UNLV and Hawai'i have played for the Golden Pineapple before, but never this early — Mountain West realignment pushed the rivalry into a Week 1 opener with real conference-title stakes attached from the jump.
Bush’s Picks
UNLVHAW
UNLVHAW
OverUnder
Best BetHawai'i
Hawai'i brings back the reigning conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in Alejado and a home offense that torched teams a year ago, while UNLV is breaking in a transfer quarterback and a rebuilt receiving room on the road. That combination makes the Rainbow Warriors the side to trust to just win the game outright.
UNLV
+Jai'Den Thomas is a Mountain West Player of the Year candidate
+10-4 last season, program trending up under Mullen
+Jackson Arnold is a proven Power Four transfer arm
−Receiving corps overhauled, lost most top playmakers
−First true road test comes immediately, in Honolulu
−Defense integrating new coordinator pieces
Hawai'i
+Micah Alejado returns off a 3,100-yard, 24-TD season
+Home offense averaged 394 yards, 29 points last year
+Deep portal additions at WR and RB to replace losses
−Lost leading receiver Jackson Harris to LSU's NIL pitch
−Unproven vs. a ranked-caliber Group of Six opponent this early
−Coming off 9-4 — hasn't broken through to a title yet
This one's technically a rivalry game — the Golden Pineapple has been contested since the '90s — but it's also the earliest these two have ever met, kicking off Mountain West play for both programs on Saturday, September 5. Micah Alejado, Hawai'i's sophomore quarterback and the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, gets a shot at UNLV's revamped defense in his first true test of the year, while Jackson Arnold tries to get his Auburn-to-Vegas fresh start moving against a Hawai'i defense that has to replace pieces of its own.
UNLV comes in with real expectations. Dan Mullen's second year opens with the Rebels off a 10-4 season and a legitimate shot at running the new-look Mountain West, especially with Boise State gone to the Pac-12. Running back Jai'Den Thomas, who piled up 2,457 yards and 31 touchdowns last season, is the engine — but the receiving corps around Arnold got gutted this offseason, leaving portal additions like Troy Stellato and Amorion Walker to find chemistry fast, and Honolulu is about as tough a road debut as there is.
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UNLV UNLV
HAW Hawai'i
Hawai'i, meanwhile, is coming off arguably the best season of the Timmy Chang era — a 9-4 finish that included wins over Stanford and Cal — and Alejado's return after a 3,100-yard, 24-touchdown sophomore campaign has the 'Bows getting mentioned in early Group of Five playoff chatter. The home offense was lethal a year ago, and Chang restocked around his quarterback instead of hoping to replace him.
UNLV Rebels
Aug 29?vs Memphis—
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
Aug 29?@ Stanford—
Recent form.
The offensive turnover on both sides is worth watching closely. Hawai'i lost leading receiver Jackson Harris to LSU's NIL money, a real hit after his breakout year, but brought in Tre Griffiths and DeVon Rice to keep the skill-position pipeline full. UNLV's defense, now with Mike Scherer back working alongside Paul Guenther, is the bigger question mark early — a group trying to gel in September against a Hawai'i passing attack that averaged 394 yards a game at home last season.
UNLV Rebels
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Whatever early hiccups either roster works through, this is a Mountain West opener with a trophy and tone-setting stakes attached — the loser starts league play already chasing, and neither Mullen nor Chang wants that story written in Week 1.
