Las Vegas, NV— UNLV wasted no time asserting control Friday night, riding an efficient performance from quarterback Anthony Colandrea to a convincing 38–10 win over Hawaii at Allegiant Stadium.
The Rebels (9–2, 5–2 Mountain West) opened the game with a steady march that ended in a 44-yard field goal by Ramon Villela. Hawaii (7–4, 4–3) briefly stole the momentum moments later when Micah Alejado hit Jackson Harris for a 70-yard touchdown on the Rainbow Warriors’ third play from scrimmage.
From there, UNLV took command. Colandrea capped an eight-play, 75-yard answer with an 8-yard strike to Jaden Bradley, giving the Rebels a 14–7 lead after one quarter.
Early in the second, Colandrea found Taeshaun Lyons streaking downfield for a 72-yard touchdown, stretching the advantage to double digits. A methodical 13-play drive later in the quarter ended with a 14-yard scoring run by Keyvone Lee, putting UNLV firmly in front at 24–7. Hawaii trimmed the margin just before halftime on a 45-yard field goal by Kansei Matsuzawa, but the Rainbow Warriors never seriously threatened again.
UNLV delivered the knockout blow on the first snap of the fourth quarter when Colandrea tossed a 1-yard touchdown to Daejon Reynolds to finish an 85-yard march. JoJo Earle added a 27-yard touchdown run late to close out the scoring.
Colandrea was sharp throughout, completing 21 of 26 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. Alejado finished with 163 passing yards on 15-of-24 attempts with one interception for Hawaii.
Both teams entered the night locked in a five-way tie for second place in the Mountain West. UNLV closes its regular season on Nov. 29 at Nevada, while Hawaii returns home to host Wyoming.
