- What: NCAA Football Game
- When: Friday, October 4th
- Who: Syracuse vs. UNLV
- Time: 6:00 p.m. PST
- Where: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, NV)
The UNLV Rebels will host the Syracuse Orange tonight at Allegiant Stadium. In this non-conference matchup, the Rebels seek to continue their undefeated start.
Syracuse
This will also be Syracuse’s first road game of the season and their last non-conference matchup of the season. Ohio State transfer quarterback Kyle McCord leads the Orange. Their high-octane air raid offense has averaged nearly 34 points per game this season.
McCord has a ton of weapons to choose from in the passing game. Trebor Pena leads the receiving room with 316 yards and five touchdowns, and Jackson Meeks had 161 yards and a touchdown against Holy Cross. In addition to those receivers, they have an NFL prospect at tight end in Oronde Gadsden II.
THE WAIT IS OVER‼️????????
????️ Tonight
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⌚️ 9:00pm EDT / 6:00pm PDT
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????️ Allegiant Stadium
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???? TK99/105 pic.twitter.com/Qu2BgMivSG— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 4, 2024
The other side of the ball for the Orange is much more concerning. Their defense has allowed 25 points per game and is going up against a Rebels offense that has scored points in bunches this season. UNLV is averaging 36 points per game on the offensive end.
This could be a high-scoring game, because the Orange defense has not been able to limit teams on the ground, allowing 180 rushing yards per game.
UNLV
Last week, the Rebels dealt with the drama of former starting quarterback Matthew Sluka opting to transfer due to an alleged NIL deal that wasn’t paid.
While many speculated this could divide the team and they would not be able to replace a starting QB on such short notice, the exact opposite happened.
The Rebels rallied and new starting QB Hajj-Malik Williams flourished. He threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 119 yards and another touchdown, leading them to a 59-14 beatdown of Fresno State.
New style, higher stakes
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Our threads for game 5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/Os7us61xoe
— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) October 2, 2024
The surprising thing about the Rebels switching QBs is how well wide receiver Ricky White III has performed this season, regardless of who was under center. White has 253 yards receiving and five touchdowns this season, establishing himself as one of the best receivers in the conference.
The Rebels defense has been surprisingly stout this season. They have yet to allow any team to score more than 20 points. The defense is only allowing an average of 13 points per game. However, this Orange team will be the most talented they’ve faced this season.
Orange-Rebels Best Bet
This will be the first time these teams have faced each other and I believe we are in for a great game tonight. The spread opened up at UNLV-4 but has been bet up to UNLV-6 now, which is just under the key number of 7.
The Rebels are favored at home for a reason, and while they did play very well last weekend I don’t know if they can repeat that performance. This line feels sharp by the oddsmakers so I’m probably going to look elsewhere for the best best.
The total is what I’m going to target because it opened at 54.5 points and is sitting at 55.5 points right now. This is understandable considering each team’s high-powered offense, but I’m actually going to take the under in this one.
I believe the UNLV defense will shut down the Syracuse offense, and given the way this game script is set up, I’m not envisioning a high-scoring game.
Under 55.5 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.
