MOULTON: MWC Week 0 Helmet Stickers

We've finally reached Week 0, and this week comes the real deal when the rest of college football kicks off.

But while only five games rounded out the slate on Saturday, three featured Mountain West programs.  

FCS Idaho State tested UNLV, as they escaped with a 38-31 victory at Allegiant Stadium (both teams play UNM this season).

Fresno State couldn’t get anything going in Lawrence, Kan., and only generated 37 total rushing yards in a 31-7 loss to Kansas and Hawaii outlasted Stanford 23-20 in the national spotlight on CBS. 

Some big individual performances deserve some recognition.  

Here are our Helmet Stickers awarded to the MWC top performers of the week.

Hawai’i QB Micah Alejado: The redshirt freshman went for 27-of-39 with 210 yards and two touchdowns, but it was his late-game heroics for the Rainbow Warriors that secured the helmet sticker. 

After suffering a lower-body injury after a hip drop tackle, the 5-foot-10 quarterback would come back after only sitting out one offensive series. 

The injury looked more serious than it was, but it obviously hobbled Alejado for the rest of the game.

Down 20-17, Alejado led a drive that tied the game at 20-20 on a field goal with 2:01 remaining.

Hawai’i’s defense would force a punt, leaving Alejado 1:23 and one timeout to operate.

He drove them the length of the field and set up kicker Kansei Matzusawa for the game winner as time expired.

UNLV RB: Jai’Den Thomas: The story on Saturday for UNLV was mostly about how its defense left plenty to be desired. 

Finicky Idaho State executed time and time again to keep the Rebs on their heels; QB Jordan Cooke completed 30-of-50 passes for 380 yards. 

But it was on the back of Thomas that UNLV would storm back.

Thomas only carried the ball ten times, but would punch through the Idaho State defense for touchdown runs of 39 and 70 yards. 

His day would total three touchdowns and a bright spot for a Rebels team that is eyeing an MWC title and a shot at the College Football Playoff.

UNLV quarterbacks Threats Anthony Colandrea and Alex Orji: This was the primary storyline of camp leading to Week 0.

Which quarterback would start for Dan Mullen?

Mullen said throughout the entirety of fall camp they both would play.

And both did. 

Orji would get the first snap of the game on a trick play with Colandrea on the field as a decoy.

As the game unfolded, it was more apparent that Colandrea was the ‘passing’ quarterback and Orji was primarily ‘run first.’

The dynamic is intriguing and offers multi-layered attacks.

Colandrea was 15-of-21 for 195 yards and one touchdown passing and rushed for 95 yards.