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Keeping Odom.

I am not so sure that the PAC is all that much of a jump over the MWC in football. My expectation is that Washington State and Oregon State continue to drop in relevance with all their money being used up, which leaves the PAC with BSU as the leader of the conference. From what I have seen of Fresno State, Utah State, Oregon State, Washington State, CSU and SDSU, they are up and down programs that have had good and bad years. Currently SDSU is a dumpster fire ever since getting into their new stadium, Fresno State seems to come up a little short of having a good team every year, CSU has had some good and some bad years, but with the exception of BSU, none of them seem to be a team that can carry the conference which is still one team short.

The MWC has UNLV which is currently carrying the future MWC, but they also have Air Force which is typically a good team with an exception being this year which they finally turned around at the end of the season. Hawaii also turned the season around, but still needs to get a new stadium in order to be competitive not just on the field, but also in recruiting and NIL money. Wyoming is also typically a competitive bowl elgible team that has had a really bad year. SJSU has had some good teams, but they do have a problem with getting fan support which is needed to keep the program relevant. The struggles will come with New Mexico which doesn't seem to get any fan support, unr which has of the last few years signficantly dropped off, and Texas El Paso which has a good market, but has been horrible in football to a level similar to UNLV of the past.

I think both conferences have a few good teams with a bad bottom end, so in reality, UNLV will be playing a similar in conference schedule with the exception of losing the Boise State games. My expectation is that Washington State and Oregon State will be at a similar level to Wyoming and SJSU in the future.
The fascination people have over the PAC is weird. They're the same exact thing as the MWC. Maybe slightly better. I mean slightly, as in no huge gulf in between. Like comparing a Honda to a Toyota. The media deal has yet to be finalized so I'm not sure how people project the PAC deal to be such a huge gulf in difference. And also, we are not only getting the lump sum but also 1.6MM-1.8MM per year for 2 years which will offset any of that anyways. And by that point, the whole thing is going to be blown up. The SEC and P4 conferences are already having death throes over the playoffs.

Rebels in the 2025 NFL Draft?

I think Ricky White makes it to the combine and get taken around round 4-5 if his numbers are average.

Shanks will make it onto a roster somewhere, as a guard. I don't think he has the feet to be a tackle in the NFL

Catalon will make it on a roster based on his medical.

Woodard and Ballungay will at least get looked at and make a camp. They need to smash their combine. I have doubts about their speed being enough for the NFL.

De Jesus is built for arena football.

Other people who will make it to a camp, if not a roster: Doyle, Elad, Ware, Chavis, Oliver, Su'a, St. John, and Hasz.

Fresno State

I think that the difference is the support of the Administration. We see how important Harper is.

I think that Odom is the best thing to happen to us since Tark but having administrative support in football matters a lot!
A great AD and President is really important. UNLV hit a grand slam with these two and coach Odom working together as a team.

Rebels in the 2025 NFL Draft?

What are the chances UNLV gets 5 Rebels drafted? I can see Ricky White, Jalen Catalon, Tiger Shanks, Jackson Woodard and possibly Jacob De Jesus names called.
I'd say the chances are very low at getting 5. Honestly, if we get 2-3 that would be amazing. I haven't looked at any of the predictions to see how many are projected, but whether drafted or not, I think those guys do have a good shot of getting signed by a team.

Coach Of The Year

A top ten finish and only loss to Oregon, one of the top teams in the country. Their program was in shambles when they canned Avalos, and Spencer turned it around. Great coach.
Without question he turned the program around. I was open about thinking Boise State sucked under the last coach, but they guy running the program now has done a great job and is just as deserving of coach of the year as coach Odom. Hopefully after Friday, they will rethink who should be coach of the year!

Fresno State

UNLV didn't have much luck with a lower division coach running the program, so not sure how much better Fresno will do with a past head coach that has had 1 season at a bad USC team as an assistant.
I think that the difference is the support of the Administration. We see how important Harper is.

I think that Odom is the best thing to happen to us since Tark but having administrative support in football matters a lot!

National Signing Day

Our depth at edge and LB is absolutely CRAZY.

We have one OL signing I believe, I don’t know anything about him but I would agree that that will be more of an emphasis in the portal. We did very well the last two years there, it all starts in the trenches.

Also one underrated aspect of this class, is speed. Some of the signees are track guys and run near 4.3. They have the tools and just need to get in the gym and be coached up.

Great class.
A couple of those edge guys are fast enough that could also end up at linebacker if we switch our base defense. The ones that aren't fast enough have enough frame to bulk up to DL. Speed kills, and that DB that measured a 4.3 was laser timed twice. I like this class!

National Signing Day

Interesting that while most of the MWC teams have a few recruits that will enroll early, according to the MWC tracker, 15 of 19 UNLV signed players will enroll early. That is a huge advantage over every other school. As an example, BSU only has 5 players that will enroll early out of 22. https://www.mwcconnection.com/2024/...n-west-football-2025-recruiting-class-tracker

Correction it is now up to 21 commits for UNLV with 16 enrolling early.

Keeping Odom.

It is true that it is essentially a 2 league megaconference world.

Yes the ACC and the B12 are a notable step down.

But we are talking about UNLV here. We cannot concern ourselves with getting into the P2 leagues. It will not happen, at least not in the next 10 years.

B12 has a legit shot. And it would be a huge upgrade. Not just in competition, but more importantly in guaranteed media revenue. You need money to compete consistently at the highest level, and we don't have it.

The second part of that is that the B12 needs football teams, and that league is ripe for the taking (eventually). I think in terms of playoff potential UNLV in the B12 is much more reason to compete.

Oh yeah, it is the best basketball league in the country.


As for the Pac 12. It is out of the P4 whichever way you slice it, but it is a better league top down, by a significant amount, than the remaining MW. This year may not be obvious for that, but historically 100%. And yes they will be making more money than the "new" MW, even if they have to pay their own exit fees. They will be much more set up for success in football and basketball than the MW, and their SOS will be more forgiving with losses, much like we are benefitting from this year.

This isn't all moot.
I am not so sure that the PAC is all that much of a jump over the MWC in football. My expectation is that Washington State and Oregon State continue to drop in relevance with all their money being used up, which leaves the PAC with BSU as the leader of the conference. From what I have seen of Fresno State, Utah State, Oregon State, Washington State, CSU and SDSU, they are up and down programs that have had good and bad years. Currently SDSU is a dumpster fire ever since getting into their new stadium, Fresno State seems to come up a little short of having a good team every year, CSU has had some good and some bad years, but with the exception of BSU, none of them seem to be a team that can carry the conference which is still one team short.

The MWC has UNLV which is currently carrying the future MWC, but they also have Air Force which is typically a good team with an exception being this year which they finally turned around at the end of the season. Hawaii also turned the season around, but still needs to get a new stadium in order to be competitive not just on the field, but also in recruiting and NIL money. Wyoming is also typically a competitive bowl elgible team that has had a really bad year. SJSU has had some good teams, but they do have a problem with getting fan support which is needed to keep the program relevant. The struggles will come with New Mexico which doesn't seem to get any fan support, unr which has of the last few years signficantly dropped off, and Texas El Paso which has a good market, but has been horrible in football to a level similar to UNLV of the past.

I think both conferences have a few good teams with a bad bottom end, so in reality, UNLV will be playing a similar in conference schedule with the exception of losing the Boise State games. My expectation is that Washington State and Oregon State will be at a similar level to Wyoming and SJSU in the future.

Coach Of The Year

I half expect our fanbase to get all huffy puffy mama bear and talk about how it’s a screw job and the ncaa hates UNLV and that’s why he didn’t win it.

If you have heavy blinders on, I can understand Odom being the runaway winner.
I think part of the reasoning is the turnaround from Avalos era and also have to credit Spencer for keeping Jeanty in Boise. Could’ve made a fortune somewhere else but stayed. I am pulling for Jeanty to win the heisman.

I guess I’m not bitter since UNLV got a ton of accolades and awards and CBO won it last year. It’s not a big deal to me, and at this point the only thing that matters is winning on Friday.

National Signing Day

Our depth at edge and LB is absolutely CRAZY.

We have one OL signing I believe, I don’t know anything about him but I would agree that that will be more of an emphasis in the portal. We did very well the last two years there, it all starts in the trenches.

Also one underrated aspect of this class, is speed. Some of the signees are track guys and run near 4.3. They have the tools and just need to get in the gym and be coached up.

Great class.
We lost an OL, Miguel Chavez to Oklahoma State
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