Las Vegas, NV—- Matthew Sluka and Ricky White III combined for three first-quarter touchdowns, helping UNLV cruise to a dominant 72-14 win over Utah Tech in their home opener on Saturday.
Sluka, a transfer from Holy Cross after four seasons, connected with White for touchdown passes of 5, 55, and 7 yards, giving the Rebels a commanding 28-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Freshman kicker Caden Chittenden, a local talent, added three field goals in the second quarter, with the longest from 36 yards. Sluka also scored on a 30-yard touchdown run, and UNLV extended their lead to 44-7 by halftime.
In the second half, UNLV stuck to the ground game, running the ball 20 consecutive times and scoring twice. Greg Burrell finished a 12-play, 60-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter, while Timothy Conerly added an 8-yard scoring run, pushing the lead to 58-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Sluka, who didn’t play after the break, finished with 8 completions on 15 attempts for 161 yards and rushed eight times for 81 yards. Hajj-Malik Williams, a transfer from Campbell, took over in the second half, leading two scoring drives without attempting a pass. He ran 10 times for 88 yards. Cameron Friel added another scoring drive, ending with a 1-yard run, while Devin Green capped off the game with a 38-yard touchdown run for UNLV’s final score.
Burrell rushed for 101 of UNLV’s 504 total rushing yards. In total, 12 different players carried the ball for UNLV, and six found the end zone. Friel threw UNLV’s lone second-half pass, a 30-yard completion to Conerly.
For Utah Tech, quarterback Deacon Hill completed 15 of 29 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He connected with Alec Burton on a 64-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 early on and later hit Chris Street for a 31-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
