UNLV moves up in rankings, controls destiny for MW title game

The UNLV football team moved up in the national rankings after a gritty win at San Jose State on Friday. More importantly, the Rebels now have a clear path to the Mountain West championship game.

The Rebels are a program-best 21st in both The Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today coaches poll released Sunday. UNLV was No. 23 in both polls last week.

The good news started for UNLV (9-2, 5-1 Mountain West) on Saturday night when Fresno State defeated Colorado State 28-22. That loss dropped the Rams (7-4, 5-1) into a tie with the Rebels for second place in the conference behind Boise State (10-1, 7-0).

UNLV owns the tiebreaker over Colorado State, so the Rebels need only to win Saturday against UNR at Allegiant Stadium to earn a rematch with the Broncos in the Mountain West championship game Dec. 6 at Boise, Idaho.

Boise State defeated UNLV 29-24 on Oct. 25.

UNLV made its debut in the national rankings in September, but dropped out after a 44-41 overtime loss to Syracuse on Oct. 4. The Rebels returned to the rankings last week.

Boise State is the only other ranked Mountain West team at No. 11 in both polls this week.

Late Saturday in Fresno, California, quarterback Mikey Keene threw two touchdown passes and running back Bryson Donelson had a career-high 150 yards rushing as the Bulldogs beat Colorado State to give UNLV the help it needed.

A head-to-head matchup would have been the first tiebreaker between UNLV and the Rams, but Colorado State wasn’t scheduled to play the Rebels or Boise State this season.

Mountain West rules say the advantage goes to the team with the highest College Football Playoff ranking when a second tiebreaker is needed.

UNLV made its first-ever appearance in the CFP rankings last week, debuting at No. 24. Colorado State was unranked.

Updated CFP rankings will be released Tuesday. If neither team is in rankings, the Rebels should still have a clear edge in the results-based computer metrics that serve as the third tiebreaker.

UNLV has never won a Mountain West championship. The team’s only appearance in the title game came last season in coach Barry Odom’s first year at the helm, a 44-20 loss to Boise State.

Last year, Odom led the team to nine wins for the first time since 1984 and to its first bowl appearance in a decade.

Odom and UNLV have continued to reach new heights this season, becoming bowl eligible in back-to-back seasons and completing an undefeated record on the road — all firsts in program history.

After the win in San Jose, Odom took the milestones in stride, offering a reminder of the Rebels’ other goal: to make it to the College Football Playoff, which remains a possibility if they can win the Mountain West.

“Those are all things that just keep breaking down walls and things that good programs do,” he said. “Really excited to get win No. 9, stay in the conference race the way we need to, and control the things that are maybe beyond that.”

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