Linebacker Marsel McDuffie Named UNLV Rebels On SI Defensive Player of the Week For Week 15

The UNLV Rebels fell short against the Boise State Broncos in the Mountain West Championship Game on Friday for the third consecutive season. Boise State came away with the title win by a score of 38 - 21. This was the last time these teams will face off for a championship because the Broncos will be joining the Pac-12 for the 2026 season. While losing this game was a brutal blow, the Rebels are still bowl eligible. UNLV will be playing the Ohio Bobcats in the 2025 Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl in Texas on Tuesday, December 23. At the very least, they will hope to end a great season on a positive note after this tough loss.

One of the primary reasons they lost this game was that their defense was ineffective in the first half, allowing 28 points. They played much better in the second half, but it was too little too late. With the offense only being able to score 21 points in this game, their first-half defensive woes were too much to overcome. Nevertheless, there were still some impressive performances in this game on the defensive side of the ball for the Rebels.

Narrowing it down to just one performance was not easy, but it has to be done. We are going with senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie as our official UNLV Rebels On SI Defensive Player of the Week for Championship Week. He is the leader of this defense and played a great game. McDuffie led the team with nine tackles, with five of them being solo. In a game with no turnovers and just one sack, his consistent play is enough to earn him this honor.

Others Earning Consideration

Freshman linebacker Isaiah Patterson also had himself a strong game, which is a great sign for the future of this Rebels' defense. He finished second on the team behind McDuffie with seven tackles, and four of them were solo.

Cornerback Laterrance Welch played well in this game and played well in the back half of the season, which is one of the big reasons for their defensive turnaround down the stretch. While all that shows up in the box score is four tackles (three solo) and a pass defense, it was a strong game on film.

That one sack we mentioned earlier came from defensive lineman Lucas Conti, and it was a huge play. However, that was his only tackle of the game.

This defense will get one more shot to play as a unit on December 23 against Ohio. We hope to see them step up as they did for the majority of their late-season run in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl.

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