Senior night delivered everything UNLV hoped it would: dominance, explosiveness, defensive clarity, and a performance that looked every bit like a championship-level team rounding into form.

The Rebels overpowered Hawai‘i 38-10 inside Allegiant Stadium, improving to 9-2 and keeping the Golden Pineapple locked in Las Vegas for the second straight season. On a night built on emotion, physicality, and execution, UNLV delivered its most complete performance of the year.

“We talked about senior night, last home game, wanting to play our best game of the season and why not come out and actually do it?” head coach Dan Mullen said afterward. “For the most part, we did that.”

Three weeks ago, UNLV was giving up 34 points per game during a rough midseason stretch. Since then? 15 per game and Hawai‘i never came close to breaking that trend.

The Warriors finished with just 231 total yards, hit only 12 first downs, and averaged 4.6 yards per play, with their only touchdown coming off a 70-yard bust on their opening series. After that, UNLV slammed the door.

“Outside of that one blown coverage, that was it,” Mullen said. “Paul and the staff had a great plan, our guys executed, and we got after the quarterback all night.”

The fix, as the players saw it, wasn’t about reinventing the scheme, it was about communication and ownership.

Linebacker Marsel McDuffie put it simply:

“When all eleven communicate, we’re really good. When ten guys have the call and one doesn’t, that’s when the busts happen. Once we locked in on communication, you saw what happened.”

UNLV finished with four sacks, consistent pressure, and only one explosive allowed after the opening series. Hawai‘i went 2-for-10 on third down, 0-for-3 on fourth, and failed to score on eight straight drives until a late field goal.

What is happening with Anthony Colandrea is no longer a weekly phenomenon, it’s the evolution of a star quarterback happening in real time.

He finished 21-of-26 for 253 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT, completing 81% of his throws and repeatedly punishing Hawai‘i for dropping eight into coverage.

The highlight: a 72-yard strike to Taeshaun Lyons that broke the game open.

McDuffie dubbed him “the magician.” “I’ve got to start calling him that,” McDuffie said. “Every time I watch him from the sideline, he’s making plays.”

Mullen echoed it: “If it all goes to hell, he does his Anthony stuff, and that’s his favorite thing in the world to do. But the growth is knowing when to do it.”

That growth has turned UNLV’s offense into a fully operational machine. The Rebels posted:

The ground game, Jet Thomas (61 yards), Keyvone Lee (48 yards, TD), and JoJo Earle (37 yards, TD), kept Hawai‘i off balance.

Colandrea said the plan was simple: “We wanted to stay out of third-and-long. We were good on first and second down, and it showed.”

Offensive coordinator Corey Dennis had one of his sharpest nights of the season, attacking Hawai‘i’s deep drops with underneath rhythm throws and RPOs while unleashing shots when the coverage dictated it.

“Corey did a great job making adjustments,” Mullen said. “Every week teams tweak what they show us. You’ve got to adapt during the game, and we did that.”

Colandrea added: “The offense has so much faith in Coach Mullen and Coach Dennis. At the end of the day, I just want to be a good quarterback.. that’s why I came here.”

Even backup QB Cameron Friel got work as Mullen protected his starter late.

After Hawai‘i’s opening touchdown, UNLV responded. Outscoring Hawai’i 38-3, scoring on drives of:

Four different receivers scored. Eight different players carried the ball. The Rebels had zero three-and-outs.

UNLV’s drive success rate: 89%. Hawai‘i’s: 59%.

This was a physical, organized, disciplined beating, aside from a handful of penalties that Mullen didn’t sugarcoat: “Completely unacceptable. Emotional rivalry game or not — that can’t happen.”

UNLV now moves into the final week with everything still on the table: a double-digit win season, a rivalry road showdown, and the Mountain West title race tightening to a razor’s edge.

Mullen made the mission clear: “We want to be playing our best football at the end of the year. If we keep competing at this level, hopefully we’ll have a chance to play for a championship.”

McDuffie echoed it: “Let’s continue to stack performances. Tonight we played our style of football, now we’ve got to keep climbing.”

And from the quarterback who’s become the heartbeat of the team: “I came here to be developed as a quarterback. And look at us now.”

The nights are getting longer, the stakes are getting bigger, and UNLV is playing its best football right on schedule.