It’s time to move forward. To get past that 56-31 thrashing from Boise State. To focus on five games over the next five weeks.

But first, UNLV’s football team had to watch the film.

It did so as a team. Watched all that transpired against the Broncos. Watched how the score got out of hand.

The Rebels (6-1, 2-1 Mountain West) return off their third and final bye to play New Mexico (5-3, 2-2) at noon Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.

UNLV intends on being much better than it was its last time out.

“The negative for us is that we lost the game — that’s an easy one right there,” coach Dan Mullen said. “It starts with me overseeing the whole thing. I think the positive was that everyone in the building took ownership of it. If you don’t take ownership, it’s harder to improve.

“I started with, ‘Hey, let’s go through some of my errors.’ Some of the things I could have done differently in our preparation. Did I have us ready for this situation? Could I have called better plays or managed the game a little differently? When you start there, ownership comes from everybody.”

And it did. About everything. About the missed blocks and costly penalties and missed throws.

It takes a whole lot of mistakes to give up 56 points.

Mullen, though, believes the next five weeks will be good for his team. That they will allow the Rebels to get into a rhythm that was tough to find with so many byes.

UNLV’s defense has struggled to stop just about everyone it’s faced. Mullen believes one reason for that is the Rebels have faced a wide variety of offenses.

They took on an explosive Boise State team featuring a solid running game. Before that, they faced Air Force’s triple-option attack. Now UNLV is facing a New Mexico team that plays multiple quarterbacks.

“Hopefully, we improve,” Mullen said. “We can either say, ‘It wasn’t my fault,’ and point the blame somewhere else. Then it’s not going to be a good five-game stretch. Or we can do nothing and keep rolling along and say we’re 6-1 and the world hasn’t come to an end.

“Or we can really own it and ask if we are really getting better. You can’t get better without seeing those areas we made mistakes in. Hopefully it’s that one, because then you have a chance to become a really good football team.”

Praising Colandrea

Junior quarterback Anthony Colandrea would be in the mix for an all-conference selection if the season ended after seven games.

He ranks third in the Mountain West in total yards per game (289.7).

“I think he’s doing a really good job,” Mullen said. “I’m also pleased with how he started the year. We got to learn from each other and he had to learn my expectations and what I wanted him to do. I ask him to do stuff he’s not great at. It’s up to us to keep him in situations where he’s going to be his best.

“Everyone is confident that when the game is on the line, we’re putting the ball in his hands. It’s what he wants. Go win the game. He loves that.”

Mullen said Colandrea has gotten better at making decisions within the offense as the season has gone along. Colandrea has protected the ball well — he’s thrown four interceptions — and wants to be given more responsibility.

“We always joke in the meetings,” Mullen said. “He’s like, ‘We can do this.’ … It’s just about how much we can throw on his shoulders and handle but still expect him to perform at the highest of levels.”

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.

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