UCLA Bruins @ UNLV Rebels Week 2 Official Prediction

Tomorrow night, the UNLV Rebels host the UCLA Bruins at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. That means it's time for us to make our official predictions for the Rebels' Week 2 matchup. This game finds UNLV entering the week at 2 - 0, coming off a convincing win over the Sam Houston Bearkats, while the 0 - 1 Bruins are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Utah Utes.

These battles between high-end G6 teams and low-end Power 4 teams are always intriguing. This is a must-win game for both teams, but one of them has to lose.

UNLV Rebels

The Rebels enter this game riding high after going on the road and beating the Bearkats by a score of 38 - 21. Facing off against a Big 10 opponent his a massive opportunity for them. They will have to win this game if they want to be taken seriously at the end of the season as a potential College Football Playoff option. If they lose to a team like UCLA, no one is going to believe they deserve to have a chance to compete with the top Power 4 teams for a National Championship.

To this point, the offense has looked significantly better than the defense for UNLV. They have scored 38 points in each of their first two games while giving up 52 total. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has been incredible so far, both through the air and on the ground. Through two games, he has completed 77.3% of his passes for 444 yards, three touchdowns, and just one interception. He has also contributed on the ground, rushing 19 times for 116 yards and a TD. His top target has been Jaden Bradley, who is establishing himself as a clear WR1, catching 12 passes for 256 yards and a TD this season.

Nevertheless, as Jai'Den Thomas goes, so goes this offense. He has been spectacular as expected. Currently, he leads the nation with 212 rushing yards and four rushing TDs. He has electrified, averaging 11.2 yards per carry, and gets to face a UCLA team that was torched on the ground last week.

The defense looked much improved in Week 1 than they did in Week 0, but they still have some work to do. However, defensive back Aamaris Brown and linebacker Marsel McDuffie have been absolute stars. If the defense can limit mistakes while still making the big plays, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

UCLA Bruins

There isn't a ton to say about UCLA yet. They looked awful in their opener. They were played, outcoached, and it was a bad start to the Nico Iamaleava era for the Bruins. They have to win this game or their season can be over before it even gets started. A loss to the Rebels would make a bowl game extremely unlikely and could put second-year head coach DeShaun Foster on the hot seat already. They are going to have to find a way to slow down Jet Thomas if they are going to have a chance to win this game.

Prediction

Rebels Win 31 - 27