UNLV Rebels Escape With Win In Wild Week 7 Shootout

The UNLV Rebels escaped with a win over the Air Force Falcons on Saturday afternoon in an absolutely wild game to remain undefeated. They won the game by a score of 51 - 48, after quarterback Anthony Colandrea broke off a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels the lead with 36 seconds left. That was followed by Air Force driving furiously down the field only to miss a 40-yard field goal attempt as time expired. Last week, we had mentioned that there hadn't been as much offense as we had become accustomed to, but they more than made up for it today.

This was a back-and-forth game early, but UNLV found themselves down 21 - 10 with less than a minute left before half. Then, in what felt like a blink of an eye in game time, they were up 26 - 21 in less than three minutes. Before half, they kicked a field goal, then, as we've seen before, right after the half, linebacker Marsel McDuffie recovered a fumble and scored a TD 11 seconds into the half on a wide receiver pass from Jaden Bradley to Var'Keyes Gumms. They followed that up with a three-and-out on defense, quickly followed by an 86-yard TD pass to Daejon Reynolds. Reynolds finished the game with a team-best 139 yards.

The score would continue to ping pong back and forth as Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka looked unstoppable, as did running back Owen Allen. Szarka would finish with 175 passing yards and a TD, as well as 136 rushing yards and two more TDs. Allen ran for 192 yards and two TDs of his own. Cade Harris also chipped in with two TDs, as the Falcons rushed for a total of 428 yards in this one.

However, Colandrea had an answer every single time. He finished with 361 passing yards and a TD, and tacked on 62 yards and two more TDs on the ground. Running back Jai'Den Thomas also looked unstoppable again, despite limited carries. He broke off a huge 51-yard TD run and finished with 88 yards on 11 carries and six catches for 58 yards. No matter what Air Force threw at them, this offense had a counterpunch.

This was an incredible game, but in the end, Air Force suffered another heartbreaking loss. Their defense is suspect at best; nevertheless, no one can take anything away from Szarka and that Falcons' offense. Still, at the end of the day, the Rebels found a way to win another game. They now move to 6 - 0 on the season, and 2 - 0 in the Mountain West Conference. The victory also keeps their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

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