• Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Rebels on the gridiron.

• When the Trailblazers take the field on Saturday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium, it will be the first time the program will have played a game in an NFL stadium. In addition, the 65,000-seat stadium will be the largest venue Utah Tech Athletics as a whole will have competed in.    

• Saturday's game will mark the first time the Trailblazers have ever played a game in the state of Nevada. However this isn't the first time Utah Tech has played in "Las Vegas." During its final four seasons of NCAA Division II play and as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Utah Tech faced conference foe Western New Mexico in Las Vegas...New Mexico (2017 and 2019). 

• Saturday's game at UNLV will be the fourth time Utah Tech has faced an NCAA D-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent since the program transitioned to D-I FCS status in 2020-21. The game also marks the second-straight season the Trailblazers will have played a MWC opponent.

• Last season Utah Tech ventured up to Fort Collins for a road date at Colorado State (9/30/23). The Blazers hung with the Rams for the majority of the game, and trailed 21-20 midway through the third quarter. However CSU would go on to score 20 unanswered the rest of the way to claim a 41-20 home victory. 

UTAH TECH ON THE AIR: All Utah Tech home games this season are broadcast live on The Fan Sports Network (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City; www.thefansportsnetwork.com).

            The "Voice of the Trailblazers" Rod Zundel is in his third season calling the play-by-play action. 

            As part of this year's coverage of Utah Tech Football, a 60-minute comprehensive pregame show, and a 30-minute post-game show, will air live on the The Fan Sports Network and stream live on YouTube on Trailblazer SportsVision (youtube.com/TrailblazerAthletics).

            Along with complete Game Day coverage, Zundel hosts the weekly "The Lance Anderson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on The Fan Sports Network and streamed on Trailblazer Sports Vision at 6 p.m. (MT).

            Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth by former Trailblazer defensive lineman Max Christensen III, who will provide color analysis for the majority of the games this season. In addition, former Utah Tech running back Ronnie Walker Jr. will also provide color analysis for select games, including this Saturday's game at UNLV.   

LAS VEGAS HOMECOMING: Saturday's road opener at UNLV will be a Happy Homecoming for six Trailblazers who call the Las Vegas area home - senior WR Damani Wilks (Del Sol Academy), redshirt sophomore WR Aaron Holloway (Liberty HS), freshman DB Furious Hoskins (Palo Verde HS), freshman OL Karlos Rayford (Las Vegas HS), freshman DL Noa Yamauchi (Bishop Gorman HS), and freshman DB Brady Sorenson from nearby Boulder City (Boulder City HS). 

DAY BOOTS HIS WAY TO UAC WEEKLY AWARD: Senior punter Andy Day was named United Athletic Conference Football Specialist of the Week on Monday after his stellar performance in last Saturday night's home game vs. Montana State.

            Day tied his own school record (which he co-holds with four others) with 10 punts for 468 yards (46.8 ypp), including two kicks downed inside the 20 yard line. 

            The senior (7,285 yards/171 punts), who began his final season as the program's career leader in punt yardage, also eclipsed the 7,000-yard plateau on Saturday night. His 468 yards were a career high and were the second-most in the program's NCAA era. In addition, three of his three punts traveled 50 or more yards, highlighted by a 57-yarder in the third quarter.

            Day's yardage tally on Saturday night bested his previous high by one yard (467), which he set at Weber State (9/17/22) in a game where he also punted 10 times. Meanwhile his current 42.37 ypp career average ranks him second all-time, and he now stands just five punts shy of becoming Utah Tech's career leader in total punts (Robert Metz -175; 2012-15). 

FINALLY ELIGIBLE FOR POSTSEASON PLAY: Not only is the 2024 season Utah Tech's fifth D-I season overall, it is also the FIRST season that the Trailblazers are eligible for NCAA postseason play. 

            The NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially approved Utah Tech's move to active Division I status on June 28. With that confirmation, Trailblazer Athletics is now officially eligible to participate in all NCAA postseason championships in its 15 intercollegiate programs.

LET'S PLAY 12: Utah Tech Athletics 2024 football schedule features a program NCAA-era high 12 games, six home games and six road dates, and a full eight-game United Athletic Conference (UAC) slate. Add in the bye week (11/9), and the 13-week regular season will be the longest in program history. 

UTAH TECH VS. THE FBS: Utah Tech is 0-3 all time in its brief NCAA D-I FCS era vs. D-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) foes, which includes last year's loss at Mountain West member Colorado State (41-20; 9/30/23).

            In their first D-I season in the spring of 2021, the Trailblazers squared off against then-FBS independent New Mexico State at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, in a game they actually led 14-10 at the half before the Aggies rallied for a 36-29 victory (3/7/21).

            In 2022, Utah Tech closed that season at in-state foe BYU (11/19), and also led for most of the first half against the homestanding Cougars. However the upset bid was quelled in the second half as BYU pulled away for a 52-26 win.  

TOOK ON ALL COMERS: As Utah Tech wrapped up its four-year NCAA Division-I FCS transitional period last November, it was safe to say that the Trailblazers did not shy away from playing anyone, anytime, anywhere. 

            Over their 38 games during those four years, the Trailblazers faced 15 top-25 teams (2-13) and 12 total FCS playoff teams.   

            In fact, Utah Tech's 2021 fall schedule was rated as the second-toughest schedule in the entire country and featured seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, including the 2021 spring national champion (Sam Houston) and runner-up (South Dakota State).

AS FOR ANYWHERE: Utah Tech were road warriors during that four-year transitional period, a stretch that saw the Trailblazers travel more than 43,300 round trip miles on 21 trips.

            Utah Tech played road games in 13 different states, seven of which the program had never played in before, including three last season with trips to Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee. The Trailblazers also made their first-ever visits to Georgia (Spring 2021), Delaware (Fall 2021) and Iowa (2022) over the four-year span.

            Utah Tech traveled just over 15,000 round trip miles last season, which eclipsed the previous high of just under 13,300 miles set during the 2021 Fall campaign. 

            In their first FCS season in Spring 2021, the Trailblazers covered 7,630 miles for three road dates. Then after the 2021 Fall season, Utah Tech traveled "only" 7,424 miles in 2022, thanks in large part to playing three in-state road games at Weber State, Southern Utah and BYU.

            Of note, Utah Tech's longest trip to play a football game came during the 2021 Fall season, when the Trailblazers traveled 4,697 miles round trip to play at Delaware (10/30/21).

THIS YEAR'S ROAD SLATE: Utah Tech is "only" scheduled to travel 10,518 total miles for its six road dates this season. We say only because the Trailblazers have a pair of short bus trips that bookend their six itineraries.

            In addition to Saturday's quick trip down I-15 to Las Vegas (252 miles round trip), the Trailblazers will make an even shorter drive up the interstate to Cedar City (105 miles round trip) for their annual "Battle For the Ax" showdown at Southern Utah.

            In between those two drives are four flights, the first of which will be to NorCal for a road date at UC Davis (954 miles round trip) on Saturday, Sept. 21. Utah Tech opens October with back-to-back road trips, with the first stop in Florence for a UAC match-up at North Alabama (3,818 miles round trip) on Saturday, Oct. 5.

            The Trailblazers get back on bird one week later with a trip to the "Lone Star State" to face Tarleton State in Stephenville (2,162 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 12. Utah Tech will wrap up its out-of-state road schedule with its first-ever trip to the "Bluegrass State" to play at Eastern Kentucky (3,227 round trip miles) on Saturday, Oct. 26. 

ONE TRAILBLAZER LANDS ON PRESEASON ALL-UAC LIST: Utah Tech had only player voted onto the 2024 United Athletic Conference preseason all-conference team. 

            Redshirt sophomore long snapper Ryan Kean was the lone Trailblazer representative to crack the list, doing so on special teams.  

            Last season, Kean (6-2. 210; Corona, Calif./Centennial HS) earned first team all-UAC and Stats Perform Freshman All-America honors after he was near perfect on every special teams snap as the Trailblazers' primary long snapper. 

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS

• Utah Tech split quarterback duties between three signal callers in last Saturday night's loss to Montana State, all of whom were making their Trailblazer debuts.

• RS-junior Deacon Hill received the starting nod and the bulk of the playing time ... Hill threw for 104 yards 11-of-23 passing, and rushed for a team-high 25 yards on two carries, highlighted by a 24-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter ... Hill's TD run was the third of his collegiate career (2 at Iowa in 2023). 

• RS-freshman Reggie Graff also saw some time under center and carried the ball three times for 14 yards ... Graff also completed the lone pass he attempted, though it went for a 1-yard loss. 

• RS-junior Luke MacPhail also came in for one series in the third quarter and threw two incomplete passes. 

• Utah Tech finished with 73 yards on the ground, with seven different Trailblazers recording at least one carry.

• Sophomore RB Nygel Osborne led all non-QBs in the rushing department with 14 yards on four carries, while redshirt junior Chris Street ran two times for 13 yards. 

• RS-junior tight end Eni Falayi tallied team-highs of 48 yards on four catches and six total targets ... Falayi helped set up Utah Tech's first touchdown of the season with a 37-yard hook-up with Hill on the opening snap of the three-play drive. 
• After going two full years without one pass completion to a tight end, the new look Trailblazer offense recorded six of its 12 total completions (on 10 total targets) to three different tight ends ... along with Falayi's four grabs, senior Jay McEuen was targeted three times and caught one pass for four yards, while redshirt sophomore Eric Olsen caught his only target for five yards.

• RS-freshman WR Bryce Parker hauled in two passes for 23 yards, and redshirt senior RB Shamar Garrett caught three passes for nine yards ... in all, 11 different Trailblazers recorded targets last Saturday vs. MSU.  

• RS-junior safety Jagger Williams led the Trailblazer defensive effort with 10 total tackles (four solo), along with a 0.5 TFL and one PBU vs. Montana State ... Williams' 10 tackles were one off of his career high of 11 he set last year vs. Eastern Kentucky (10/28/23).
• Sophomore safety Brevin Hamblin picked up right where he left off following his strong freshman campaign as he racked up nine tackles and teamed with Williams on one of two total Utah Tech TFLs in the MSU game. 

• Junior defensive lineman Cody Carlson was one of three Blazer defenders who tallied eight tackles, doing so in his Trailblazer debut ... fellow lineman senior John Sniffen and sophomore corner Gabriel Valenzuela also posted "snowmen" in their season debuts. 

• RS-junior DL Laytan Tanuvasa notched the game's lone sack of the night, which came in the second quarter as he bolted into the Bobcat backfield virtually untouched and dropped MSU QB Tommy Mellott for a nine-yard loss on 1st and 10 on the Blazer 11 yardline.

• Tanuvasa's sack served as a precursor for arguably the play of the night for the Trailblazers as the Utah Tech defense forced a 26-yard MSU field goal attempt, which was blocked by sophomore corner Scooter Jackson.
• Jackson got a great jump at the snap and flew around the left side to make the diving rejection, which was recovered by Carlson at the Blazer 26 yardline.

• Jackson's field goal block was Utah Tech's first since former DL Max Christensen III blocked a field goal try nearly one year-to-the-day last year on the road at another "MSU" opponent in Missouri State (9/23/23). 

• While Day was doing his thing in the kicking game, redshirt sophomore PK Ilya Uvaydov recorded his first collegiate PAT after the Hill fourth-quarter touchdown.

#AB3FOREVER: Just ahead of the start to the 2024 campaign Utah Tech announced that junior running back Chris Street was awarded the No. 3 jersey for the upcoming season.

            The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the fifth instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. 

            First year head coach Lance Anderson noted that he recently took some time to get familiar with the story of Reinhardt, both as a student-athlete and as a young man. He quickly realized the importance and the impact this tradition has on the Trailblazer football program, a tradition he is very eager to continue.   

            "Once I heard the story about Abe Reinhardt, the kind of person he was, the kind of football player he was, and his tragic passing, I was very touched and felt like this is something we need to continue," said Coach Anderson. "I felt it was very important that our team understands who he was and what this jersey truly represents.

            "I have been impressed by Chris since I got here," Coach Anderson added. "His outgoing personality, his positive outlook, and I really feel like he also represents all the other traits that we talked about what this jersey represents. Toughness, hard work, accountability, trust, leadership – Chris demonstrates all those qualities, and I think he'll do a great job wearing that jersey and representing Abe."

ABOUT THE UNLV "REBELS": UNLV heads into its home opener on Saturday afternoon riding high after posting an impressive 27-7 season-opening road victory at Houston last Saturday night. The Rebels held Houston to 59 total yards in the first half and came within one minute of pulling off the shutout, but the Cougars managed to score a late touchdown to spoil the bid.
            Senior transfer QB Matthew Sluka (6-3, 215) threw for 71 yards and two first half touchdowns, both of which were thrown to the Rebels' senior All-American receiver Jacob De Jesus (5-7, 175). De Jesus wound up with three catches for 42 yards.

            UNLV also racked up 195 yards on the ground, led by junior NC State transfer RB Michael Allen (5-11, 210) with 65 yards on 10 carries, and Sluka rushed 11 times for 59 yards.

            On defense, Texas transfer DB Jalen Catelon (5-11, 205) intercepted two passes, including a third quarter 36-yard pick six, while the Rebels tallied six sacks and 10.0 TFLs. Senior LB Jackson Woodard (6-3, 230) accounted for three of those sacks and 4.0 TFLs to go with 11 total tackles on the night. 

            Head Coach Barry Odom (Missouri, 1999) is 10-5 in his second season at UNLV. In his first year in Vegas, he earned Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honors after led the Rebels to a 9-5 record, which included a MWC runner-up finish, and an appearance in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech returns home to face the second of three Big Sky opponents on the 2024 docket next Saturday night when the Trailblazer welcome Northern Arizona to Greater Zion Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (MT).