Game day: UNLV football dominates in 27-7 win at Houston

It's official: UNLV football is a contender.

The Scarlet and Gray thoroughly dominated Houston on Saturday, delivering a 27-7 victory in the season opener for both teams.

Jalen Catalon notched the biggest play of the night, intercepting a screen pass and returning it 36 yards for a touchdown to extend UNLV's lead to 24-0 midway through the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Texas transfer added an interception, making Catalon's UNLV debut a memorable one.

Senior linebacker Jackson Woodard picked up where he left off last year, leading the team with 11 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. UNLV held Houston to 3.9 yards per play on the night, and most of Houston's production came on a 12-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a garbage-time touchdown with 1:00 remaining.

Matthew Sluka got the start at quarterback and tossed a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Jacob De Jesus, but mostly it was the ground game that powered the UNLV offense. The go-go offense spread the love around: Eight players got carries, and they ended up rushing for 198 yards as a team. Running back Michael Allen led the way with 10 carries for 65 yards, while Sluka kept it 11 times for 59 yards.

Expect talk of a potential playoff run to pick up, as UNLV will carry some serious momentum into next week's home opener against Utah Tech.

UNLV football blowing out Houston, 24-0

UNLV just put this game away, and the Scarlet and Gray defense did the honors.

Senior safety Jalen Catalon blitzed on a third down, tipped a swing pass in the air, intercepted it and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to extend UNLV's lead to 24-0 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The defense has started the second half even more dominant than the first. They forced 3-and-outs on each of Houston's first two drives, and the Cougars have just six total first downs on the night. UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard has seven total tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss.

Freshman kicker Caden Chittenden notched a milestone, as he made a 40-yard field goal to put UNLV up 17-0 midway through the quarter. It was the Faith Lutheran product's first career make; his first attempt, a 21-yarder, was blocked late in the first half.

UNLV came into this game as an underdog, and the final 20 minutes are going to be garbage time. Barry Odom and his squad have certainly made a statement in Week 1.

UNLV leads Houston at half, 14-0

UNLV has a 14-0 lead over Houston at halftime, and if we're being honest, the margin should be even wider.

The Scarlet and Gray dominated the first 30 minutes, but a failed fourth-down attempt in Houston territory in the first quarter and a blocked field goal late in the half took points off the board. Still, a two-touchdown lead on the road against a Big 12 team has to be encouraging for UNLV.

Matthew Sluka has looked good in his first start, completing 6-of-10 passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns. He has really impressed with his running ability, picking up a team-high 50 yards on the ground on eight carries.

Sluka had a chance to add to his totals in the final minute of the half, but a third-down pass into the end zone intended for Ricky White was broken up by a Houston defensive back. UNLV settled for a field goal, but freshman Caden Chittenden had his first career attempt blocked from 21 yards out.

Jaden Bradley leads UNLV with 60 receiving yards, while Jacob De Jesus has 42 yards and two touchdowns. Ricky White has just two catches for 11 yards, but he also had a 58-yard reception wiped out by a holding penalty.

Houston will receive the kick to begin the second half, but unless they figure something out, it might not do any good. So far, the UNLV defense has limited the Cougars to a paltry 2.8 yards per play.

Sluka to De Jesus gives UNLV 14-0 lead at Houston

Matthew Sluka threw his second touchdown pass of the game, and UNLV has extended its lead to 14-0 here in Houston.

It was an impressive drive for Sluka. First he threw across his body for an 18-yard gain to Jaden Bradley, then on the very next play he collected a low snap, scrambled right and drilled a perfect pass to Jacob De Jesus along the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown.

De Jesus made the catch and dragged his toe inbounds, giving him his second touchdown reception of the game.

It hasn't been a perfect half for the Scarlet and Gray, however. Just a couple plays after the touchdown, safety Jett Elad was ejected after being flagged for targeting.

The defense minimized the damage, forcing a punt after the ejection. Sluka and the offense will have the ball at their own 25 with 9:05 left in the half.

UNLV football leads at Houston, 7-0

UNLV missed a big opportunity to build a sizable early lead and will have to settle for a 7-0 advantage over Houston at the end of the first quarter.

Barry Odom decided to go for it on a 4th-and-1 from the Houston 11-yard line, but his aggressiveness was not rewarded. Sophomore running back Jai'Den Thomas took a handoff and was stuffed for no gain, giving possession back to Houston.

Instead of taking a double-digit lead, the Scarlet and Gray are now defending again. Houston will have a 3rd-and-6 from deep in its own territory when the second quarter begins.

Trick play puts UNLV ahead at Houston, 7-0

UNLV used a flashy trick play to get things going here in Houston, and the first touchdown of the season has Barry Odom's squad up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

It wasn't any of the team's three quarterbacks who sparked the offense, but sophomore receiver DeAngelo Irvin. The 5-foot-8 former high-school QB lined up in the slot on the first play of the drive, took a handoff and launched a 42-yard bomb to Jaden Bradley. Four plays later, Sluka connected with Jacob De Jesus on a short pass, and De Jesus scampered into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.

It was Sluka's first completion; he is now 1-of-3 after two possessions.

The UNLV defense followed up the touchdown by getting a big stop, forcing a turnover on downs at midfield. Houston went for it on a 4th-and-3, but Marsel McDuffie blew it up blitzing and sacking quarterback Donovan Smith. Sluka and the offense will take over at the Houston 45 with 5:51 left in the first quarter.

UNLV football scoreless at Houston in 1st quarter

This game may turn into a shootout, but it didn't happen out of the gate. Both teams have had a possession here, and UNLV is locked in a scoreless tie with Houston with 9:36 left in the first quarter.

Matthew Sluka did indeed start at quarterback for UNLV. The Scarlet and Gray received the opening kick and picked up a pair of first downs before facing a 3rd-and-4 at midfield. Sluka had tight end Kaleo Ballungay open over the middle, but the throw lagged behind and a Houston defender was able to break it up. That was Sluka's only pass attempt on the opening drive; he gained nine yards on his lone rushing attempt.

After punting away, the UNLV was hit with a penalty on the first play for having two players with radio communication helmets on the field at the same time. Linebackers Jackson Woodard and Marsel McDuffie both had the green dot on their helmet, which drew an immediate flag. They did eventually force a punt, as defensive back Malik Chavis laid a nice open-field tackle on scrambling Houston quarterback Donovan Smith.

Sluka and UNLV will now get their second crack on offense, starting at their own 25-yard line.

Matthew Sluka leading UNLV football into Houston

If pregame warmups are any indication, Matthew Sluka will start at quarterback for UNLV today.

Sluka, a fifth-year senior transfer from Holy Cross, was the first quarterback in line as the Scarlet and Gray went through early warmups. He also took exponentially more reps than the other passers as they got loose before today's season opener at Houston. That matches what we observed in the final week of training camp, as Sluka assumed more of the workload and the other quarterbacks in the competition — seniors Hajj-Malik Williams and Cameron Friel — settled into reserve roles.

It will be an interesting fit. Sluka is a dual threat who passed for 1,728 yards and 20 touchdowns last year at Holy Cross while adding 1,247 rushing yards and nine scores on the ground.

Quarterback questions as UNLV opens potentially historic season at Houston

UNLV is just hours away from kicking off a 2024 campaign that could lead the team to the inaugural College Football Playoff field, and we still don’t know who the quarterback will be.

Head coach Barry Odom has declined to name a starter ahead of Saturday’s opener at Houston (4 p.m., FS1), but whoever gets the job will be piloting what is likely the highest-powered offense in program history, so the stakes are high.

Can UNLV pick up where it left off after the magical 2023 season and continue that momentum in Year 2 under Odom? Three keys to watch:

Quarterback watch

After a long offseason of intrigue, it’s time to find out which quarterback will get the nod in Week 1. No official announcement is coming from the team, so we’ll just have to keep a close eye on warmups to find out which QB is leading the team through pregame drills.

Even when the starter is revealed, the drama won’t end there. Senior transfers Matthew Sluka and Hajj-Malik Williams duked it out in training camp, but neither was able to land a knockout blow, so could we see some sort of time-share against Houston?

Their skill sets vary just enough — Sluka is a better runner and deep thrower, Williams is decisive and accurate in the short game — to make a two-quarterback rotation a possibility, even if just for a week. It’s not ideal, but Odom has yet to rule out the idea.

Defending Donovan

The Houston offense is led by a familiar face at quarterback: former Bishop Gorman star Donovan Smith.

Smith spent his first two years at Texas Tech before transferring to Houston, and he enjoyed a breakout 2023 campaign, passing for 2,801 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for an additional six scores. Now a senior, his dual-threat ability will present a challenge for UNLV’s reworked defense.

“He’s a really good ballplayer,” senior linebacker Jackson Woodard said. “He’s a playmaker. He can run, he can throw. He’s projected to be a really good quarterback, and that’s what I saw on film. He’s well coached, makes good decisions. We’ve got a tough task at hand with him at quarterback. We’re going to do everything we can in practice to emulate him and we’re going to be ready for it.”

The leg man

It’s not ludicrous to posit that if the game is on the line in the fourth quarter, UNLV may very well call on true freshman Caden Chittenden to attempt a kick that could define the season.

Is the Faith Lutheran product ready for that kind of pressure? Woodard think so.

“Chittenden is ready. We put him in a lot of pressure situations this fall camp, and he’s going to be ready. We’re super confident. If he’s out there to kick the game-winning field goal, we’re confident we’ll win the game.”

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