The Nevada Wolf Pack extended its lead to 42-27 over UNLV when Vai Taua scored on a 4-yard run with 11:37 remaining in the game.
After an exchange of punts, the UNLV Rebels drove 73 yards on eight plays to trim the Pack's lead to 35-27, as Omar Clayton capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wolfe with 7:25 left in the third quarter.
The Pack led UNLV, 35-20, after scoring on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick faked a handoff and raced 66 yards for a score and went over the 100-yard rushing mark on that play.
It is the third time he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark.
At the half, Nevada owned a 28-20 lead at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.
Before UNLV's Ben Jaekle kicked a 52-yard field with 43 seconds left, Nevada's Courtney Randall scored on a 7-yard run to cap a nine-play, 82-yard drive with 6:33 left in the second quarter.
Nevada gained the lead for the first time against UNLV early in the second quarter, scoring twice in a span of 54 seconds.
Kaepernick scored on a 4-yard run with 13:43 left in the half, capping a 68-yard drive.
After Mike Bethea recovered a Clayton fumble at the UNLV 40, Kaepernick threw a 40-yard scoring pass to tight end Virgil Green, who was left wide open on the left side of the field. Brett Jaekle's PAT gave Nevada a 21-17 lead with 12:49 left in the half.
The Nevada Wolf Pack was trailing 17-7 to the Rebels.
After UNLV got off to an early lead, the Nevada Wolf Pack came back with a score of its own. Nevada got on the board on its third possession, as Kaepernick fired a laser to freshman Chris Wellington, who caught the ball in stride at the UNLV 30 and outraced the defense to the end zone to make it 10-7 with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
With 9:56 left in the opening quarter, UNLV capitalized on a Kaepernick fumble when Clayton passed 7 yards to Phillip Payne for a touchdown that capped off a six-play, 49-yard drive that made it 10-0.
Ben Jaekle (Brett Jaekle's brother) kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.