- What: NCAA Football Regular Season Game
- When: Friday, September 13
- Who: UNLV Rebels vs. Kansas Jayhawks
- Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
- Where: Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, KS)
This Friday night, the Kansas Jayhawks will face the UNLV Rebels in a rematch of last year’s bowl game.
The Jayhawks emerged victorious with a 49-36 win in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl, but both teams have undergone substantial changes since then.
Notably, this Friday’s showdown will be held at Children’s Mercy Park, the home of Sporting KC, as KU continues to rebuild its stadium in Lawrence.
UNLV Rebels
UNLV has not had a 2-0 start to a football season since 1999 and has not achieved a 3-0 start since 1984. The team has never started a season 4-0. Although it’s still early in the season, everything has been going well.
The defense dominated against Houston in the season opener, and the 72-14 victory over Utah Tech showcased the team’s solid performance. The passing game has been making big plays, and the ground game ranks third in the nation with over 500 yards.
The team’s offensive attack is expected to be versatile against the Kansas defense. The team’s well-rounded approach should prove effective if the defensive front can continue to pressure Jalon Daniels.
IT’S GAME DAY‼️
????: Kansas City, KS
????️: Children’s Mercy Park
⏰: 4 p.m. PT
????: Kansas
????: ESPN pic.twitter.com/nLXyfB8KiN— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) September 13, 2024
Kansas took a commanding 28-7 lead in the first half of last year’s bowl game, but UNLV fought back valiantly.
The game ended up being much closer than the final score suggested, and it even sparked some extra tension between the two teams in the fourth quarter.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the players had some lingering memories from that intense matchup.
Kansas Jayhawks
Last weekend, the Jayhawks only scored 17 points, a significant drop from their average of 35 points per game over the past two seasons.
It seems that the new offensive coordinator, Jeff Grimes, deserves a significant portion of the blame for this.
He opted to abandon the running game despite the struggles of the quarterback, Jalon Daniels, who only managed 141 yards and threw three interceptions on 32 attempts.
The stage is set ????️
See y'all tonight ????#RockChalk | @KU_Football pic.twitter.com/6XfzHPVbW8— Children's Mercy Park (@cmpark) September 13, 2024
However, Daniels is backed by a talented group of playmakers, including running back Devin Neal and receivers Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Quentin Skinner.
Most believe the Kansas offense will get back on track tonight, the total points for the game is around 57-58 points depending on the sportsbook.
Nevertheless, the key to Kansas’ success will be shutting down UNLV’s running game, which begins with disrupting their backfield.
Cornell Wheeler performed well against Illinois, tallying 8 tackles and 3 for a loss. Wheeler has been a standout this season, leading the team with 13 tackles and breaking up 2 passes.
Rebels-Jayhawks Best Bet
This spread opened at 11 and has been bet down to 9.5-9 points at several sportsbooks. I was confused by these numbers, because this feels like way too many points for the Jayhawks to be laying.
They’ve struggled to start the season, while UNLV has gotten off to a strong start. I am willing to back the Rebels and the 9 points in this one, even on the road.
UNLV +9 points is the best bet in this one.
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
