UNLV Rebels On SI Official Week 12 Prediction For Utah State Aggies @ UNLV Rebels

It's Friday, and the UNLV Rebels football team plays tomorrow. That means it's time for our official UNLV Rebels On SI Week 12 predictions. They will be hosting the Utah State Aggies in their Week 12 matchup. The Rebels are sitting at 3 - 2 in the Mountain West Conference and looking to make a push for a spot in the Mountain West Championship game. With the standings so tight in the conference, this is essentially a must-win game if they want any shot at winning the conference this season. Last week, the defense finally played a complete game when they went on the road and blew out the Colorado State Rams by a score of 42 - 10. 10 points is the fewest amount of points they have allowed all season. If they are going to win this game against a much better Aggies team, the defense will have to play well again this week.

Utah State is also currently 3 - 2 in the Mountain West and coming off a blowout win over the Nevada Wolf Pack. Both of these teams blew out inferior teams last week before they head into this conference battle. Just like UNLV, this is a game that the Aggies have to win if they want to stay in the mix in the Mountain West. A loss would be devastating for both teams. This team is going to score points against the Rebels' defense, but it will be interesting to see if they can slow down the Rebels' offense.

UNLV Rebels Outlook

The Rebels have elite stars on offense. You can make a case that quarterback Anthony Colandrea and running back Jai'Den Thomas are the two best offensive weapons in the Mountain West. Colandrea is a dual-threat quarterback who is extremely dangerous with both his arm and his legs. We view him as the frontrunner to win the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year this season.

Thomas has seen limited carries, but he is so dangerous every time he touches the ball. He's averaging 7.6 yards per carry this season with 953 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns.

Jaden Bradley has been their top receiver all year, but they have been getting more players involved as we get deeper into the season. While Bradley was the lone star pass-catcher early in the year, guys like wide receiver Troy Omeire and tight end Var'Keyes Gumms have gotten better and better as the season has gone on.

Utah State Aggies Outlook

The Aggies are led by quarterback Bryson Barnes on offense, who plays a very similar style of game as Colandrea. They will also run the ball effectively with running back Miles Davis and utilize wide receiver Braden Pegan heavily in the passing attack. What this game could come down to is the ability of their defense to slow down the dynamic Rebels offense.

Prediction

UNLV Rebels Win 40 - 38

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