Last Week, UNLV made quick work of Jackson State en route to a 63-13 beat down. A couple notes from that game before moving onto preview UCLA.
- UNLV IS 1/12 of the way to an undefeated season. Who says it cant happen??
- Johnny Stanton and Devante Boyd look like they will be a dynamic duo after connecting for 3 TDs (all in the first half).
- Keith Whitely who? The three-headed running back corp of Lex Thomas, Xzavier Campell, and Charles Williams combined for 216 yards, 3 TDS on just 33 carries.
- Although only pulling in one catch, Darren Woods Jr. showed signs of a bright future.
- There were a few drives at the beginning of the game where the defense struggled to get off the field, but the defense looked solid in the second half.
This week UNLV heads to the Rose Bowl to take on the UCLA Bruins. Last year these two teams met in what was the home opener for UNLV football where UCLA thumped the Rebels 37-3. That score is deceiving. Down 10-0. UNLV attempted a fake FG that failed, and then late in the first half Kurt Palendech threw a pick six. UNLV was never going to win that game, but played a respectable game for the most part.
My personal highlight of that game was when two UNLV fans got into a fight because one of them was leaving early, and the other fan didn’t like that.
This year I expect UCLA to win again, but I expect a much closer game on the scoreboard.
- UCLA is favored to win by 25.5.
- Rosen, UCLA’s QB, was hot/cold in week 1 vs Texas A&M. Throwing for 343 yards, but also turning the ball over 3 times.
- UNLV’s offense ran wild against Jackson State, but how will they look against a bigger, more talented defensive squad.
- If you watched UCLA’s game vs Texas A&M, it really felt like UCLA was the better squad, but they weren’t able to turn any red zone opportunities into touchdowns.
- The key for UNLV this week is avoid stupid plays. Beating UCLA is hard enough as it, but it is near impossible if you give up points to them.
This will be the first chance we have to see if UNLV has made any progress into becoming a better football team. Last week was fun, but it is these games where we can see the development of UNLV.
UCLA 41
UNLV 24