UNLV Rebels Week 2 Keys To Victory

The UNLV Rebels will face off with Big 10 foe the UCLA Bruins on Sunday in what is looking like a must-win game for both teams for different reasons. The Rebels are hoping to win the Mountain West Conference and potentially find themselves in the running for a College Football Playoff bid. That doesn't look like it will be possible if they lose to a bottom rung Power 4 team that is coming off a thrashing at the hands of the Utah Utes. The Bruins need this win to salvage their season. If they lose this game, it could already make a bowl game a long shot, and potentially put head coach DeShaun Foster on the hot seat moving forward.

The Rebels need this win, and these are their keys to winning this matchup at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night.

Quarterbacks Stay Poised

They need their quarterbacks, more specifically, Anthony Colandrea, to remain poised in this game. The talent was always there for Colandrea when he was with the Virginia Cavaliers, but he got himself into trouble by making too many mistakes and turning the ball over. UNLV will need him to continue to keep the mistakes to a minimum this week if they want to win this game.

Ride The Jet

Jai'Den Thomas leads the nation in rushing yards with 212, but has only carried the ball 19 times through two games. While his efficiency and big plays are fantastic, they need to get him the ball more against UCLA. We'd like to see his carries come close to matching his season total against a Bruins' defense that was gashed on the ground in their Week 1 loss.

Protect The Pocket

The offensive line made a huge leap from Week 0 to Week 1. They will need to make another jump this week. Both Colandrea and Alex Orji are going to need room to operate in the pocket if they are going to have success on both passes or designed runs.

Discipline On Defense

The big plays have been awesome on defense. Defensive back Aamaris Brown has been an early-season breakout star, and linebacker Marsel McDuffie has looked great. However, when you watch this defense on film, they get themselves in trouble by overpursuing and players not sticking to their assignments. They have to stop biting on every fake, counter, and delay. While they did do a much better job of that in the second half of Week 1, we want to see that kind of discipline when they aren't playing with a lead against a one-dimensional offense as well.