UNLV’s football program, which rarely finds itself in the national spotlight, found it twice in a week for reasons both bad and good.
Last Tuesday, starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced he would sit out the rest of the season because he discovered he wouldn’t be receiving the $100,000 he said was promised to him in a name, image and likeness deal.
Sunday, a day after his replacement starred in a 59-14 win over Fresno State, the Rebels made their first-ever appearance in The Associated Press college football poll, tied with Texas A&M at No. 25.
Since UNLV elevated its program to Division I in 1978, the Rebels had never won four straight to open a season. They will go for a third win over a power-conference opponent when they host Syracuse on Friday night.
Coach Barry Odom said the team went about its business as usual despite the distraction that accompanied the Sluka situation.
“We’ve got a very mature team,” he said. “We went to work on Monday and had a great Monday practice. I thought our Tuesday practice was the best one we had all year. I thought our Wednesday was even better than that. And I thought our Thursday was as well. Our players, we’ve got strong leadership. They understand the mission we’re on. They got it done. I was out there and followed their lead a lot.”
Hajj-Malik Williams had a hand in four touchdowns in his first start, and it could be argued he’s an upgrade at quarterback for a team that believes it can compete for the Group of Five bid in the College Football Playoff.
The program has been mostly silent about Sluka. But as Saturday’s postgame news conference was breaking up, Odom gave receiver Ricky White III permission to respond to Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens’ offer, reported by Action Network, to pay Sluka $100,000 to resolve the dispute.
“Please, I would ask somebody reach out to the Circa CEO and ask him, that $100,000 he wanted to donate, give it to our O-line please. They did a great job tonight. Please.”
Checking in on five of the Top 25:
No. 1 Alabama
Kalen DeBoer, who succeeded seven-time national champion Nick Saban, might just disprove the old coaching saw in college football that you don’t want to be “the guy that follows the guy.” The Crimson Tide are a rising Tide, returning to No. 1 after that wacky win over Georgia. Jalen Milroe has established himself as the leading contender for the Heisman Trophy. Another likely top-five matchup comes in three weeks when Bama goes to Tennessee.
No. 3 Ohio State
The Buckeyes have gone about their business quietly as other elite teams have commanded the spotlight. That’s how it goes when you outscore three nonconference opponents 157-20 and open Big Ten play with an easy win at Michigan State. Things should start getting harder. Iowa visits The Horseshoe this week with the Big Ten’s leading rusher in Kaleb Johnson. Then comes that much-anticipated trip to Oregon.
No. 10 Michigan
What the defending national champion Wolverines have pulled off is most impressive — wins over Southern California and Minnesota with a combined 118 yards passing. The Big Ten’s worst passing game must get better, right? Alex Orji is a 55% passer averaging just 3.7 yards per completion. We’ll see how well that offense travels when the Wolverines go to Washington this week.
No. 16 Iowa State
Ninth-year coach Matt Campbell became the Cyclones’ career wins leader with 57 with a 20-0 victory at Houston, and his team is 4-0 for the first time since 2000. Once again the Cyclones are winning with defense. They’re among five teams in the country allowing fewer than 10 points per game, and only one of their four opponents has cracked 300 yards.
No. 23 Indiana
As the calendar turns to October, football is still the talk of Bloomington. Basketball can wait. The Hoosiers passed their toughest test to date under first-year coach Curt Cignetti when they overcame four turnovers to beat Maryland 42-28. Now they’re back in the Top 25 for the first time in three years, and they might just stick around for a while. They could be favored in each of the next four games.
Extra points
The I’s have it: The states of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa are represented in the Top 25 for the first time in 34 years. Iowa State is No. 16, Indiana is No. 23 and Illinois is No. 24. The last time those three states had ranked teams simultaneously was Oct. 16, 1990, when Illinois was No. 8, Indiana was No. 20 and Iowa was No. 22. … Winning doesn’t guarantee a team’s spot in the rankings. Texas is the second team this year to be demoted from No. 1 following a win. Georgia fell to No. 2 after beating Kentucky 13-12 on Sept. 14 and the Longhorns went from No. 1 to No. 2 this week following a 35-13 win over Mississippi State. No. 1s were dropped after wins three times in 2022. … No. 8 Miami is in the top 10 in consecutive weeks for the second time since 2020.
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