Utah State (5-4) @ UNLV (7-2)
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Date/Time: Saturday, November 15, 4:00 PM PST
Broadcast: CBSSN
Lines: UNLV -6.5, O/U 68.5
After getting back on track last week in a big-time
42-10 victory over Colorado State, UNLV will look to keep that strong performance going as they head back home to take on Utah State on Saturday night.
UNLV
Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has continued his excellent season. In the win last week against Colorado State, he completed 15-of-22 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 33 yards and two touchdowns. With his performance last week, he has now thrown for the most passing yards in a season in his career with 2,251. He has been the head of this offense and has been crucial in the team’s success.
Running back Jai’den Thomas had a fantastic performance last week. He ran for 131 yards and one touchdown on just seven carries. He has 780 rushing yards on the season, which is the 3rd-best in the Mountain West and is ranked 27th in the country in rushing yards. Running back Jaylon Glover and Keyvone Lee both backed him up last week and were both great. Glover rushed for 99 yards on 12 carries, while Lee ran for 46 yards on the same number of carries
The receiving core didn’t see as much work against Colorado State due to the success of the ground game, but they have still put in great work. Wide receiver Jaden Bradley made a strong catch in the win and now has 650 receiving yards, which is 5th 5th-best in the conference. Wide receiver Troy Omeire caught a 68-yard touchdown last week, for his third of the season. Other receivers like DaeDae Reynolds and JoJo Earle have been getting work in and have been solid for the team as well.
The defense, on the other hand, has been weak, but the defenders had their best performance of the season last week. They held Colorado State to ten points, the least they’ve allowed all season, and only gave up 292 yards, the first team they’ve given up less than 300 all season. Defensive backs Laterrance Welch and Aamaris Brown both have four picks, and Welch caught one in the victory over Colorado State. Linebacker Marsel McDuffie has multiple double-digit tackle performances and has been one of the best in the Mountain West. The defense has seemed to be able to work things out, but they got a tough test against a potent Utah State offense.
Utah State
Utah State’s offense is potent. They average 34 points per game, the second best in the Mountain West behind UNLV, 270 passing yards per game, the third best in the Mountain West, and 160 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Bryson Barnes leads the offensive effort. He has 2096 passing yards and 17 touchdowns with only three interceptions, coming off a solid 288-yard and three touchdown performance against Nevada to improve to 5-0 at home.
That record gives UNLV a fair advantage; all of the Aggies’ wins are at home, but they have substantial losses, including a loss to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The rest of the offense is catapulted by running back Miles Davis, who has rushed for 609 yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry and nine touchdowns. The best wide receiver on the squad is Braden Pegan, who leads the team in receiving with 42 receptions for 710 yards and five touchdowns. Pegan averages 78.9 yards per game and is a challenging target to stop. Utah State also has wide receiver Brady Boyd, who went off last week in the win against Nevada with 117 yards on five receptions with two touchdowns.
The offense is excellent, but similarly to the Rebels, the defense has had some struggles. The Aggies give up 30 points, just over 240 passing yards, and over 155 rushing yards per game. All of these are ranked near the bottom in the country.
The defense had an outstanding performance last week in Nevada. Utah State held the Wolf Pack to 14 points and just 242 yards, the first time they had given up under 30 yards since September. The defense forced three turnovers against Nevada, recording four sacks and seven tackles for loss.
The star of the defense is linebacker John Miller, who has 79 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and seven tackles for loss. They also have defensive back Brevin Hamblin, who was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after getting eight tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and an interception.
KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Continue the Good Defense
It was awesome to see an outlier for UNLV last week, but Utah State is a much more challenging task for the defense than Colorado State. I believe that if the defense can continue to force Utah State into long third downs, as they did against Colorado State, UNLV should win this game fairly and squarely.
2. Keep Jet Flying
For the second straight week, Thomas is going to take on a weaker rushing defense, which is perfect. We saw how Thomas performed last week, averaging 18.7 yards per carry; he was unstoppable. If the Rebels can keep Jet flying, there is no worry or concern about offensive efficiency, which is crucial.
3. Restrict Bryson Barnes
It’s a challenging task, even Dan Mullen said it himself. Barnes has an it factor, and he’s extremely dangerous. The defense needs to be able to restrict him; if the Rebels can do that, the Utah State offense will struggle.
4. Home Field Advantage
Usually, I don’t have four keys to the game, but this is a crucial one. Utah State hasn’t won a game on the road this season; the Rebels don’t want to be the team that ends that streak. UNLV must take advantage of its home field and use it to showcase its dominance.
PREDICTIONS
I believe UNLV will win its second straight game, winning 34-27. I think UNLV will find its offensive rhythm early with Thomas and be able to force Utah State into some uncomfortable situations.
