After falling to the Memphis Tigers in their season opener, the UNLV Rebels’ Week 1 matchup against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the latest installment of the “Ninth Island Showdown” already feels like a must-win.
As UNLV opens conference play, it remains one of the favorites to contend for the Mountain West championship, but its College Football Playoff aspirations have already taken a significant hit after the Week 0 loss.
The Rebels cannot afford to let one loss turn into two, particularly with their first conference game coming on the road against a Hawaii program that has historically made the trip to the islands a difficult one for UNLV.
The Scarlet and Gray are 3-9 on the road against the Rainbow Warriors dating back to 1969, adding another layer to a matchup that carries importance for both programs as they search for their first wins of the season.
For Hawaii, Saturday provides an opportunity to rebound from its 37-27 road loss to Stanford in Week 0 and establish itself as a legitimate threat in the Mountain West after finishing with a 9-5 record a season ago.
Much of Hawaii’s hopes of returning to that stage will rest on the arm of former Bishop Gorman quarterback Micah Alejado, who enters his second season as the Rainbow Warriors’ starter.
Alejado struggled against the Rebels last season, throwing for 163 yards in UNLV’s 38-10 victory at Allegiant Stadium as the Scarlet and Gray shut out Hawaii in the second half.
Outside of that performance, however, Alejado put together a strong 2025 campaign as a redshirt freshman, throwing for more than 3,100 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing more than 66% of his passes.
Now, with another offseason in Hawaii’s system under his belt, Mullen expects Alejado to present a different challenge.
“He knows the system,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “Obviously, another challenge is another whole year for him running that offense and the whole offseason running that offense.
“I think it’s a huge advantage for them to have a returning starter at the quarterback position.”
Mullen added that UNLV will have to change its approach from last season to prevent Alejado from becoming comfortable.
“I thought we had a decent plan last year, but we’re going to have to change that up and show him a lot of different looks this year,” Mullen said. “(Alejado) is going to execute even at a higher level than he did last year.”
While Alejado gives Hawaii an experienced presence at the most important position on the field, the Rainbow Warriors also return experience on the opposite side of the ball.
Hawaii’s defense ranked 62nd nationally last season and returns multiple starters, providing the unit with an experienced core despite allowing 37 points in its season-opening loss to Stanford.
That performance came against a Cardinal offense that ranked 122nd among 136 FBS programs in 2025, but Mullen believes Hawaii’s speed can make them a difficult matchup.
“When you watch them defensively, they’re fast on defense and we saw that last year,” Mullen said. “Memphis was a big physical defense. This team is not quite as big, but they’re really fast, quick guys all over the field, from the linebackers to the defensive backs.
“They have some experience with some returning starters coming back on the defensive side of the ball, and they play really hard.”
With Alejado entering his second season as the starter and an experienced defense returning from a team that reached the conference championship game a year ago, Hawaii enters its second season under coach Timmy Chang with plenty of continuity on both sides of the ball.
With a veteran quarterback, an experienced defense and the help of home-field advantage, Hawaii has the pieces to make life difficult for the Rebels as UNLV looks to rebound.
