The University of Hawai‘i football team's Mountain West Conference title hopes took a near-fatal blow in a 38-10 rout to the hands of UNLV at Allegiant Stadium on Friday night.
UNLV improved to 9-2 overall and 8-2 in Mountain West games, while Hawai‘i dropped to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in Mountain West Conference games. While the loss did not mathematically eliminate Hawai‘i from the race to the conference title game, the 'Bows could very well see their hopes officially dashed when the rest of the conference plays on Saturday.
After holding UNLV to a field goal in the game's first possession, the Rainbow Warriors took their first and only lead on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Micah Alejado to Jackson Harris with 8:16 left in the first quarter.
The Rainbow Warriors could not keep pace with the Rebels, who gashed UH with 470 yards of total offense, including 217 on the ground.
UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea completed 21 of his 26 passes for 253 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, completing his passes at an 81% clip. Meanwhile, Hawai‘i quarterback Micah Alejado was 15-for-24 with a touchdown and an interception for 163 yards, although multiple Rainbow Warrior receivers dropped a pass.
Hawai‘i trailed 24-10 at halftime after Kansei Matsuzawa made a 45-yard field goal at the end of the first half, upping his 2025 total to 23-for-23 on field goals. He also made his lone extra point attempt to get to 33-for-33 on PATs.
Defensively, Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen had a game-high 10 tackles for the 'Bows.
If the Rainbow Warriors are eliminated from the Mountain West Conference title race, they are in all likelihood bound for the Hawai‘i Bowl, a game the program has not competed in since 2019.
Hawai‘i wraps up its regular season against Wyoming on Nov. 29. The annual battle for the Paniolo Trophy is set for 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Ahtleics Complex.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
