Memphis-UNLV Week 0 shootout in Vegas turns into a track meet

UNLV and Memphis had never played each other before Saturday night, which is wild when you consider both programs have been quietly stacking wins for 3 years running. UNLV is 30-12 since 2023, Memphis is 29-10, and the Tigers had literally never set foot in the state of Nevada. So the Mountain West and the American decided to kick off the whole 2026 slate with a first-ever meeting at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, on FOX, in prime time. That's a lot of buildup for a Week 0 game, and it delivered.

UNLV didn't waste the moment either. Vegas is going to Vegas things, and that meant an Elvis impersonator running out of the tunnel with the Rebels ahead of kickoff, jumpsuit and all.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

Of course UNLV brought out Elvis for the season opener

Then the game itself took over. This thing was tied 7-7, then 14-14, with neither defense able to get a stop for a stretch of the second and third quarters. Barstool's college football crew was locked in from the jump, with Brandon Walker calling it "an absolutely fantastic week zero game" and Mintzy predicting the second half was about to "pop off so hard".

The highlight reel had two plays worth circling. First, a Memphis back broke a long touchdown run with the game knotted at 7, juking his way into the open field on a run Big Cat immediately nicknamed "Shark Wheel" for how shifty the cuts were.

Big Cat

@BarstoolBigCat

Shark Wheel

The same nickname got recycled minutes later for a defensive back's diving pick near the 10-yard line, still with the score knotted at 7 in the second quarter. Then the game kept climbing. Kayden McGee punched in a UNLV touchdown to make it 14-14 in the third quarter, prompting one Barstool account to declare the "Mountain West after dark" was rocking.

Memes

@PardonMyMeme

Mountain West after dark is rocking right now

Memphis answered right back. Jaylin Carter broke off a long touchdown run of his own to put the Tigers up 21-14 in the third, the kind of play that had one account only half-jokingly calling it the "final Week 0 game ever" given the sport's scheduling format is changing soon.

Memes

@PardonMyMeme

Final week 0 game ever

By the time the dust settled on the trades, Mintzy was calling it possibly "the best G5 matchup of the whole season", and pointing to the athletes Memphis has scattered all over its roster as the reason a supposed lightweight matchup turned into appointment viewing. New Tigers QB Stokes, who reportedly tore it up at West Florida before transferring in, was part of the reason Memphis had answers for every UNLV punch. Whatever happens on the scoreboard by the final whistle, this is exactly the kind of Week 0 game that makes people pay attention to a home-and-home nobody was talking about a year ago -- and with UNLV owed a return trip to Memphis in 2029, this rivalry might just be getting started.