Sometimes early indications paint the entire picture of a game. Kyle McCord completed his first 11 passes against the Rebels and he stayed red hot the rest of the game.

The Rebels dropped their first game of the season, losing an overtime thriller to the visiting Syracuse Orange 44-41. UNLV had plenty of chances to win the game, but fell short of making one last big play.

McCord, on the other hand, took advantage of nearly every tight window, every Rebel mistake, and every ounce of pressure UNLV threw at him. McCord was never rattled, completing an astounding 40 of 63 passes for 355 yards. The Syracuse offense ran 96 plays and had nearly 40 minutes time of possession. It all added up to an exhausted, scrambling defensive unit.

The Rebels had plenty of opportunities, but could never shut the door. UNLV went ahead 38-31 with under three minutes remaining in the contest when Hajj-Malik Williams found Ricky White in the endzone from 9 yards out.

But the Rebels left too much time for McCord. Aided by some untimely penalties, McCord found Jackson Meeks from 6 yards out to tie the game at 38 each with 23 seconds remaining. UNLV elected to take a knee and play for overtime.

UNLV managed only a field goal on their first drive and they appeared poised to force a game tying field goal attempt by Syracuse. Facing a third and 20, McCord completed a one yard pass, but UNLV was flagged for a questionable late hit on the quarterback to give the Orange new life.

Three plays later, LeQuint Allen was met by linebacker Jackson Woodard at the one, but managed to wrestle his way past the defensive star to give Syracuse the victory.

The Rebels hit the road for two straight weeks, starting with a trip to Utah State next Friday at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be shown nationally on CBS Sports Network.