UNLV Rebels Quarterback Anthony Colandrea Named Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week Again

UNLV Rebels quarterback Anthony Colandrea has been named the Old Trapper Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week in a row. There has never been a UNLV quarterback who has won this award twice in an entire season, and he just won it for the second time in Week 2. Only two UNLV quarterbacks have ever even managed to win this award twice in their entire careers, and they were Omar Clayton and Jason Thomas. Clayton did it in 2008 and 2009, while Thomas did it in 2000 and 2002.

Colandrea was the Rebels' top offensive star in their huge victory over their Big 10 foes, the UCLA Bruins. He went 15 of 21 for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and added 59 yards on 11 carries on the ground. The 30 - 23 victory has UNLV sitting at 3 - 0 as they head into a Week 3 bye. Not only did the win give the Mountain West Conference team credibility with the voters by knocking off a Power 4 team, but it also already has the Rebels halfway to bowl eligibility. More importantly, this win could go a long way towards earning a G6 bid to the College Football Playoffs following the conclusion of the regular season. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go before we get there.

Moving forward, we wouldn't be surprised to see Colandrea win more of these awards. He has clearly established himself as the top quarterback for the Rebels, with fellow transfer portal quarterback Alex Orji only being used situationally to take advantage of his dynamic rushing ability. The only thing that might hold him back from dominating this award is having running back Jai'Den Thomas next to him in the backfield. He's sure to rack up a few more of these himself.

His next chance to win one of these will come on the road against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks on Saturday, September 20. They are currently 0 - 2 after getting knocked off by Wisconsin and Rutgers. For now, Colandrea will return to practice and keep building up much-needed chemistry on an offense filled with transfer portal players. They have already been excellent on offense, and should only get better as the season goes on. They might be scary once they are clicking on all cylinders.