3 takeaways: UNLV crushes Fresno State; Odom addresses Sluka

Three days before the UNLV football team beat Fresno State 59-14 in its Mountain West opener Saturday at Allegiant Stadium, All-American wide receiver Ricky White III responded to a prediction on social media.

“I bet (Hajj-Malik Williams) throws 3 TDs and (White) has over 150 yards,” the post said.

White wrote “True story” in reply — and it almost was.

Making his first start for the Rebels in the wake of former starting quarterback Matthew Sluka’s abrupt exit from the team, Williams completed 13 of 16 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, helping the team to its first 4-0 start since 1976.

Williams also led the team in rushing with 119 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.

White entered Saturday with 10 receptions on the season, and came out of the win equaling that total with 10 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

After the victory, White said he was always confident in Williams, hence his endorsement of Wednesday night’s internet prophecy.

“He was one of the quarterbacks that got here early in January, so I was able to just get those extra reps with him,” White said. “I feel like it was good, the change (from Sluka). It was definitely good for us. I’m blessed, thankful.”

By the fourth quarter, the announced crowd of 24,638 fans was chanting, “Who needs Sluka?”

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Odom addresses exit

In his opening postgame comments, UNLV coach Barry Odom shut down any opportunity to ask questions about claims from Sluka’s camp about an unfulfilled promise of $100,000 in name, image and likeness payments.

“The following will be my only comments on the matter,” Odom said, reading from a written statement. “Many have expressed very strong opinions about the events of last week without full knowledge of the facts, without full knowledge of the events of last week, and without full knowledge of the rules in the ever changing, evolving, NIL system. And regrettably, some have even used this circumstance as a platform for their own agendas.

“I respect everyone’s right to an opinion, and I won’t comment on others’ opinions or their motivations for expressing them. Rather, I’ll say only that our football program complied with applicable rules, and subject to those rules, we’re fully committed to the development and the success of every student-athlete in our program.”

2. Defense shines again

UNLV kicked off to start, and the second play of the game was an interception from senior cornerback Cameron Oliver.

That was the first of four interceptions from Fresno State (3-2, 1-1). UNLV transfer safety Jalen Catalon notched one of the picks and had a game-high 10 tackles (six solo).

Star linebacker Jackson Woodard called Catalon “maybe the best safety in the nation.”

Woodard, who recorded eight tackles (four solo), including two for a loss, credited defensive coordinator Mike Scherer for the unit’s success this season, saying that Scherer’s done “an amazing job” leading the defense and keeping everyone bought in.

3. ‘Attack mode’

The 59 points are the most the Rebels have ever scored against a conference opponent in a regulation game.

That didn’t happen without UNLV maintaining “attack mode in all three phases,” Odom said.

Even special teams had big moments. A blocked punt by Rashod Tanner in the first quarter led to a scoop-and-score for White, the first time the Rebels notched a touchdown on a blocked punt since 2016. Later, Jai’Den Thomas returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score.

In addition to what Odom described as Williams’ poise, he said the entire team was “effective and efficient.”

“The offensive line did a tremendous job protecting (Williams),” Odom said. “I thought the receivers ran great routes. I thought the runners ran hard. We played well as an offense.”

White was so pleased with the offense that he grabbed the microphone as the news conference ended to reference Circa CEO Derek Stevens’s offer to pay Sluka the $100,000 to keep him in the fold.

“I would ask that somebody reach out to the Circa CEO and ask him, with that $100,000 that he wanted to donate, give it to our O-line please,” White said to Odom’s initial horror.

UNLV hosts Syracuse (3-1) at 6 p.m. Friday at Allegiant Stadium.

Contact Callie Fin at clawsonfreeman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.