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UNLV football suffered a massive loss on Tuesday night, just as the Rebels were getting into the heat of their push to the College Football Playoff. Star quarterback Matt Sluka, one of the best quarterbacks in the Mountain West, is redshirting and will be sitting out the rest of the season, he announced on Instagram.
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“I have decided to utilize my redshirt year and will not be playing in any additional games this season,” Sluka wrote. “I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled. Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”
The move comes as a major shock across college football, as Sluka is both the leading passer and the leading rusher for UNLV so far this season and has accumulated 571 total yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception. The Rebels have knocked off a pair of Big 12 teams on the road (Houston and Kansas) and broke into the top 25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll at No. 23.
The move to redshirt may have been motivated by money and a possible transfer in the future, according to Paloma Villicana of FOX Sports.
“Per source, UNLV QB Matt Sluka has been approached with more money to transfer,” Villicana reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Can UNLV still make a playoff run without Matt Sluka?
Matt Sluka was unquestionably the offensive engine of this UNLV team. He was the key cog in both the running game and the passing game for the Rebels, and has plenty of experience from his time at Holy Cross where he passed for nearly 6,000 yards and ran for over 3,500.
UNLV's offense has been very explosive with Sluka at the helm. They are currently averaging over 40 points per game through three contests, and it's hard to see them replicating that kind of production without their star quarterback driving everything. The only other quarterback who has attempted a pass this season for Barry Odom and the Rebels is senior Cameron Friel, who has nine career touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Not only that, but UNLV's schedule is littered with challenging games the rest of the way. They take on a good Fresno State team on Saturday before hosting Syracuse in a difficult non-conference game. They also still have to play No. 25 Boise State and take a road trip to face the dangerous San Jose State offense.
It's hard to see Odom and company recovering from this loss with this schedule, at least to meet the lofty expectations they had with Sluka at the helm. With one stunning move, UNLV has gone from playoff hopefuls to the middle of the pack in the Group of Five.
