UNLV dominates Hawai’i as Mountain West title hopes disappear

Lights too bright on a Vegas Friday night.

After a fast and furious start, the University of Hawai’i football team sputtered in prime time as UNLV (9-2, 5-2 Mountain West) delivered a fatal blow to UH’s Mountain West title game hopes with a dominant 38-10 victory inside Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV QB Anthony Colandrea made a statement in the race for conference Offensive Player of the Year, completing 21-of-26 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns as the Rebels posted 470 yards of total offense against the Rainbow Warrior defense.

Hawai’i QB Micah Alejado threw for 163 yards on 15-of-24 passing, his second-lowest output of the season behind the loss at Arizona in which he exited early due to injury. The redshirt freshman found WR Jackson Harris for a 70-yard TD on the first drive of the night but failed to find the end zone again and was intercepted for the eighth time this year on a tipped ball in the second quarter.

The 231 yards of total offense was a season low for UH, who saw its streak of games with a pass catcher hauling in five or more receptions end at 26 and junior WR Pofele Ashlock held without a catch for the first time in his career.

After holding UNLV to a field goal on the opening drive, Hawai’i looked primed for a shootout as Alejado connected with Harris on an early third down to tie head coach Timmy Chang’s freshman TD passes in a season record with his 19th of the year.

Back on the field after just over a minute of game time, the Rainbow Warrior defense handed over a free first down with a defensive holding penalty on third down. After negating what would’ve been a three-and-out by the Rebels, Hawai’i committed a facemask to push UNLV into the red zone before Colandrea found Jaden Bradley for an 8-yard score to put the hosts ahead for good.

The much-maligned UNLV defense went on to force the first punt of the game to close the first quarter, leading to Taeshaun Lyons opening the second frame with a 72-yard catch-and-run to put the Rebels up by 10.

Things went from bad to worse over the next few minutes for the Rainbow Warriors, seeing a holding penalty hinder their next drive near midfield before a deep pass by Alejado was tipped and picked off by Jake Pope. Keyvone Lee provided the finishing touches on the misery parlay for UH fans, powering into the end zone three minutes later to put the Rebels up by three possessions before the midway break.

While penalties, drops and other missed opportunities highlighted the majority of the opening half for Hawai’i, Kansei Matsuzawa was able to pull the visitors within 14 heading into halftime as he hit on a 45-yard kick before time expired to remain perfect on field goals for the year (23-for-23).

The Rainbow Warriors failed to capitalize on a pair of prime possessions when play resumed, being forced to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter and after the defense forced a turnover with 7:33 left in the frame. While the defense awoke briefly in the third, the offense remained snoozing in Sin City.

UNLV delivered the daggers quickly in the fourth quarter, seeing Colandrea connect with DaeDae Reynolds for a TD on the first play of the frame and JoJo Earle take a direct snap to the end zone two minutes later after the Rainbow Warriors turned the ball over on downs at their own 27.

Hawai’i saw the team’s 14-game streak with 200 or more passing yards come to an end, putting up a dud on the road after posting 30 or more points in five consecutive contests.

Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen led the defensive effort for the Rainbow Warriors, posting a career-high 10 tackles while Jalen Smith and Peter Manuma each had seven tackles for UH. Hawai’i saw starting LB Jamih Otis and DB Virdel Edwards II each exit with an injury and not return against the Rebels.

Hawai’i (7-4, 4-3 Mountain West) returns home next weekend to close out the regular season, hosting Wyoming for Senior Night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. HT.