The story tonight: Allegiant got every version of UNLV football in one night: explosive, sloppy, resilient, and finally ice-cold in the moment that mattered most.

In a game that swung between brilliance, chaos, frustration, and outright survival, UNLV outlasted Utah State 29-26 in double overtime, moving to 8-2 (4-2 MWC) and keeping themselves very much in the Mountain West title picture. This wasn’t clean. It wasn’t stable. It absolutely wasn’t stress-free.

But it was gutsy. It was physical. And it ended with a depth-chart running back writing himself into program lore.

On the first snap of the second overtime, Kayden McGee took a handoff on 1st-and-10 from the USU 25, pressed the edge, hit a crease, and ripped off a 25-yard walk-off touchdown to the pylon. Ballgame. Season stabilized. Title hopes still breathing.

For a program that has openly branded itself as the “best show in town,” this one fit the label, for better and for worse.

The night started with Utah State landing the first punches. Bryson Barnes and the Aggies moved the ball early and often, stacking a 6-3 first-quarter lead and pushing it to 13-3 in the second behind Miles Davis’ 1-yard TD run.

UNLV answered with a classic “drive-of-the-script” type response:

The Rebels had chances to steal even more momentum before the break, including a 59-yard field goal attempt from Ramon Villela that came up short as time expired in the second quarter. That miss became the first real sign this game was going to lean heavily into chaos.

The third quarter belonged to UNLV’s offense and defensive front working in tandem. After Utah State stretched its lead to 16-10 with a field goal, the Rebels countered with perhaps their cleanest offensive sequence of the night:

From there, the game started to become what it felt like it was always going to be: a race between which quarterback could hit more explosives and which defense could survive in the red zone.

The fourth quarter was essentially a special-teams fever dream.

UNLV pushed its lead to 20-16 on a 10-play, 71-yard march capped by a 31-yard Villela field goal. The Rebels then answered Utah State’s field-position game with another grind: 11 plays, 67 yards, bled clock, but stalled after a sack and settled for a 32-yarder from Villela to tie it at 23-23.

In between those drives, there was the gut punch. With 7:04 left and UNLV trying to protect a 4-point lead, the Rebels lost contain, and Barnes broke free for a 58-yard quarterback keeper straight up the middle to tie the game 23-23 after the PAT. It was the backbreaking, explosive plays that have haunted this defense at times this season.

Even after UNLV tied it, Utah State had the final say in regulation. The Aggies moved methodically from their own 25 into field-goal range at the UNLV 26, chewing clock and hitting the Rebels with a series of bruising runs by Barnes and Davis. With two seconds left, Tanner Rinker lined up for a 44-yard potential game-winner.

And pushed it wide right.

Season still alive. Crowd back in it. Overtime.

UNLV had the first possession of overtime and did what you’re supposed to do: move the ball and protect the rock until the drive fizzled in the red zone. Villela’s 39-yard attempt sailed wide left, his second miss of the night, and Allegiant went silent.

Utah State only needed a field goal to win. The Rebel defense, already hit for 434 total yards on the night, tightened just enough. Barnes and the Aggies were held to a 39-yard attempt, and this time Rinker tucked it inside the upright. Utah State led 26–23 after the first overtime, and UNLV walked the thin line between heartbreak and one more chance.

In double OT, the Rebel defense delivered the stop that flipped the game. Utah State’s drive started at the UNLV 25 and quickly bogged down:

That opened the door for the moment of the night.

On UNLV’s first snap of double OT, Mullen and OC Corey Dennis didn’t overthink it. They handed the ball to Kayden McGee, who had been buried behind a banged-up Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas and a steady rotation of backs most of the year. McGee pressed the left side, the offensive line caved in the edge, and he outran everyone 25 yards to the end zone, untouched.

Walk-off. 29-26. And as Mullen said postgame, this is exactly why you tell a frustrated back to keep going, “you never know when your number’s called.”

This game was billed as a Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year referendum between Anthony Colandrea and Bryson Barnes. Both put together nights that will stay in the committee’s notes.

Colandrea was streaky but dangerous. Utah State’s front was disruptive, three sacks, six TFLs, plenty of pressure, and UNLV’s red-zone execution wasn’t where it needed to be. But every time the offense looked like it was about to flatline, Colandrea found something:

He also left points on the field. The early interception on what he seemed to think was a free play, a couple of near-miss shot plays, and some red-zone decisions meant UNLV leaned heavily on Villela instead of stacking touchdowns. It was not his cleanest box score, but it was still a 277-yard, 2-TD (1 pass, 1 rush) performance in a must-win game.

Barnes played like the seasoned operator he’s been all season. He handled pressure better than the sack total suggests, kept Utah State in favorable leverage on early downs, and punished UNLV every time contain broke. The 58-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the signature moment of his night and nearly ended the Rebels’ season dreams.

He was also relentlessly efficient at finding his guys:

From a MW POY lens, Barnes didn’t lose ground. Colandrea just gained narrative points and the head-to-head win.

UNLV’s defense gave up:

And still might have walked out as the more physically imposing front by the end of the night.

The Rebels finished with:

Key disruptors:

When it mattered most, late fourth quarter and both overtimes, UNLV didn’t fold. The tackling wasn’t perfect, the fits weren’t perfect, but the mental toughness Mullen talked about postgame showed up snap after snap. This group is not “fixed,” but it’s clearly different from September.

With Jai’Den Thomas limited by a hamstring and ultimately held out, UNLV needed the room behind him to be real. It was.

The stat line isn’t jaw-dropping, 32 rushes for 146 yards (4.6 YPC) and 2 TDs as a team, but in a game where Utah State sold out to hit the quarterback and disrupt timing, every one of those hard 3- and 4-yarders mattered.

Colandrea spread it to nine different receivers:

This wasn’t a night where one skill guy took the game over, start to finish. It was a night where the entire room had to be functional with Thomas out and Utah State bracketing certain looks.

You won’t find many games where both fan bases walk out feeling exhausted by their kickers.

For Utah State:

For UNLV:

Field position, returns, and the punt game were mostly neutral. The sheer volume of high-leverage field goal attempts and misses made special teams feel like its own separate storyline layered on top of an already chaotic script.

Some of the advanced splits underline just how tight this game was:

The biggest single-number difference: sacks.

That alone flips multiple drives and effectively cancels out a chunk of Barnes’ rushing production.

Big picture, this is one of those games you circle at the end of a season and say, “That’s where we found out who we were.”

There’s still a ton to fix: red-zone execution, explosive runs allowed, situational penalties, and Mullen was the first to say it. But those corrections get a lot easier to stomach when you’re smiling at 8–2, 4–2 in the league, and still playing meaningful, high-stakes November football in Vegas.

Next up: Hawai‘i on a short week at Allegiant, with Mullen already calling it “the best show of the week” in a town that’s about to host Monday Night Football and F1.

UNLV 29, Utah State 26.
Season alive. October questions still lingering. November drama is fully activated.

Saturday, Nov. 15 | Allegiant Stadium | Attendance: 31,682