third quarter, and they'll cruise to victory against Bryant today. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Scarlet and Gray have a 41-7 lead.

Bryant finally got on the board via an eight-play, 75-yard drive that took up most of the third quarter. Running back Chris Yates burrowed in from the 1-yard line to trim UNLV's lead to 27-7, but the Scarlet and Gray got it right back.

Jacob De Jesus took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 98 yards before being tripped up from behind at the 1. Donavyn Lester scored up the middle on the next play to make it 34-7 with a couple minutes left in the quarter.

After the defense forced a punt, UNLV drove 79 yards and scored on a Jai'Den Thomas run with eight seconds left in the third.

De Jesus has been an all-around terror for UNLV, posting four catches for 50 yards while returning two kicks for 127 yards. Thomas, a freshman, has rushed for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

Brumfield TD gives UNLV 24-0 lead at half

After a very fast start and a strong finish to the half, UNLV is heading into the locker room with a 24-0 lead over Bryant at Allegiant Stadium.

Doug Brumfield closed out the second quarter with some fireworks. With the ball at the 19-yard line and the clock ticking inside 10 seconds, Brumfield scrambled to his right, juked a defender and tumbled into the end zone as time expired for a dramatic touchdown.

It was a boost for the UNLV offense, which had been shut out in the second quarter to that point.

UNLV's defense has come up big as well. Aside from keeping Bryant off the scoreboard, they've also notched a pair of fourth-down stops while limiting Bryant to 3.4 yards per carry and 3.8 yards per play.

For the half, Brumfield was 7-of-12 passing for 63 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. He has carried the ball five times for 32 yards.

UNLV will receive the kickoff after halftime.

UNLV football up 17-0 after first quarter

One question for this UNLV team was how they'd be able to replace graduated kicker Daniel Gutierrez, who left as the program's all-time leader in made field goals. Senior transfer Jose Pizano is doing okay so far, as he just booted a 48-yarder to extend UNLV's lead over Bryant to 17-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Junior receiver Jacob De Jesus did most of the work getting the offense into field-goal range. First he took an end-around (technically a reception in the box score) and raced 29 yards into Bryant territory. Then he snagged a short catch to set up the kick. In his first quarter at UNLV, De Jesus has three receptions for 37 yards.

UNLV football scores on first play against Bryant

UNLV is off to an explosive start, as Vincent Davis took a handoff on the first play from scrimmage and raced 69 yards for a touchdown. The Scarlet and Gray followed up with another scoring drive, and midway through the first quarter they've got a 14-0 lead over Bryant.

Davis, a senior transfer, was not listed on the three-deep depth chart at running back this week, but he was lined up in the backfield for the first play and was able to break through a hole on the left side. Once Davis got into the open field, the Pitt transfer split two tacklers and broke loose for the score.

The defense followed up with a strong sequence, stopping Bryant on a 4th-and-1 on their side of the 50. Taking over possession at the Bryant 41, UNLV embarked on a truncated seven-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by freshman Jai'Den Thomas. They employed the Go-Go offense on the drive, rushing to the line and snapping the ball as fast as possible on each play.

Barry Odom couldn't have asked for a better start to his tenure at UNLV.

New-look UNLV kicks off 2023 campaign vs. Bryant

UNLV players have taken the field at Allegiant Stadium as we draw closer to kickoff of the 2023 season. Of course, the last time the Scarlet and Gray were on this field they had a different head coach and were running entirely different schemes on both sides of the ball, so a lot has changed since their disappointing 5-7 campaign last year.

What will this new, Barry Odom-led version look like today against FCS opponent Bryant? Some keys to watch: 

Odom's debut

At his weekly press conference, new coach Barry Odom remarked that game weeks are usually tough on his family, as he becomes more focused (and somewhat standoffish) as kickoff approaches.

UNLV fans are in a better mood, as Odom has the Scarlet and Gray lined up for a successful season. There is talent in place, and Odom has had success as a head coach in the past.

The biggest key will be Odom’s defensive system. He has installed the 3-3-5 as UNLV’s base defense, and there could be six defensive backs on the field for most of today’s game against Bryant. It’s a system that empowers its defensive backs to fly around the field and swarm the ball in search of big plays, and it looked effective in training camp.

Now we’ll see how it works in a real game.

Senior safety Johnathan Baldwin is a believer in the game plan, as he said the staff has given him the green light to “play free” and go after the ball.

“In the spring we got introduced to a new defense,” Baldwin said. “Coach Odom brought his style of play and we had a lot of adjustment to do. He brought his three-safety look, run fits and things are different. As of now, things are clicking. Everything is coming together.”

Odom is particularly emphasizing the need to limit big plays by the offense. He defines chunk plays as 20-yard passes or 15-yard runs, and the defense has been designed to scuttle such long gains.

“Usually, if you can stop the chunk plays and make the offense drive the field, your success rate goes way up…So you’ve got to be good on first down, get them behind the sticks on second down, and then hopefully get them into third-and-7-plus.”

Unveiling the 'Go-Go'

Odom’s defense isn’t the only playbook being debuted against Bryant, as offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and his “Go-Go” offense will also be unveiled.

It’s a run-heavy system that relies on misdirection and deep shots to keep opposing defenses disoriented. Junior quarterback Doug Brumfield said it’s been a natural fit as he spent the offseason immersing himself in the new offense.

Brumfield said the number of options built into each play is what differentiates the Go-Go from other systems.

“That’s something coach Marion really stresses, is you have multiple options,” Brumfield said. “I can hand it off, I can keep it myself or I can play it RPO. So really the versatility and the options.”

Marion is confident the Go-Go will work in the long term; on Saturday, he wants his squad to focus on executing the plays and not making any big mistakes that might allow Bryant to hang around.

“Above everything else, taking care of the ball,” Marion said when asked what he wants to see out of Brumfield. “I think that’s so important. There’s going to be time to take shots down the field, there’s going to be times for him to tuck the ball and run, but protecting the ball is so important, especially in early games. The turnover margin needs to be in our favor, and a lot of that will be on how the quarterback plays.”

Allegiant allegiance

What will UNLV’s crowds look like this season? Since Allegiant Stadium opened to fans in 2021, there hasn’t been much of a homefield advantage, and Odom doesn’t have any delusions that the situation is going to change overnight.

He believes that if UNLV can win early, and give the community something to get excited about, they will show up to support the Scarlet and Gray.

“It’s so huge,” Odom said. “A homefield advantage would be huge for us. We need to create that, for a number of reasons. The opportunity for college football to be back in this city, we need to embrace it, the city needs to embrace it. I need to give them a reason to be in the stands.”

What: UNLV football vs. Bryant

When: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Allegiant Stadium

TV: Silver State Entertainment (Cox 125, antenna 5.2)

Streaming: Mountain West Network

Radio: 1100AM, 100.9FM

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