UNLV used a pair of first-half special-teams touchdowns and a mistake-free night from its offense to beat Wyoming 31–17 on Saturday, moving to 5–0 (1–0 Mountain West). Keyvone Lee opened the scoring with a 6-yard rush, and the Rebels detonated the game on back-to-back punt blocks: first Jaden Bradley stuffed a kick that Kayden McGee scooped for a 16-yard score, then in the second quarter McGee returned the favor blocking a punt that Bradley took 13 yards to the house. Ramon Villela’s 36-yard field goal made it 24–3 at the break.
Wyoming (2–3, 0–1) briefly trimmed the margin on Deion DeBlanc’s 12-yard TD run early in the third, but Anthony Colandrea’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Jai’Den Thomas in the fourth effectively sealed it. The Cowboys added a late score to set the final margin and finished with two turnovers.
Three takeaways
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Punt-block party: Bradley and McGee flipped the game with two TDs on special teams, staking UNLV to a three-score halftime cushion.
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Balance over fireworks: Colandrea went 11-of-20 for 102 yards and a TD, while Thomas paced the ground attack with 94 rushing yards. The Rebels didn’t need explosive passing field position and defense did the heavy lifting.
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Defense and discipline: UNLV capitalized on two Wyoming turnovers and kept the Cowboys chasing the game after intermission.
By the numbers
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2 — Punt-block return TDs (Bradley & McGee)
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24–3 — Rebels’ halftime lead
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5–0 — UNLV’s overall record after the win
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11/20, 102, 1 TD — Colandrea’s line
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94 — Rushing yards for Jai’Den Thomas
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5 for 65 — Bradley’s receiving line
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25/46, 254, 1 TD — Wyoming QB Kaden Anderson
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2 — Wyoming turnovers
Stat leaders
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UNLV: Colandrea 11/20, 102 yds, 1 TD; Thomas 94 rush yds; Bradley 5 rec, 65 yds; Lee 6-yd TD rush; Villela 36-yd FG.
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Wyoming: Anderson 25/46, 254 yds, 1 TD; DeBlanc 12-yd TD rush.
UNLV Starts Mountain West Play at Wyoming After Historic 4-0 Start
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