LAS VEGAS — UNLV will play Ohio in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23, giving the Rebels three consecutive bowl appearances for the first time in program history.
The game will begin at 6 p.m. Pacific on ESPN at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The 12,000-seat stadium is part of the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters and training facility and will host the bowl while Toyota Stadium undergoes renovations.
UNLV enters the postseason 10-3 after losing 38-21 to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game. Ohio finished 8-4, went 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference and tied for second in the league.
UNLV still has something significant to play for. A win would give the Rebels bowl victories in consecutive seasons for the first time and complete back-to-back 11-win seasons. UNLV went 11-3 last year after beating Cal 24-13 in the LA Bowl.
“This is their third consecutive bowl game, which is unprecedented for UNLV,” coach Dan Mullen said. “The opportunity to go to three different bowl games, three different locations, that’s what makes bowl games unique.”
UNLV had played in only four bowl games before the current run began. The Rebels reached the California Bowl in 1984, the Las Vegas Bowl in 1994 and 2000 and the Heart of Dallas Bowl following the 2013 season. They then went nearly a decade without returning before playing Kansas in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The Rebels lost to Kansas 49-36 before beating Cal last season. They enter the Frisco Bowl with a 4-2 postseason record and a chance to win bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time. Before the current streak, UNLV had waited at least six years between every bowl appearance.
Reaching a bowl was the accomplishment when UNLV returned to the postseason in 2023. Three seasons into the run, the Rebels are headed to Texas with another double-digit-win season already secured and some frustration still hanging over them after another loss to Boise State in the conference championship game.
“We’ve won 30 games now in the last three years,” Mullen said. “That’s pretty special.”
The number stands out even more against what came before it. UNLV won 27 games from 2015 through 2022. The Rebels have won 30 since the beginning of the 2023 season while reaching three consecutive Mountain West championship games and three consecutive bowls.
They have also done it without much continuity at the most visible positions. Barry Odom began the run with nine wins and Jayden Maiava at quarterback in 2023. Hajj-Malik Williams helped Odom and the Rebels reach 11 wins last season before Mullen won 10 games in his first year with Anthony Colandrea running the offense.
Two coaches and three starting quarterbacks have not stopped UNLV from getting back to December.
The Frisco Bowl gives this team a chance to finish differently after what happened in Boise. UNLV recovered from a 21-point deficit and pulled within seven before losing 38-21, ending its pursuit of a first Mountain West championship but not its season.
“The one thing that makes bowl games really unique is the opportunity to travel and learn something new about a city,” Mullen said. “Frisco, Texas, is a great location to go to for a bowl game. There’s a lot of guys on our team that have never gotten to experience that part of the country. I think our guys are going to be excited because they want to get back out there and play again after Friday night.”
Ohio will bring its own postseason momentum to Frisco. The Bobcats have reached seven bowls in nine seasons and won six consecutive bowl games, including a 30-27 victory over Jacksonville State in last season’s Cure Bowl. That win completed the first 11-win season in program history.
Running back Sieh Bangura leads the Ohio offense after finishing the regular season with 1,243 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He led the MAC in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and rushing yards per game.
Ohio will enter the bowl under interim coach John Hauser. Head coach Brian Smith was placed on leave Dec. 1 for an undetermined period, and the university had not publicly provided a reason when the bowl matchup was announced. Hauser had served as Ohio’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator.
The programs have met once, with UNLV beating Ohio 26-18 at the Silver Bowl in 1988. The Frisco Bowl will also be the Rebels’ third postseason matchup against a MAC opponent after wins over Toledo in the 1984 California Bowl and Central Michigan in the 1994 Las Vegas Bowl.
UNLV already has consecutive double-digit-win seasons for the first time and has reached three straight conference championship games and bowls. A win in Frisco would give the Rebels consecutive bowl victories for the first time and an 11-win season for the second straight year.
Thirty wins in three seasons have already changed what reaching the postseason means around UNLV. The Frisco Bowl gives this team a chance to add something the program still does not have: consecutive bowl wins and back-to-back 11-win seasons.