FSM Recap: UNLV Rebels vs Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors - NCAA Football - Week 13 - 2025 | Rebels Roll Over Hawai'i in UNLV's Final Home Game of the Season

FSM Recap: UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – NCAA Football – Week 13 – 2025

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UNLV Rebels (9-2)  |  Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (7-4)

UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – 1st Quarter

 

UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (Las Vegas, NV) – UNLV would take possession first after Hawai’i won the opening coin toss. After a quick touchback, the Rebels would get a 15-yard gift from the Rainbow Warriors’ defense after defensive back Justin Sinclair connected with UNLV wide receiver DeAngelo Irvin Jr. a little early, committing pass interference down the sideline to put the Rebels just shy of midfield. Before you know it, the Rebels were across midfield as quarterback Anthony Colandrea chipped away at the Hawai’i defense before the drive stalled out at the 30-yard line. 

The Rebels would settle for a field goal, and Ramon Villela would deliver, knocking a 44-yarder through the uprights for the first points of the game.

The Rebels’ lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Hawai’i would make a house call on 3rd and 5 on the ensuing drive when quarterback Micah Alejado hit Jackson Harris in stride down the Rainbow Warriors’ sideline for a 70-yard touchdown.

Not to be outdone on his own turf, Colandrea answered right back, leading the Rebels on an eight-play, 75-yard drive, with most of the work getting done on a 31-yard hookup with wide receiver Troy Omeire. A few plays later, Colandrea would roll out right and hit Jaden Bradley crossing the back of the end zone for an 8-yard score. After a successful PAT, the Rebels would take a 10-7 lead on the play. 

The following Hawai’i drive would stall out, and as the first quarter came to a close, the Rebels would enter the second quarter with a three-point lead and the ball at the Rainbow Warriors’ 26-yard line.

UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – 2nd Quarter

 

It wasn’t long before the Rebels got back at Hawai’i again for the earlier touchdown. On the third play of the second quarter, Colandrea made a house call of his own, tossing a pass to wide receiver Taeshaun Lyons down the Rebels’ sideline for a 72-yard score, mirroring the earlier 70-yarder from Hawai’i.

It wasn’t long before the Rebels got the ball back, either. Alejado would fire down the middle of the field, and as Tre Fulton got a hand on the ball, he would deflect right at fellow defensive back Jake Pope, who dove for the ball and got his arms under it to secure the interception.

After a quick review confirmed the likely play of the game, and maybe the weekend, the Rebels were off runnin’ again. Colandrea and the Rebels’ offense took bite after bite out of the Rainbow Warriors’ defense. UNLV would cap off the drive with running back Keyvone Lee dragging not one, not two but three Hawai’i defenders across the goal line for a 14-yard score. The touchdown would give the Rebels a 24-7 lead over Hawai’i, as the first half began to tick away.

Later in the quarter, Hawai’i started to move the ball again, and the Rebels’ defense bent, but didn’t break, as the Rainbow Warriors ended up settling for a Kansei Matsuzawa field goal from 45 yards out to send the game into halftime with UNLV leading 24-10 over Hawai’i.

UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – 3rd Quarter

 

The third quarter would quiet down, as neither team would find paydirt in the frame. That wasn’t from a lack of trying, though.

Both teams moved the ball in the third pretty well, but stalled drives and punts deep back to the Rebels allowed them to have only two possessions in the third quarter. Hawai’i would approach midfield, but that was all the Rainbow Warriors’ offense could muster, as the Rebels’ defense forced two punts back to their offense that pinned the Rebels back deep in their own territory. 

On the Rebels’ only drive that actually ended in the third, Keyvone Lee would take a pass from Colandrea and take off for a 10-yard gain, but as he spun to the turf, the ball would do the same before he was down, gifting the ball back to a pile of Rainbow Warriors who were ready to pounce.

Hawai’i took over just shy of midfield on the play, but the Rebels’ defense clamped down. The Rainbow Warriors would actually get a first down on the drive, but after a sack and a delay of game penalty, they would end up right back where they started at the 46-yard line, eventually punting back to UNLV, who would chip away at another long drive as the third quarter came to a close.

UNLV Rebels vs Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – 4th Quarter

And on the first play of the fourth quarter, Colandrea once again rolled out right and hit Daejon Reynolds for the score from a yard out. The Rebels would take a commanding 31-10 lead on the play, giving Hawai’i a tall hill to climb with a Mountain West Conference Championship berth potentially at stake for both teams.

On the ensuing drive, the Rainbow Warriors were unable to collect a first down, using all four downs to turn the ball back over to UNLV.

Then, on what was the Rebels’ second offensive play of the fourth quarter, wide receiver JoJo Earle would take a direct snap and shoot up the left side of the field, scoring another UNLV touchdown to give the Rebels a 38-10 lead over Hawai’i. Colandrea would be slow to get up on the play, but would pop up off the turf and gingerly make his way to the sideline unassisted. Colandrea was all good, coming back into the game on the next offensive possession before Cameron Friel replaced him to ice the game with things firmly out of reach for Hawai’i, as the Rebels would win by a final of 38-10.

With a giant golden pineapple in tow, head coach Dan Mullen was all smiles after the game. His Rebels sit at 9-2 with one fateful regular season game left up north against the Nevada Wolf Pack. The Rebels look to go for their third straight victory over Reno to keep the Fremont Cannon painted a beautiful scarlet red, and with a Mountain West Championship berth on the line, Mullen, Colandrea, and the majority of Southern Nevada will be ready to roll come kickoff.

“The days get shorter, the nights get longer, and the games get bigger,” said Mullen after the game.

With championship hopes still alive and a trip to Reno looming, there is no bigger game for UNLV football.

The UNLV Rebels now travel up north for a Week 14 regular season finale against their bitter rivals, the Nevada Wolf Pack, on Saturday, November 29, at 6:00 p.m. Thank you for visiting FranchiseSportsMedia.com for your Las Vegas Sports news.

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