Dan Mullen sends strong message to fans after shaky opening victory at UNLV
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Dan Mullen knows that things didn’t exactly go perfectly in his much-anticipated coaching debut at UNLV on Saturday.
It was a home game against an FCS team in Idaho State, and with all of the hype attached to Mullen’s arrival and with all of those talented transfers making their Rebels debut, many would’ve expected something better than a 38-31 comeback victory. But that’s what played out at Allegiant Stadium.
Everything about the opener was shaky from the very beginning, with UNLV falling into a 10-0 hole after the first quarter. Then the pendulum swung the other way for Mullen, with UNLV scoring 2 touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-10 lead before Idaho State took a 17-14 lead at halftime. Fans and media jumped all over Mullen’s new team, as the former Florida and Mississippi State head coach found out what he probably already knew — that trying to make UNLV relevant in football isn’t going to be easy.
The exhausting back-and-forth theme continued in the second half for Mullen and UNLV, as the Rebels looked to take control in the third quarter by seizing a 24-17 lead. But Idaho State was relentless and had nothing to lose on Saturday, and the Bengals answered right back with 2 touchdowns for a stunning 31-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But Mullen’s group showed some relentlessness of its own, getting the day’s final answer with 2 touchdowns for a 38-31 lead that became the final score. Former Florida wideout DaeDae Reynolds caught the tying touchdown in the fourth-quarter rally in his first game playing for the coach who recruited him to Gainesville in 2021.
Afterward, Mullen’s message to reporters and his new fan base was measured and direct.
“If you ain’t jumping up and down and celebrating you’re playing the wrong game. Because our team won,” said Mullen.
Mullen is a smart guy, and the former college football analyst who’s back in coaching knows it has to get better if his new program is going to win games this season.
He was just trying to make all the fans and critics look at Saturday’s bottom line — that UNLV is 1-0 in the Mullen era.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
