McGee’s overtime score lifts UNLV past Utah State, keeps pace in Mountain West standings

UNLV receiver Kayden McGee is hyped by teammates after scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime of a home win over Utah State. Photo Credit: UNLV Athletics

Late-game heroics helped UNLV Football stayed alive in a crowded Mountain West conference as the regular season ticks toward an end.

UNLV beat Utah State, 29-26, in overtime Saturday, Nov. 15 from Allegiant Stadium in a Week 12 meeting. The Rebels entered the weekend locked into a three-way tie for the fifth spot in the conference.

“What a great win,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “They’re fun to coach because they do things like this, they find ways to win. They find ways to stick together, they find ways to make the plays when we need to make them.”

With just its second win in the last five weeks, UNLV improved to 8-2 on the year with two more regular season games remaining. It is currently one of five teams in the Mountain West with two conference losses.

Saturday marked the first of back-to-back home games to end the regular season home slate. It will conclude Friday, Nov. 21 from Allegiant Stadium against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Rebels head coach Dan Mullen watches his team celebrate a, 29-26, win over the Aggies. Photo Credit: UNLV Athletics

“Hey, next week’s a big week,” Mullen said. “You’ve got Monday Night Football, you’ve got Raiders - Cowboys, you’ve got [Formula 1], I’m sure there’s concerts going on, there’s everything going on.

“But if you want to see the best show, you come watch the Rebels play Friday night against Hawaii. And you’ll probably see the best show of the whole week.”

Freshman receiver Kayden McGee broke free on the first play of UNLV’s drive in the game’s second overtime. To that point, McGee had racked up 29 yards on two previous carries.

So far this season, McGee had been limited to just one offensive touch before Saturday’s contest.

“It’s different people all the time,” Mullen said. “I can guarantee you that I know he’s been frustrated this season with a lot going on with a lot of different things happening. It’s that belief and I guarantee that I tell him just stick with it, trust me on this. Keep developing and keep getting better, you never know when your number is called. It was called today and called in overtime and he delivers the game-winning play.”

UNLV opened the night’s scoring with a field goal on its opening drive of the game. Even with that, the team trailed for the vast majority of the first half.

Not much went right for the UNLV offense early as junior quarterback Anthony Colandrea struggled to get things going in the passing game. In fact, he was intercepted for the fifth time this season early in the second quarter. He has now thrown interceptions in back-to-back games and three of his last four outings.

UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea stands tall in the pocket and delivers a strong pass against Utah State inside Allegiant Stadium. Photo Credit: UNLV Athletics

“I think he thought it was a facemask on the play,” Mullen said. “So he thought he had a flag and he was throwing one up thinking, ‘Hey, I have a free play here.’ And he didn’t.”

Even with that interception, Colandrea went 25-for-44 with 306 total yards and two total touchdowns. While one of those touchdowns were passing touchdowns, he did rush for a 10-yard score late in the second quarter.

Colandrea’s performance came in the absence of junior running back Jai’Den Thomas, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.

“We always knew during the week he’d be a gametime decision,” Mullen said. “I don’t think he felt confident and I don’t want him at 70% in the next three games. That’s the benefit of having some depth in the backfield.”

After looking for the big play all first half, the Rebels found success in the third quarter. Colandrea hit senior receiver Troy Omeire for a 48-yard reception about midway through the third quarter.

Omeire closed the night with a team-high 83 yards on four catches. His deep catch set up a touchdown reception by fellow receiver Daejon Reynolds. That marked the first UNLV lead since, 3-0, early in the game.

Rebels receiver Daejon Reynolds secures a touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Colandrea as part of the team's three-point win over the Aggies. Photo Credit: UNLV Athletics

While sophomore kicker Ramon Villela went 3-for-5 on field goals, his counterpart Tanner Rinker didn’t have nearly as much success. In fact, he faced the other side of the spectrum as part of a 2-for-5 night kicking the football.

Rinker missed field goals on the opening Utah State drive of the game, to end regulation and in overtime while also missing an extra point late in the first quarter. In total, the Aggies missed out on 10 total points from those missed kicks.

“It was crazy,” Mullen said. “Lot of craziness out there.”

Other than that, Utah State was finding plenty of success on third downs against the UNLV defense. This came a week removed from the Rebels coming up big on the money down on the road against the Colorado State Rams.

The Aggies opened the game with six conversions on its first nine third downs faced. Ultimately, the team would go 3-for-8 the rest of the way.

“Just our willingness to go out there and do it together,” senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie said. “No matter what goes on in the game, no matter what goes on each and every play, we always just preach the next play mentality.”

Aggies quarterback Bryson Burnes accounted for 369 of his team’s 434 offensive yards. In an attempt to curb the rushing attack of the visitors, the Rebel defensive front produced a season-high seven sacks.

“Boy, there’s still a lot of things we need to clean up defensively,” Mullen said. “But being tough in the fourth quarter with the game on the line is not one of them. And that’s a great thing, that’s a great thing.”