Can Dan Mullen Turn This Around? Predicting UNLV’s Final 9 Games

UNLV entered the season talking about a College Football Playoff run. Three games later, the Rebels are 1-2, coming off a 44-6 loss at North Texas, and the conversation around this team has completely changed. Jason W. Kelly from the Let’s Run Podcast joins me for Part 2 of our conversation to figure out what the rest of the 2026 season can realistically become. We go game by game through every matchup left on UNLV’s schedule, set a floor and a ceiling for Dan Mullen’s team, and try to determine what should now qualify as a successful season. We both believe UNLV should beat Akron coming out of the bye, but the bigger question is what the Rebels actually look like doing it. Does Jackson Arnold finally put together a complete game? Does Corey Dennis get the offense moving? Does Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas start producing the explosive plays this team expected from him? And does UNLV finally look like the Mountain West contender it expected to be before the season started? From there, the schedule gets much more interesting. We both currently have Cal as a loss, although neither of us believes that game is unwinnable. Then North Dakota State comes to Allegiant Stadium, and that matchup ends up becoming the most important part of the entire conversation. Jason thinks North Dakota State beats UNLV. I think the Rebels find a way to win it. That one disagreement changes almost everything about how we see the second half of the season. We also have very different views on the trip to Air Force before working through Northern Illinois, Wyoming, New Mexico, San Jose State and the regular-season finale against Nevada. By the end of the exercise, Jason has UNLV finishing 6-6, while I land at 8-4. My ceiling for the Rebels is 9-3, with a floor of 4-8. Jason sees an 8-4 ceiling and a 5-7 floor. The CFP path may be gone, but UNLV still has a Mountain West championship to play for. The question now is whether the next few weeks reveal a team that can still contend for it or one whose season is headed in a completely different direction. Jason W. Kelly covers UNLV and hosts the Let’s Run Podcast. You can follow him on X at @jasonkredline and subscribe to his YouTube channel here: Jason on X: http://x.com/jasonkredline⁠ Let’s Run Podcast YouTube/Subscribe: http://t.co/5n0BWlBHTQ⁠ Follow The Scarlet Standard for more UNLV football and basketball coverage: Website:http://the-scarlet-standard.comYouTube:http://youtube.com/channel/UCTPBxVqczV4vLqAlivI3FPwX:http://x.com/SS_MediaLVInstagram:http://instagram.com/ss_medialvFacebook:http://facebook.com/p/The-Scarlet-Standard-LV-61577609316045/ This episode is also brought to you by Vegas Varsity. Use promo code *SSM10* for 10% off your order. A portion of every order using the code goes back toward helping The Scarlet Standard travel and cover UNLV. #UNLVFB #UNLVFootball #MountainWest #CollegeFootball