Football is back! And not preseason football, but honest-to-goodness football. It’s Week 0 in college football, and the UNLV Rebels host the Idaho State Bengals on Saturday in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. The game was shifted from September 13 to August 23 to accommodate the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford super-middleweight undisputed world championship fight.
The Rebels are entering the season with a new head coach, Dan Mullen, and coming off an 11-3 season in 2024 that ended with a Mountain West Championship Game 21-7 loss to Boise State. Mullen is four years removed from his stint with Florida.
Top 3 UNLV Offensive Players
The Rebels don’t have many starters returning from 2024, so Mullen is starting from scratch on offense and has brought in a bevy of four and five-star recruits. He’ll be playing two quarterbacks to start the season: transfers Anthony Colandrea (Virginia) and Alex Orji (Michigan).
1. Anthony Colandrea, QB
Colandrea spent the last two years with Virginia and threw for 4,083 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions in 19 games.
He started 11 games as a true sophomore in 2024, but when he struggled down the stretch, he was benched in favor of senior Tony Muskett in the season finale. Colandera subsequently transferred to UNLV.
2. Alex Orji, QB
Orji played at Michigan, appearing in 20 games and completing 26 of 48 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 78 times for 392 yards and four touchdowns.
The dual-threat quarterback is set to split reps with Colandrea in the season opener against ISU as Mullen works out who he wants as his full-time starting quarterback.
3. Jai’den Thomas, RB
Thomas is probably Mullen’s most reliable offensive threat. He had a solid 2024 when he ran 164 times for 918 yards and seven touchdowns.
Mullen will likely lean on Thomas as he looks to build the pass off of the run and decide who he wants to ride with at quarterback.
Top 3 Idaho State Offensive Players
Idaho State allowed 5.8 YPCÂ against FCS competition in 2024, so they presumably will need to score many points. However, they were pretty solid on offense, especially on the offensive line. The Bengals allowed just five sacks in 12 games.
1. Jordan Cooke, QB
Redshirt junior Jordan Cooke takes over an offense that averaged 32.1 PPG in 2024. He played in only one game in 2024 since he took his redshirt that year, but in 2023, he threw 2,453 yards and 12 touchdowns.
2. Ian Duarte, WR
After their top wide receiver, Jeff Weimar, transferred to West Virginia, the Bengals will likely turn to Duarte to be their top wideout.
How To Watch Idaho State-UNLV Opener: TV Channel, Date, Time and More
The redshirt sophomore had a solid 2024 with 47 receptions for 504 yards and three touchdowns. It’s a big ask, but he needs to step up.
3. Dason Brooks, RB
Brooks moved from linebacker to running back and made a solid impact, running for 506 yards with four touchdowns and 6.3 YPC. He’ll be leaned on more in 2025.
This Week 0 showdown will kick off in Las Vegas at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will be televised on the Mountain West Network. The betting line is currently set at UNLV -29.5 with an over/under at 65.5.
