UNLV vs Kansas – Breakdown and Prediction

John Mersits CSM Sipa USA Photo by Icon Sport

UNLV vs Kansas: Guaranteed Rate Bowl

UNLV and Kansas will face each other on Tuesday night at the Chase Fields in Phoenix, Arizona, in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Both teams have made huge improvements this year, and this game is a chance to make it a season to remember.

UNLV regular season breakdown

The UNLV Rebels finished on top of the Mountain West with a 9-4 record in Barry Odom’s first season as their head coach. This is the second winning season for the Rebels after 2000, and the 9 wins this season are the most for the program in nearly 40 years. That record could have been much better, but the Rebels lost the last two games after having suffered the same number of losses in the previous 11 games. UNLV was excellent on the offensive end this season, leading the conference with 34.3 points per game and six times going over 40 points.

Kansas regular season breakdown

The Kansas Jayhawks finished seventh in the Big 12 with an 8-4 record. They lost back-to-back home games against Texas Tech and Kansas State before ending the season with a 49-16 win over Cincinnati. This is the second consecutive Bowl appearance for Kansas after they lost 55-53 last year to Arkansas. That is a huge improvement, knowing that they finished without a win in 2015 and two years later finished 1-11. Just like the Rebels, the coaching change that put Lance Leopold in charge three years ago has proven to be the right move for the program.

Betting Trends

Kansas is 7-5 ATS for the season and 4-1 ATS in the last five games.

Player to watch

Jason Bean had many ups and downs this season, mainly because of injuries, but the senior quarterback is back in action for the Jayhawks right when they need him. He missed two late games of the season, and Kansas lost on both occasions. Bean returned in the final week of the season and led the team to the win, passing for 250 yards. Bean totaled 1,681 passing yards and 12 touchdowns for the season.

Injury Report

QB Jalon Daniels and RB Billy Conaway are out for Kansas while S Jet Elad is out for the Rebels.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Kansas Jayhawks come to this game as a 13-point favorite, a spread that has gone up in the last couple of days. The Jayhawks lost their offensive coordinator, who joined Penn State, but that should not be a problem for the Jayhawks, who had 434 total yards per game and 7.7 yards per play for the season. With QB Jason Bean back for this game, the Jayhawks should not have a problem covering the spread, mainly because Rebels coach Barry Odom will not count on two safeties, Cameren Jenkins, who entered the transfer portal, and Jet Elad, who is injured.

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