QB Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV Rebels roll, race to 4-0 start

LAS VEGAS – UNLV made a statement Saturday in their first game without former starting quarterback Matthew Sluka: The Rebels are doing just fine.

With a dominant 59-14 win over Fresno State and a 4-0 victory, UNLV proved it will be a contender in the Mountain West race regardless of the quarterback change.

Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 182 yards, rushed for 119 yards and was responsible for four total touchdowns in his first start for the Rebels after Sluka opted to leave the program Wednesday due to a dispute over his NIL compensation.

“It was business as usual,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “We have a very mature team. … Our players, we have strong leadership. They understand the mission we’re on and they got it done.”

Williams, a sixth-year senior and FCS transfer from Campbell, joined the Rebels in January and lost a close competition with Sluka in fall camp. The 24-year-old quarterback played in 41 games at Campbell and left as the program’s career leader in passing yards and touchdowns and was ready for his opportunity.

“I thought he was effective, I thought he was efficient,” Odom said. “I thought the offensive line did a great job protecting him. I thought the receivers ran great routes. I thought the runners ran hard. We played well on offense.”

UNLV wide receiver Ricky White III led the Rebels with a season-high 10 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns and said the quarterback change was “definitely good for us.”

“He’s just a great quarterback that we, as an offense, can rally behind and just go with his pace,” White said.

After starting three games for UNLV, Sluka opted to redshirt and is expected to enter the transfer portal in December. Sluka’s father and agent claim that he was verbally promised $100,000 by UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion during his recruitment, but received only $3,000 from the school’s NIL collective. UNLV said in a statement that Sluka’s representatives made financial demands for him to continue playing, which was interpreted as “a violation of the NCAA’s pay-for-play rules, as well as Nevada state law.”

Odom read from a prepared statement during his post-game press conference and did not answer questions about Sluka. He said UNLV has followed applicable rules and is committed to the development and success of every player in the program.

“Many have expressed very strong opinions about last week’s events without full knowledge of the facts, without full knowledge of last week’s events and without full knowledge of the rules in the ever-changing, evolving NIL system,” Odom said. “And unfortunately, some have even used this circumstance as a platform for their own agenda. I respect everyone’s right to an opinion, and I will not comment on the opinions of others or their motivations for expressing them.”

White also had a message for Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens after the Vegas casino expressed interest in offering $100,000 to keep Sluka on the team, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal it would be worth it are “to keep the Rebels’ playoff hopes alive. .”

“I would like to ask someone to contact the CEO of Circa and ask him to donate the $100,000 he wanted to donate to our O-line, please,” White said.

The Rebels snapped a six-game losing streak to Fresno State and achieved the program’s first 4-0 start since 1976 with a strong day in all three phases of the game. Their defense produced four interceptions and four sacks while allowing just 30 rushing yards, and their special teams delivered a blocked punt that White returned for a touchdown in the first quarter plus a 90-yard kickoff touchdown by Jai’Den Thomas in the fourth quarter. .

The win keeps UNLV in the running for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and caps a chaotic week for an athletics department that was simultaneously dealing with the conference’s latest round of realignment in college athletics.

UNLV officially decided to stay in the Mountain West on Thursday, rejecting a move to the Pac-12 after adding Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State to that league for 2026. The seven remaining schools in the Mountain West region agreed to a grant of rights that will bind them to the conference through 2031-2032.

Having already defeated Big 12 members Houston and Kansas in non-conference play, UNLV will get another chance to knock off a Power 4 opponent and strengthen its CFP resume when it hosts 3-1 Syracuse on Friday.

“Our guys will turn the page very quickly,” Odom said. “I could see in the locker room that we are ready to do that and move on to the next game.”