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Free Week 1 Prediction: Thunderbirds vs Rebels Odds
Looking for Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs. UNLV Rebels free picks? Week 1 betting sees the Thunderbirds taking on the Rebels Saturday August 31st at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this Southern Utah UNLV Week 1 free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 1
(0-0) Southern Utah Thunderbirds vs. UNLV Rebels (0-0)
Date: Saturday, August 31st 2019
Time: 10:00 pm EST
Venue: Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA Football Spread: UNLV -24
NCAA Betting Total: 70.5
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College football is back in full swing this Saturday with a full slate of games including this Southern Utah Thunderbirds versus UNLV Rebels matchup.
This game will take place at Sam Boyd Stadium with a capacity of 40 000 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
Fourth year coach Demario Warren will be on the hot seat this year after his team finished 1-10 last year and might have actually gotten significantly worse. It was an especially difficult year for this team as their was plenty of buzz surrounding their 2018 recruits.
That was, however, the programs first losing season since 2014 so there is a chance last year might not be fully representative of the program as a whole going into 2019, although a 1-10 record is hard to ignore.
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The best offensive player for the Thunderbirds is likely to be Jay Green. Green was good last year rushing for 829 yards on only 162 attempts for an average of 5.1 along with 7 touchdowns.
The big story for southern Utah will be how this defense is supposed to stop anyone. They ended up losing 2 of their best tacklers in Taylor Nelson and Chinedu Ahanonu who both combined for 175 tackles and 22.5 tackles for loss. On top of that 7 of 8 of their top tacklers graduated last year and therefore there is not much left behind to replace those key losses.
One of the few positives for this team is that they do get Lehi Afatasi back for the 2019 season. The senior will be key to holding this defense together as he is coming off a 2018 season with 26 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
UNLV Rebels
Fifth year coach Tony Sanchez is looking from much better from his Rebels side who went 4-8 in the 2018 season. There are lots of reasons to be hopeful, though, as a Rebels fan especially on the offensive side of the ball led by QB Armani Rogers.
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Armani Rogers is not a traditional pocket passer as he is a more talented runner than passer. In 2018, he only threw for 601 yards with a pretty poor 44.4% completion percentage. He did, however, rush for 565 yards and 8 TD’s to add to his 10 throwing TD’s.
The loss of runningback Lexington Thomas will lead to coach Tony Sanchez being limited at the position. He rushed for 1067 yards last year along with 12 TD’s on the ground. He was so awesome for UNLV last year that he actually got a tryout with the Indianapolis Colts.
The defense was god awful for the Rebels last year which surrendered 454 yards and 37 PPG. They were especially bad against downfield passes and will need to step up in a big way. The Rebels did, however, get some back up in terms of transfers receiving cornerback Jeremiah Houston who should help in the secondary.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Southern Utah is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- Southern Utah is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 17 of Nevada-Las Vegas’s last 23 games at home
Free Week 1 NCAA Football Pick
This is more of a play against the Thunderbirds than it is for UNLV. Not really sure how this Thunderbirds team gets worse from last season, but I think they might given their crippling losses.
I can see UNLV massively controlling time of possession and any type of defense Southern Utah has will be seriously tired come the second half. There is also plenty of hype surrounding this Rebels team in Vegas and this game being in Vegas I would expect a big and loud crowd cheering on the Rebels to victory.
Also look for UNLV starter Armani Rogers to get his season off on the right foot and crush many of the props your book might have on him.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: UNLV -24
Bet the UNLV Rebels and cash in this Saturday on the home team.
Week 1 Free Score Prediction: Southern Utah Thunderbirds 21 – UNLV Rebels 52
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