Each week we ask someone who covers Cal’s next football opponent to answer five questions about that opponent.
Cal (2-2) plays a road game against UNLV (2-2) on Saturday afternoon, so this week we asked five questions of Donovan Hicks, who covers UNLV football for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
UNLV has reached the Mountain West Conference title game each of the past three years, and the Rebels are one of the seven teams that remained in the Mountain West Conference after Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and Colorado State left to join the Pac-12 this year.
We provide excerpts from each of Hicks’ five answers, but you may want to listen to the videos to get the entire response.
The five questions:
— 1. UNLV was the preseason favorite to win the Moutain West, so has the 2-2 start, including the lopsided loss to North Texas, been a disappointment or is this about what you expected?
— 1. “I’d say it’s definitely been a disappointment to a lot of different UNLV fans and people surrounding the program, especially, I mean they were CFP [College Football Playoff] favorites, outside of them winning the Mountain West conference,” said Hicks.
UNLV lost to Memphis, then defeated Hawaii “21-6 on the island, which is always kind of tough for them,” Hicks said..
“But then it slowly came off the rails again, North Texas (a 44-6 North Texas win),” Hicks said. “. …. One of the things [Dan Mullen] stressed was that they had no turnovers for the first two weeks . . . and then they had four turnovers against North Texas.
“The offense, I think, was able to find a little bit of a rhythm [against Akron last week], they win 38-10. Jackson Arnold throws for three passing touchdowns; he only threw for two in the first three games. So that aerial attack started to find its rhythm.”
—2. UNLV plays its games at the beautiful Allegiant Stadium. How has the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas in 2020 affected the popularity and exposure of the Rebels’ football program?
—2. “Obviously they get to play at Allegiant Stadium and it is a beautiful stadium,” Hicks said. “Dan Mullen has said on numerous occasions it’s the best stadium in college football, and if they are able to build up the program to where they want it to be, an opportunity to sell out that place would be incredible. I mean they’re going to have the college football championship there [this season] for a reason.
“But I think the biggest impact it has right now is in terms of facilities and recruiting.”
Regarding the impact the Raiders move to Las Vegas had on UNLV football, Hicks said, “They are two different entities. I feel like UNLV is the locals’ program; it has been since the ‘90’s, since the Tark days. I think when the Raiders came in it was less local, and they were a transplant team. I think a lot of the original Oakland fans and the Bay Area fans made the move here. . . . Now it’s more of a solid mix, but I think they’re two separate entities.”
—3. Do you expect UNLV head coach Dan Mullen to stay at UNLV long term, or do you think he’ll go elsewhere if he gets the chance?
—3. “Last year it was the talk of the town, his name was in headlines everywhere. And it got to the point in the middle of the season, the media had to ask him straight up if he was going to stay with the program at least for another season, and he gave his word he would be here, and, well, he’s here.
“Obviously, if a big job opening presents itself his name is going to get thrown out there, but it is a 2-2 start for the Rebels, so I think that value or his stock has gone down a little bit.
“The way he has been recruiting for the future for UNLV, I think that he is in for at least another season.”
—4. What are the strengths of 2025 all-Mountain West running back Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas and Auburn transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold?
—4. “You can’t say enough good things about Jet Thomas; he is everywhere on the football field. They want to give him the football as many times as he can handle a game,” Hicks said. “If he can get past the line of scrimmage, which has been the biggest battle this season, you can see the explosive nature. He can make guys miss, he can break through arm tackles. He very similar to Ashton Jeanty, similar builds, similar styles, and I think at some points he can catch the ball more effectively.
“As for Jackson Arnold, he is a very good quarterback in terms of, he can use his legs and he can hit holes when they are there.”
Hicks said he’s little different from UNLV’s quarterback last year, Anthony Colandrea, a shifty runner who was the Mountain West offensive player of the year in 2025 and is now at Nebraska.
“Arnold I would say is a more physical presence,” Hicks said. “He’s not afraid to get hit and truck through the line of scrimmage. He’s a faster point-to-point guy. . . .Now that I think he’s found a rhythm with his wide-receiver corps, it’ll be interesting to see how they come out against Cal. . . . He needs to work on ball-placement a little bit.”
—5. What does UNLV’s defense do best and who are two or three of the best UNLV defensive players?
—5. Hicks noted that defense struggled last year in its first season under defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.
“This year I think the defense has definitely grown a significant amount in the second year under Guenther, and I think the biggest thing is going to be their secondary. They’re going to have to limit Cal’s passing game.”
Hicks mentioned safeties Jake Pope and Tre Fulton as well linebacker , and then the linebackers. UNLV has a history of strong linebackers. Hicks mentioned Cam Santee, who had 110 tackles at Holy Cross last year, as the Rebels’ top defensive players.
Cal needs to improve its offense after failing to score an offensive touchdown in last week’s 24-10 loss to Clemson.
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