Jai'Den Thomas Is The Key To Victory For The UNLV Rebels In Week 2

The UNLV Rebels will be hosting the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. This is a major test for the Mountain West Conference program, making the jump to take on a Big 10 opponent. It will be the only Power 4 conference team they are scheduled to play this season. It's a must-win game for a team with hopes of earning a bid in the College Football Playoffs. However, knocking off UCLA won't be an easy task. The Bruins also need this win after getting blown out in Week 1. They can not afford a loss to a Mountain West team. We expect both teams to be fired up and ready to go in Week 2.

The key to winning this game for the Rebels will be riding their star running back, Jai'Den Thomas, who has been underutilized so far this season. Through two games, he has handled just 19 carries. Despite that, he still leads the country with 212 rushing yards at 11.2 yards per carry with four TDs. So far this season, he has looked like a force of nature. While head coach Dan Mullen has limited his carries so far this season to keep him fresh, he is going to need him this week against UCLA. It would be shocking if they don't give him all that he can handle in such a huge statement game.

The matchup is looking perfect for Thomas to destroy the Bruins. Last week, UCLA allowed 286 yards to the Utah Utes. There is little reason to believe they will put up much resistance against Jet. If Thomas is determined to prove that he is the best running back in the Mountain West, ironically enough, there is no better way to prove it than against a Big 10 team. There is no doubt that he has Power 4 talent and will show it on Saturday.

After Thomas dominated in Week 0, Anthony Colandrea and the passing attack took over in Week 1. The Rebels will have to get back to feeding Jet if they are going to pull off this win. If they can win this game, they will also inch closer to becoming an AP Poll Top 25 team. It can't be overstated how big this game is for UNLV if they want to have any chance at finding themselves in a playoff game come January.