UNLV wins first game without Matthew Sluka while Hajj-Malik Williams stars against Fresno State

LAS VEGAS — Hajj-Malik Williams walked onto the Allegiant Stadium field Saturday as a mystery and left as a revelation. But not without calling a very important photo shoot.

UNLV’s new starting quarterback yelled at his new replacement, Cameron Friel, to distract from greeting familiar faces in the stands. So Friel pushed back into midfield. The two signal callers wrapped their arms around offensive analyst Kenneth Merchant. And those who stayed remembered this moment.

After a 59-14 dismantling of Fresno State at the end of one of the most tumultuous weeks in program history, in which the unknown Williams looked like a season savior, it’s impossible to count how many words that picture was worth. In his first-ever start at the FBS level, filling in for a starter who quit during the week, Williams completed 13 of 16 passes for 182 yards and three scores while posting a team-high 119 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground.

Williams was not available for interviews after the game, but his case has been made previously. UNLV’s vaunted “Go-Go” offense broke through all the stop signs, no matter who was in the middle. A program that started 4-0 for the first time since 1976 is still estimating a historic season that could end with a Cinderella appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

“Everyone knew what we had in Hajj,” UNLV coach Barry Odom said. “At the beginning of fall camp, I said several times that we had three quarterbacks on this roster who could play winning football. And I still stand by that.”

Of course now there are only two. Former starting quarterback Matthew Sluka abruptly left the program earlier this week, firing claims of unfulfilled name, image and likeness promises, and a team eyeing the best season in program history suffered a puncture.

Williams, a transfer from FCS Campbell, left that school as the all-time leader in pass yards (8,236) and touchdowns (58). As a solution, it was something better than a roll of the dice. Still, no one outside the UNLV football building thought the result would be this good.

“He’s a leader,” Rebels linebacker Jackson Woodard said. “He knows what’s important. He’s the first one in the building.”

As a quick reminder, Sluka, a transfer from FCS Holy Cross, started the first three games for UNLV, including wins at Houston and Kansas, leading to the program’s first appearance in a Top 25 poll. In the Rebels’ 3-0 start, he completed 43.8 percent of his passes with six touchdowns while adding 253 rushing yards and another score.

On Tuesday night, Sluka and his camp went public with the claim that UNLV had failed to honor its $100,000 commitment to the player – and therefore Sluka had left the program to maintain one year of eligibility and one elsewhere to look for a better offer. In the hours that followed, everyone on the other side—the school, its third-party NIL partner, donors leading NIL’s fundraising efforts—denied the existence of any contract or obligation. The UNLV statement classified the request as “pay-for-play,” which is illegal in Nevada.

Odom had remained largely silent about the situation – he walked off the practice field without comment on Wednesday and only acknowledged a “roster change” at quarterback during his weekly radio show that evening – and read from a prepared statement about the situation on Saturday.

“The following will be my only comment on this matter,” Odom said. “Many have expressed a very clear opinion about the events of last week without full knowledge of the facts, without full knowledge of the events of last week and without full knowledge of the rules in the ever-changing and evolving NIL system. And unfortunately, some have even used this fact as a platform for their own plans.

“I respect everyone’s right to an opinion. And I will not comment on others’ opinions or their motivations for expressing them. Rather, I simply want to say that our football program complied with current rules, and subject to those rules, we are fully committed to the development and success of every student-athlete in our program.”

In any case, the other phases of the Rebels’ operation essentially ensured that the quarterback’s identity was irrelevant, at least for a weekend.

UNLV recorded four interceptions, three of them before halftime. It gave up a total of four yards rushing over three quarters and recorded eight tackles for loss. It returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the first half and a kickoff for a score in the second half – the program’s first such return in 13 years. “We talked about going into attack mode in all three phases,” Odom said.

But it’s also true that any hope of falling into the playoffs relies on UNLV at least having functioning quarterback play. Williams allayed those concerns…for now.

“Attitude,” receiver Ricky White III said. “He’s a quarterback we can support on offense.”

A strenuous route awaits you. On Friday you’ll visit Syracuse, followed by road trips to the states of Utah and Oregon. Then there will be a showdown at the Mountain West Festival — and possible unofficial postseason elimination game — with Boise State. And Odom knows there’s no room for error in chasing that kind of story at a place like UNLV. He reiterated on Saturday that these particular pages, however warped and dog-eared, need to be turned quickly.

And then, fittingly, an incredibly wild week ended with another hilarious moment.

“I would ask someone to reach out to the CEO of Circa and ask him – what $100,000 did he want to donate?” White III announced as everyone prepared to leave the postgame press conference. “Give it to our O-line. Please.”

(Photo: Ian Maule/Getty Images)