FRISCO, Texas — UNLV moved the ball well enough to score Tuesday night. The Rebels simply made too many mistakes when those drives reached the moments that mattered.
A blocked punt, two turnovers near the end zone and a collection of penalties prevented UNLV from converting its opportunities, while Ohio leaned on Sieh Bangura and its running game to control the second half in a 17-10 victory in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl at Ford Center at The Star.
UNLV finished Dan Mullen’s first season 10-4 after reaching the Mountain West Championship Game and earning a third consecutive bowl appearance for the first time in program history. Ohio improved to 9-4 and earned the seventh bowl victory in program history by rushing for 207 yards and controlling the ball for more than 34 minutes.
The Rebels finished with 281 total yards and reached Ohio territory repeatedly, but their first three meaningful scoring opportunities produced no points. UNLV committed three turnovers, averaged 4.8 yards per play and did not score a touchdown until Anthony Colandrea’s fourth-down run late in the fourth quarter.
Ohio did not need an explosive offensive performance to win. The Bobcats protected the football well enough, controlled the line of scrimmage and made UNLV pay for the opportunities it failed to finish.
UNLV’s Early Opportunities Ended Without Points
The problems began before Ohio established much offensively. UNLV moved the football during the first half but repeatedly stopped itself before those drives could become points.
A blocked punt created an early special teams problem, and the Rebels later lost a fumble in the red zone. Another promising possession ended when Colandrea threw an interception in the end zone shortly before halftime. Penalties also erased productive plays and prevented UNLV from developing the rhythm that had made its offense one of the Mountain West’s best throughout the season.
The frustrating part for the Rebels was that Ohio had not taken control of the game during that stretch. UNLV continued finding enough space between the 20s to move the football, and the defense kept the Bobcats from creating immediate separation. The Rebels simply failed to finish the opportunities they created.
Ohio eventually took advantage midway through the second quarter. Parker Navarro finished a 10-play, 84-yard possession with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Bobcats their first touchdown after a drive that lasted nearly six minutes. Ohio missed the extra point, but the possession established what became the winning formula for the rest of the night.
The Bobcats were willing to be patient, stay with the running game and make UNLV prove it could produce enough offense to force them into something different. The Rebels never did.
Ohio Took Control With the Running Game
Ohio created its separation immediately after halftime. The Bobcats opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, and Bangura finished it with a 23-yard run. A successful two-point conversion extended the advantage and put UNLV in a position where its own missed opportunities became increasingly expensive.
Bangura was the biggest problem for the Rebels throughout the night. He carried 19 times for 149 yards and a touchdown, accounting for most of an Ohio rushing attack that finished with 207 yards on 43 attempts. Navarro added 43 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries while completing 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards.
Ohio’s commitment to the ground game became even more pronounced once it had the lead. Navarro attempted only 15 passes and did not throw the football in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats no longer needed to create explosive plays through the air because UNLV had not forced them out of their preferred style.
The most damaging possession came in the fourth quarter. Ohio put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive that consumed 7:47 and ended with a field goal, extending the lead to 17-3. By that point, the clock had become nearly as important as the score.
The drive demonstrated the difference between the teams Tuesday. Ohio consistently turned manageable situations into another set of downs, while UNLV struggled to string enough successful plays together to sustain its own possessions.
UNLV Could Not Turn Explosive Plays Into Sustained Offense
UNLV’s final offensive numbers were not disastrous in isolation, but they did not reflect an offense capable of consistently threatening Ohio. The Rebels finished with 281 total yards, including 184 through the air and 97 on the ground, and averaged 4.8 yards per play.
Colandrea completed 19 of 30 passes for 184 yards with one interception and added 32 rushing yards and UNLV’s only touchdown. He produced enough individual plays to move the offense, but the passing game struggled to maintain rhythm when drives entered scoring territory or UNLV fell behind the chains.
Jaden Bradley led UNLV’s receivers with four catches for 62 yards, extending his streak of games with at least three receptions to seven. Jai’Den Thomas carried 11 times for 51 yards and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season during the first quarter, reaching the milestone for the first time in his career.
Those individual performances were not enough to overcome the mistakes surrounding them. UNLV generated explosive plays through both the passing and running games, but too many were followed by a penalty, sack, turnover or negative play. Instead of allowing one successful snap to create another, the Rebels repeatedly gave Ohio opportunities to reset its defense.
That became especially costly because UNLV’s running game never took control of the line of scrimmage. The Rebels averaged 3.3 yards per carry and finished more than 100 rushing yards behind Ohio. Without a consistent ground game to create manageable situations, more of the offensive responsibility shifted to Colandrea as the deficit grew.
His late touchdown finally gave UNLV a chance. The Rebels drove 79 yards in 12 plays, with Colandrea scoring on fourth down to cut the deficit to seven. It was the type of sustained possession UNLV had needed throughout the night, but it came too late to erase everything that happened before it.
UNLV’s Defense Kept the Game Reachable
UNLV’s defense gave the offense enough opportunities to make the game competitive. The Rebels limited Ohio to 17 points, forced two turnovers and prevented the Bobcats from building the type of lead that should have ended the game early.
Marsel McDuffie finished with nine tackles, while Jaheem Joseph was among the defenders who helped keep Ohio’s passing attack from becoming another significant problem. Chase Hendricks was the only Ohio receiver to consistently create damage downfield, finishing with four catches for 87 yards.
The issue became workload. Because UNLV could not sustain enough offensive possessions, the defense spent increasingly long stretches on the field. Ohio finished with a 34:22 to 25:38 advantage in time of possession and eventually reached a point where it could openly commit to the running game without worrying about protecting against a quick UNLV response.
Even then, the defense kept the Rebels within striking distance. Ohio finished with 350 total yards and 19 first downs, productive numbers but not the type of offensive performance that should automatically result in a loss.
UNLV needed complementary football to take advantage of that effort. It did not get enough of it.
A Breakthrough Season Ended With a Missed Opportunity
The loss does not erase what UNLV accomplished in 2025. Mullen took over a roster reconstructed with more than 60 transfers and led the Rebels to 10 wins, another Mountain West Championship Game and a third consecutive bowl appearance. UNLV has now produced back-to-back double-digit-win seasons while continuing a run of success that once appeared unusual for the program.
Tuesday showed the difference between reaching that level and consistently finishing once there.
UNLV opened the season 6-0 but went 4-4 over its final eight games. The Rebels remained competitive throughout that stretch, including another appearance in the conference championship game, but the margin became smaller as the season progressed and opponents had more information about what Mullen’s first UNLV team did well.
Ohio did not need to overwhelm the Rebels to take advantage of that margin. The Bobcats played cleaner football, controlled possession and avoided the collection of mistakes that prevented UNLV from turning opportunities into points.
The Rebels had chances to change the game before Ohio established control. They reached scoring position, created explosive plays and got enough from their defense to remain within reach. They left too many of those opportunities unfinished.
That is what makes the Frisco Bowl loss a frustrating conclusion to an otherwise successful season. UNLV was not exposed as incapable of competing with Ohio. It was beaten in a game it had enough opportunities to win.
For a program trying to make 10-win seasons, conference championship appearances and bowl games part of its normal expectations, learning how to finish games like Tuesday’s becomes part of the next step.