Athlon Sports Expert Projects UNLV Football To Finish Second In Mountain West

Despite major roster turnover and a coaching change, UNLV enters 2025 with high expectations under Dan Mullen, thanks to a strong transfer class and breakout potential on offense.

UNLV Rebels head coach Dan Mullen / UNLV Athletics

Most media and experts have been very favorable on the UNLV Rebels football team bringing in former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen after losing Barry Odom to the Purdue Boilermakers. Odom brought the program to the highest heights it had seen since the days of Randall Cunningham.

While a G5 team losing a coach like that would usually cripple a program and bring extreme pessimism moving forward, the addition of Mullen has managed to create optimism despite losing their coach and major roster turnover. While there are a lot of question marks surrounding UNLV heading into the upcoming season, Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports still sees them finishing in second place behind only the Boise State Broncos in the Mountain West Conference. 

UNLV Football Enters A New Era Under Dan Mullen

"Barry Odom guided UNLV to new heights with back-to-back appearances in the Mountain West title game. Now it’s up to former Florida head coach Dan Mullen to build on that success and elevate this team even higher in ‘25 and beyond. With just two starters returning, Mullen is breaking in a ton of new faces this fall. However, a standout transfer class will ease the overall transition."

UNLV's Offensive Firepower & Stellar Transfer Class

"Mullen’s ability to build productive offenses should shine right away in Las Vegas. Running back Jai’Den Thomas (918 yards in ‘24) will be the focal point of this attack, with a pair of power conference transfers - Anthony Colandrea (Virginia) and Alex Orji (Michigan) - vying for the quarterback job. Mullen also hit the portal hard for reinforcements at receiver and along an offensive line looking to replace all five starters from last season."

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We agree with this take and also have UNLV finishing second in the Mountain West in the regular season. All the reasons are things we've been preaching here as well. The addition of Mullen, an outstanding haul from the transfer portal, and potential breakout stars like Thomas will carry them to another great season. 

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