The UNLV Rebels (2-0) will travel to Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, to battle the 19th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks (1-1) on Friday, September 13 at 7:00 PM ET. The Jayhawks are favored to succeed with a point spread at -7.5 (+100).
The Rebels have won their first two games of the season and have excellent momentum coming in against a team they lost to at the end of their regular season. Their most recent victory was a 72-14 blowout over the Utah Tech Trailblazers.
They went up 44-7 at the end of the first half, essentially ending any chances of the Trailblazers coming back. If their offense can ignite like that against the Jayhawks early, they have a great shot at winning.
The Rebels rushed for 684 yards and 34 first downs but had a turnover. Defensively, they slowed the Trailblazers to 293 yards, caused two turnovers, and limited them to 13 first downs.
So far, the Rebels have averaged 49.5 points per game and have allowed 10.5 points from opponents. This spread will likely shrink as they face more formidable opponents, especially since they just won a massive blowout.
The Jayhawks just suffered their first loss of the season, a 23-17 loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Jayhawks were unable to produce any points in the fourth quarter and allowed the Fighting Illini to score 10 points to end the game.
Jalon Daniels struggled, completing 18 of 32 passes and having three interceptions. While he did have 141 yards and two touchdowns, the offense greatly suffered. Daniels will need to be more accurate if they want to win.
The Jayhawks had 327 total yards, 18 first downs, and turned the ball over four times. On defense, they allowed the Fighting Illini to have 271 yards and 14 first downs, and they only caused one turnover. This defense will need to be sharper against the Rebels.
Their offense has averaged 32.5 points per game and has allowed 13.0 points from their opponents. If they cannot defend late in the game, they will be at risk against the Rebels' aggressive offense.
The college football betting odds in the UNLV Rebels vs. Kansas Jayhawks are provided by MyBookie, showing the Jayhawks as favorites to win at home. Currently, the Jayhawks are 7.5-point favorites to get back on track.
The Jayhawks had terrible luck on their recent loss to offensive and defensive ends. They were exposed to bad decisions from their quarterback and failed to stop the Fighting Illini from getting control late in the game. Look for the Rebels to be aggressive on the offensive end to cover the spread.
