Quarterback Anthony Colandrea Named UNLV Rebels On SI Offensive Player of the Week For Week 2

The UNLV Rebels came away from Week 2 with a huge win over the UCLA Bruins. The offense once again reached 30 points, as they have every game so far this season. One of the main reasons their offense has been so successful is our Week 2 UNLV Rebels On SI Offensive Player of the Week, Anthony Colandrea. In Week 2, he completed 15 of 21 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and added 59 more yards on the ground on 11 carries.

The team is going to have to lean even more heavily on their starting quarterback after they got some unfortunate news this week. Fellow quarterback, who had been being used situationally, Alex Orji will miss the remainder of the season due to a severe hamstring injury. Colandrea will now be playing every offensive snap and will be relied on to lead this team on his own moving forward. Orji was a tough loss for the team, but the Rebels are fortunate enough to have two capable options on their team. Which isn't something many teams can say.

Others Earning Consideration

This is a week when there was nobody all that close to Colandrea. The first two games had a ton of potential winners, but this one was cut and dry. Jai'Den Thomas was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 61 yards. That's a fine game, but when Colandrea runs for 59 yards on his own, it's a tough sell.

Star wide receiver Jaden Bradley, who has been piling stats in the first two games, disappeared in Week 2. He caught just one pass for six yards. It was tight end Var'Keyes who was the top pass-catcher with three receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Troy Omeire and Nick Elksnis also both topped 30 years and scored a touchdown. So, there was no pass-catcher that really stood out in a major way.

The Rebels will be off this week. They originally had their game against the Idaho State Bengals scheduled for this Saturday, September 13, at Allegiant Stadium, but it was moved due to a scheduling conflict with the Canelo Alvarez vs Bud Crawford megafight. This will be a nice break for this team to continue building chemistry before their final non-conference game against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, before starting their Mountain West Conference schedule.

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