UNLV Football Is Back!

This week, the Board of Directors of the Mountain West Conference (MWC) convened and greenlit plans for the resumption of football this season. The decision paves the way for football and other fall sports to restart, after their postponement in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Head Coach @coacharroyo of @unlvfootball has released a statement: pic.twitter.com/j01D1PBsm1

From UNLV Athletics, posted on September 25, 2020.

This announcement implies that UNLV football will be resuming earlier than anticipated. The MWC is revising its regular-season football timetable. The league’s new, curtailed season will commence on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The league’s schedules, including those for UNLV and other conference teams, have not yet been released. The aim is to have each team play eight games this year. Some teams may have an additional rivalry game. However, games that are missed due to a COVID-19 outbreak will not be rescheduled.

In the shortened season, the majority of games will be within the conference. The MWC football championship game is currently planned to occur on Saturday, Dec. 19.

Safety first

Although the league intends to resume, the decisions for individual teams depend on state, county, and local approvals. The season was deferred due to the health and safety concerns of the MWC student-athletes.

League officials still consider the safety of its players to be of utmost importance.

Dr. Mary Papazian, San José State University president and chair of the MW Board of Directors, stated, “All decisions continue to be guided by the health and well-being of our student-athletes.”

So, how did we arrive at this point and what’s our next destination?

Papazian elaborated further in a statement:

Rapid testing availability addresses a key concern raised by our Board, the MW Health and Safety Advisory Committee, as well as student-athletes and coaches. Our student-athletes are eager to compete, and the Board unanimously believes that football can be carried out with suitable precautions. We are gaining more understanding about the virus daily and will keep a close eye on the pandemic’s progress. We stand ready to adjust our plan if new information emerges or if we believe that a safe environment cannot be maintained on our campuses.

Before they can participate in official games, UNLV and the other teams in the MWC will require the appropriate government approvals.

What’s the plan for UNLV football?

There is still a significant amount of preparation required for UNLV before the season kicks off. Their initial step will be to take to the practice field. The impending season, which has been amended, will be the inaugural season under the leadership of head coach Marcus Arroyo.

He was last observed directing plays for the Oregon Ducks from the Pac-12 conference. Interestingly, this very league also sanctioned a shortened football season this week.

Before the season was postponed, the Runnin’ Rebels had plans to play home games at the newly built Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV may hold its home games at the gleaming new stadium they share with the Las Vegas Raiders. The decision on their playing venue will be determined by governmental officials in Nevada.

The possibility of sharing the stadium may be ruled out due to the strict social distancing measures currently in place. This situation might result in the Rebels playing their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium for an additional season.

Although UNLV had hoped the new stadium would increase attendance, it is unlikely that the team will play in front of fans due to the current government mandate which only permits gatherings of up to 50 people.

Rumor has it that the capacity might increase to 250 individuals, but that’s still inadequate to accommodate fans.

The MWC conference championship game will no longer be hosted at Allegiant Stadium, as recently announced by league officials. Instead, the game will take place at the home stadium of the team with the best record in the conference.

So you’re saying UNLV has a chance…

Since the MWC doesn’t have a timetable, futures odds for the conference are not available. However, Caesars has provided odds for UNLV to win the college football national championship.

The odds of the Runnin’ Rebels winning the FBS championship are +500,000.

At Caesars’ sportsbooks in Nevada, UNLV has a 5,000-1 chance of winning the championship. Despite these odds making them a significant underdog, it levels them with esteemed football teams such as the University of Virginia and the University of Texas-El Paso.

Currently, Boise State has the highest odds of winning the college football national championship among all MWC teams, at +5,000.