Game day: UNLV pulls off miracle win at Kansas

It's over here in Kansas City, and UNLV is going home with one of the most impactful wins in the history of the program, as they overcame a double-digit deficit to knock off Kansas, 23-20.

After taking the lead with two minutes remaining, Kansas had one final drive. On third down, the Jayhawks were called for a chop block, moving them back into a 4th-and-16 with less than a minute to play. Two UNLV defenders converged to sack quarterback Jalon Daniels, sending the visiting sideline into a frenzy.

UNLV is now 3-0, the first time since 1984 the Scarlet and Gray have won their first three contests since 1984. The win could vault them into the Top 25 rankings next week, and likely positions them as the leader for the Group of 5 playoff berth at this point in the season.

The team will have a bye before returning home to host Fresno State in the Mountain West opener. 

UNLV football takes late lead over Kansas

It took a couple miracles, but UNLV has its first lead of the game after Kylin James scored on fourth down to make it 23-20 in favor of UNLV with 1:51 on the clock.

James made the biggest play of the night by recovering a Matthew Sluka fumble at the Kansas 44-yard line earlier in the drive, and UNLV had to convert another fourth down deep in KU territory to keep the possession alive, setting up a 4th-and-goal from the 1. Sluka handed to James, and the senior churned his way through the pile.

Can the defense hold and give UNLV one of the biggest victories in program history?

Kansas leads UNLV in fourth quarter, 20-16

After the third quarter devolved into a defensive slugfest, Kansas just tacked on a field goal to extend its lead over UNLV to 20-16 with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter.

The teams traded punts for four consecutive possessions to close out the third, before KU finally got some traction. Quarterback Jalon Daniels hit passes of 18 yards and 10 yards to cover some ground, and kicker Tabor Allen connected on a 41-yard field goal to give the Jayhawks some cushion.

UNLV's offense has struggled mightily in the second half. Aside from not being able to score on a 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line, they came up empty on two drives in the third quarter despite being handed great field position, including one possession that started at the Kansas 44.

Matthew Sluka has produced some big plays, but he has completed just 7-of-17 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Can the go-go offense get on track in time to earn the Scarlet and Gray a massive victory? Time is running out.

UNLV still on comeback trail, down 17-16 at Kansas

Jackson Woodard gave UNLV a big play to open the second half, but the offense wasn't able to fully capitalize. With 9:38 left in the third quarter, another Caden Chittenden field goal has pulled UNLV within 17-16.

Kansas received the ball to start the half, and on the second play Woodard stepped in front of a pass over the middle and picked it off. For a moment it looked as though Woodard might take it to the house, but he was tackled at the KU 4-yard line.

Despite the delux, premium field position, UNLV actually went backward as a pair of running plays combined to lose a yard. On 3rd-and-goal, Matthew Sluka's pass to Ricky White was broken up, and UNLV settled for its third short field goal.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels has now thrown interceptions on each of his last two passes. Can the UNLV defense get to him again and make another play?

UNLV ends first half with shocking touchdown; Kansas lead trimmed to 17-13

UNLV needed something to turn the momentum, and the Scarlet and Gray got it in the closing seconds of the first half.

Jalen Catalon intercepted a deep pass and tacked on a 46-yard return to get onto the Kansas side of the field, and Matthew Sluka hit Jai'Den Thomas with a 27-yard touchdown pass as time expired to trim Kansas' lead to 17-13 at the half.

The dramatic swing quieted the crowd here at Children's Mercy Park, which was anticipating another Kansas score to close out the half. After Caden Chittenden missed a 51-yard field goal, the Jayhawks took over with good field position and a minute on the clock. Devin Neal snapped off a 23-yard run to get Kansas to the UNLV 44, and two plays later Jalon Daniels unloaded down the middle, looking for a big play.

Instead, Catalon stepped in front of the pass and picked it off at the 21. He streaked down the left side and cut across at midfield before being tackled from behind. The UNLV offense took the field with 31 seconds left and no timeouts; Sluka hit a short pass to Jacob De Jesus, but the receiver stayed in bounds and the clock kept running. After some confusion on the play call, Sluka took the next snap with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

Thomas lined up in the backfield and wheeled out to the left side, racing past his defender. Sluka lofted a pinpoint pass, and Thomas hauled it in and ran untouched into the end zone to give UNLV major momentum heading into the locker room.

Sluka finished the half 5-of-11 for 81 yards and a touchdown while adding 66 rushing yards.

The big question coming out of the half will be UNLV's defense. Catalon's interception was their first stop of the game, as Kansas had scored on each of its first three possessions. The Jayhawks are averaging 8.4 yards per play and will receive the kick to begin the third quarter.

Kansas extends lead over UNLV to 14-6

UNLV has yet to prove it can stop this Kansas offense, and with 6:19 left in the second quarter, the Jayhawks own a 14-6 lead.

Kansas has possessed the ball twice, and both resulted in long touchdown drives. The most recent was an eight-play, 94-yard march that ended with a Jalon Daniels 33-yard touchdown rush. Daniels, who also ran for a TD on Kansas' first drive, was untouched on the play.

UNLV answered with a 66-yard drive, but once again it sputtered on the fringes of the red zone. Matthew Sluka picked up a pair of first downs with his legs to keep the drive going, but he was stuffed on a third-down keeper at the 11-yard line, forcing UNLV to send in Caden Chittenden for another short field goal.

The UNLV defense could really use a stop here to allow the game to settle down. Barry Odom might even settle for a sign that they're capable of slowing down this Kansas attack.

UNLV on the board, trails at Kansas, 7-3

After a first 15 minutes dominated by the home team, UNLV is trying to hang around and will head into the second quarter trailing, 7-3.

UNLV needed to respond to Kansas' rather leisurely touchdown drive, and the Scarlet and Gray managed a field goal. The possession began ominously, as Jacob De Jesus got wide open behind the defense but dropped a perfectly thrown pass. Instead of a one-play touchdown drive, UNLV hunkered down and began grinding, moving 59 yards and converting a fourth down before finally stalling just outside the red zone.

Freshman kicker Caden Chittenden cashed in a 38-yard field goal to get UNLV on the board.

The UNLV defense is back on the field, and Kansas picked up where it left off. The Jayhawks second drive began inside the 10 but is already at midfield, as they are averaging 7.7 yards per play. Kansas running back Devin Neal has carried six times for 33 yards, while Jalon Daniels has hit 5-of-6 passes for 49 yards.

UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka is 2-of-5 for 36 yards.

Kansas jumps to 7-0 lead over UNLV football

Kansas went the length of the field for a touchdown to open the scoring, and UNLV finds itself in a 7-0 hole with 6:22 left in the first quarter.

UNLV took the opening kickoff, but the drive ended in a 3-and-out. Jacob De Jesus ran for eight yards on first down, and it looked like Matthew Sluka had Casey Cain open deep behind the defense on second down, but the throw came up short and was batted away by a Kansas defensive back. A Sluka designed keeper on third down was stuffed, and UNLV punted.

Kansas then embarked on a methodical, 12-play drive that covered 81 yards. Tackling was a major issue, as UNLV whiffed on several opportunities to stop Kansas ballcarriers for minimal gains. Instead, the Jayhawks piled up a bunch of YAC, culminating in Jalon Daniels' 11-yard touchdown run on which he spun out of a pair of tackles before diving across the goal line.

UNLV is going to have to fix the tackling issue, or Kansas is going to feast all day.

UNLV football heads to Kansas for pivotal rematch

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — UNLV football is off to a hot start in 2024, and they’ll look to turn it up another notch on Friday when Barry Odom takes his team on the road to face Kansas (4 p.m., ESPN).

In a quirk of the schedule, it’s a rematch of December’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which saw Kansas down the Scarlet and Gray, 49-36. Can UNLV serve up a little payback and improve to 3-0 on the year?

Three keys to watch:

High stakes

Once again, this is a vitally important game for UNLV (something we’ve found ourselves saying quite a lot lately). A second road win over a Big 12 opponent would probably jump UNLV into next week’s Top 25 rankings, and also firmly position Odom’s squad as the frontrunner for the Group of 5’s College Football Playoff spot at the quarter point of the season.

We’ve already seen UNLV respond to pressure in a big way, when they went on the road and dominated Houston in Week 1 to notch an impressive 27-7 victory. If they do it again at Kansas, there will be no doubt this team is for real.

Go-go rematch

An especially intriguing storyline will be how Kansas defends the go-go offense the second time around. The Jayhawks are the first team to face UNLV a second time under offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, so any adjustments they make could offer a preview of how Mountain West opponents will approach their rematches.

It hasn’t been an issue for Marion in the past. While running his idiosyncratic system as the OC at Howard and William & Mary, he squared off in nine rematches, and there was no significant drop in production from the first meetings to the second. In the first matchups, his teams scored 29.9 points per game; in the second they scored 28.4 points per game.

Can UNLV put up the 36 points it scored in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl? Marion’s track record suggests they’ll be okay.

Tough test for new-look defense

It would be an understatement to say UNLV’s defense didn’t hold up in the bowl loss to Kansas. The Jayhawks scored 49 points, racked up 449 passing yards and hit seven explosive pass plays of 20-plus yards. It was an ugly night for the secondary.

Odom and his staff targeted those weaknesses in the offseason, remaking the defensive backfield with talented transfers Jalen Catalon and Tony Grimes, and so far it has paid off, with Catalon and Grimes serving as key pieces in UNLV’s much-improved defense. Now they’ll be counted on to come through against Kansas’s dangerous stable of downfield playmakers.

Another factor will be the status of Marsel McDuffie. The junior linebacker appeared to be enjoying a breakout season until he was forced to leave the field in last week’s win over Utah Tech with a leg injury. Odom said McDuffie was limited in practice this week, so we’ll have to keep an eye out during pregame warmups to see if he’s in uniform and preparing to play.

Team leaders

UNLV

Passing

Matthew Sluka: 46.7%, 232 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT

Rushing

Matthew Sluka: 105 yards, 6.5 yards per carry, 1 TD

Receiving

Ricky White: 7 receptions, 122 yards, 3 TDs

Defense

Jackson Woodard: 12 tackles, 4.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks

Kansas

Passing

Jalon Daniels: 57.4%, 289 yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs

Rushing

Devin Neal: 213 yards, 9.7 yards per carry, 2 TDs

Receiving

Luke Grimm: 15 receptions, 151 yards, 2 TDs 

Defense

Cornell Wheeler: 13 tackles, 3.0 TFLs

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