UNLV running back Jai’Den Thomas (22) is stopped by Michigan defensive lineman Cam Goode (99) in the second half of an NCAA college football game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.
Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023 | 5:09 p.m.
UNLV’s season begins now.
The Scarlet and Gray got walloped at No. 2 Michigan on Saturday, 35-7, in a contest that was not as close as that lopsided score might indicate. But as much as a loss can hurt — both on the scoreboard and literally, as the visitors certainly took a physical pounding — UNLV is coming out of this blowout in relatively good shape as far as the big picture is concerned.
It is verboten for the team itself to say or even believe this, but UNLV was always going to be 1-1 after the first two weeks of the season. Week 1 was a gimme win over FCS opponent Bryant, and Saturday was a scheduled loss at Michigan (a game for which UNLV received a payout of $1.5 million).
Now the real games begin.
The next two weeks figure to be crucial in UNLV’s push for a bowl berth, as they’ll host Vanderbilt on Sept. 16 and travel to UTEP on Sept. 23. Both teams went 5-7 last year; both teams are beatable.
If UNLV can knock off at least one of them, the postseason will remain attainable.
After Michigan thoroughly dominated the Scarlet and Gray on Saturday, Odom did his best to shift his team’s focus in a forward direction.
“We’re 1-1 and we’re going into Week 3, so our motivation is extremely high,” Odom said. “We have a lot of goals out there for us. My guess is, the only goal right now that’s removed from our team is, with one loss I would suggest that would remove us from national championship contention. Other than that, everything we want to accomplish is right in front of us.”
Michigan certainly left no doubt in erasing UNLV from the title conversation. The Wolverines owned the line of scrimmage, holding UNLV running backs to 17 yards on 11 carries through the first three quarters while building a 35-0 lead. The Michigan defense also sacked Doug Brumfield five times on 24 dropbacks.
On the other side of the ball, UNLV proved too slight up front to handle Michigan’s running game, and UM quarterback J.J. McCarthy barely broke a sweat in picking apart the secondary (22-of-25 passing, 278 yards, two touchdowns).
All of that was expected. From here, Odom and his squad have to figure out what works for them, what doesn’t, and how to win five of the next 10 games.
Brumfield finished 10-of-18 passing for 100 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. It wasn’t much of an improvement from his Week 1 stat line, but Odom thought his quarterback progressed in the blowout loss, especially considering how much harassment he faced from the Michigan defensive front.
Odom remains convinced that Brumfield and the passing attack will break through and be an asset through the remainder of the season.
“Doug is going to have a really good year,” Odom said. “He’ll be better Week 3 than he was Week 1 and Week 2, and that’s the progress we’ve all got to make.”
The defense allowed Michigan to average 8.1 yards per play, and the Wolverines converted their first six third-down conversion attempts. Included among those conversions were a pair of long third downs on each of their first two drives, both of which led to touchdowns and an early 14-0 lead.
Senior defensive back Johnathan Baldwin acknowledged that Michigan got the better of his unit, but thought the experience would tighten up the defense and lead to better results.
“I feel like we definitely got better after this game,” Baldwin said.
So, what do we really know about the UNLV football team after two games? Not all that much. The Scarlet and Gray have got a cumulative score of 51-49, question marks on both sides of the ball and a wide range of possible outcomes the rest of the way.
With the expected results out of the way, Odom is ready to get on with the real games.
“Nothing has changed in my mind about our football team at UNLV,” Odom said. “I’m excited about where we’re going to go with this. I’m excited about the resolve of our players, about how we’re going to respond.”
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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