D-E-F-E-N-S-E.

It was the operative word Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. And when it mattered most, when winning was on the line, the defense of UNLV football stood the tallest.

The Rebels knocked off previously unbeaten North Dakota State 13-7 in front of 33,516, knocked off the team that entered a road favorite, knocked off a new member to the Mountain West that began the season in such an impressive manner.

But it was the Rebels who proved the better side in this one, a key matchup in what remains an early conference race to a league championship game.

“You’re talking about a game that could have gone either way,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “Two great football teams battling right down to the end.

“They came in. We know they’re an extremely physical group. They know how to win. They know how to win tough games. And we found a way to win that game at the end. You never know, we might see them again at the end of the year (in the championship game). You never know how it goes.”

UNLV intercepted three passes, including a final one from defensive back Mumu Bin-Wahad in the last minute that clinched the victory. The Rebels also stopped North Dakota State twice on fourth down, including once when the Bison chose to go for it from their own 18 with 14:17 remaining in a three-point game.

The Rebels would make them pay for it by cashing in on a 24-yard field goal from Ramon Villela.

“You know it’s going to be a physical game against them, and we’ve got a pretty physical team,” Mullen said. “Our offense had to go against our defense and our defense against our offense this week in practice.

“You’re playing the No. 1 defense in the country, and we outgained them on the ground.”

UNLV (4-2, 2-0) rushed for 178 yards, including 112 from standout running back Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas. He carried the load over the second half, when it became apparent UNLV was wearing down the Bison (5-1, 2-1).

A tone was set over the opening 30 minutes. A defensive one.

It was 7-7 at halftime because neither team budged much. The Rebels actually scored their touchdown via an early pick-6 from redshirt freshman defensive lineman Andre Porter, the former Liberty High standout athlete.

He returned the interception 23 yards for a score.

“I was surprised I caught the ball,” Porter said. “I hadn’t caught a ball in a minute. But the coaches put us in a good position, and I was able to go make a play. I had one in practice (this week), so play like you practice is what I have always been told.”

It was the first time North Dakota State trailed all season.

But there is a reason the Bison entered having allowed an average of fewer than 10 points. They’re really tough to move the ball against.

“This conference won’t be decided until early November,” North Dakota State coach Tim Polasek said. “I happen to have three years of experience in it. That’s what our kids have to hold on to. I’m betting that this thing gets pretty chaotic and there’s going to be something like a three-way tie and then this game and that game mattered. That’s what typically happens in this league.

“I thought it would be a four-quarter, knock-them-out, drag-it out fight. We were looking for that. That’s what we wanted it to be. We had a shot there at the end to win this thing.”

It happened that UNLV quarterback Jackson Arnold threw his own first-half interception. That broke a string of no picks for the Auburn transfer over 142 attempts, the longest such streak in UNLV history for a quarterback beginning his Rebels career.

Arnold would finish 8 of 16 for 77 yards for a UNLV team that threw just twice in the second half as it began to lean more and more on Thomas and its defense as the minutes ticked away.

Mullen said afterwards he was watching “College Game Day,” on ESPN early Saturday morning when all the analysts picked North Dakota State to win and possibly receive a visit from the popular show in the coming weeks.

“They can feel free to come here,” Mullen said. “Vegas is an awesome town. Have the ‘College Game Day’ come here after that win for us. I’m really proud of our team. We did an unbelievable job defensively. And then made the plays we needed to win.”

And that’s how you emerge victorious.

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