Another gritty win for the Rebels on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks puts UNLV on national notice, securing a spot in the Top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll at No. 25.
With this win, the Rebels are building a legitimate resume for consideration for the College Football Playoff. This is the first year the NCAA implements the 12-team playoff, taking the five highest conference champions leaving a spot for one Group of 5 team.
UNLV, after defeating the Jayhawks, is now 2-0 against Big 12 opponents and is 3-0 overall after defeating Utah Tech 72-14
The Rebels are now looking ahead to start their Mountain West Conference play at home against the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Fresno State enters this game with a 48-0 win against New Mexico State. Sitting at 2-1, the Bulldogs are getting ready to head to Allegiant Stadium after defeating the Rebels at home last season.
The Rebels are on a bye week, while Fresno State travels to New Mexico to take on the Lobos before heading to Las Vegas next weekend.
ESPN currently has UNLV favored in this contest, having the Rebels continue their unbeaten season, improving to 4-0, which hasn’t happened since 1976 when the program was at the D2 level.
Get the Passing Game Going
The Rebels have seen much success going on the ground, handing the ball off to their running backs, Greg Burell and Kylin James.
One key factor that has not seen much action over the Rebels three games is Ricky White III. While White did catch three touchdowns in the Rebels’ win over Utah Tech in their contest against Houston and Kansas, he was not getting involved as much.
Against Houston, the senior was only targeted five times with two receptions, gaining only 11 yards. White secured three catches for four yards in this past week’s matchup against Kansas, while the entire Rebel offense only totaled 86 passing yards.
Quarterback Mathew Sluka could have been more accurate for the Rebels. Sluka missed critical throws in the Houston and Kansas games, and the Holy Cross transfer is only 21/48 in throwing attempts this season.
“We know that we’re going to need to have that part of our game during the next stretch of games.” head coach Barry Odom said during Monday’s press conference. “We have to improve third-down offense, red zone offense.”
If the Rebels want to continue to build off some success, the team must build off the running game to open up the passing game and unleash this go-go offense.
Rebels Defense Has to Contain Keene
The junior from Arizona, Mikey Keene, has continued to pick up where he and the Bulldogs have left off.
Through the first three games, Keene has a completion rating of 62.4% and has thrown for over 800 yards and five touchdowns. 221 of those yards came from their victory over New Mexico State.
The UNLV secondary has to find a way to contain the Bulldogs quarterback and limit the big chunk plays to continue seeing success on the defensive side of the ball.
The Rebels secondary will be challenged in this game against the Bulldogs. Defensive back Jalen Catalon, the Texas transfer, leads the Rebels in interceptions and can have an impact come game day.
“I thought our coverage was pretty good for the most part,” coach Odom said regarding his players against Kansas. “We’ll do some good on good work as well on trying to maintain the things we need to and get better in the areas we need to.”
Win the Line of Scrimmage
The Rebels’ defense has shown tremendous growth over the last season. The Rebel’s defense has held their opponents to an average of 13.7 points per game.
The defense has had the team’s backing, keeping the games close and holding opponents. UNLV has generated a lot of pressure, forcing nine sacks this season.
While the Rebels have effectively stopped the run game, the Bulldogs have a great running back room, especially with freshman Malik Sherrod and junior Eli Sanders.
The Bulldogs were able to generate 244 yards on the ground against New Mexico State, Sherrod accounting for 113 of those yards and a rushing touchdown.
If the Rebels’ defense can find a way to limit the Fresno State running back duo, they should find some success in slowing down this quick-paced Bulldogs offense.
Where to Watch
Kickoff is on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, at 12:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on FS1.
