UNLV Rebels On SI Official Week 7 Predictions For Air Force Falcons @ UNLV Rebels

The time has come for us to make our official UNLV Rebels On SI prediction for Week 7. The Rebels will return home this weekend to host the Air Force Falcons in the second game of their Mountain West schedule. All of the Rebels' games are must-win games if they want to find themselves in the College Football Playoff. The games are even bigger now that they are Mountain West matchups. The Rebels are currently sitting at 5 - 0, and the Falcons are 1 - 4, but the Air Force has been better than their record. They have lost a lot of high-scoring competitive games. UNLV can not look past them to the Boise State Broncos, because their offense can create a lot of problems for the Rebels' improved, but still shaky defense.

UNLV Rebels Outlook

Quarterback Anthony Colandrea has far exceeded any expectations that anyone could have had when he decided to come to UNLV through the transfer portal. He is coming off his least productive game of the season. In Week 6, he threw for just 102 yards and one touchdown, but still didn't play badly. The weather was terrible, and he had to manage the game despite hail, wind, and snow. At the end of the day, he did what he had to do to get the job done and come away with the win.

Running back Jai'Den Thomas and wide receiver Jaden Bradley have been the star weapons for UNLV. Thomas is coming off another impressive game in which he ran for 96 yards on 6.0 yards per carry and caught Colandrea's lone TD pass. Bradley has been the team's top wideout and earned UNLV Rebels On SI Offensive Player of the Week honors for Week 6 after leading the team with 65 receiving yards and scoring a TD on a blocked punt.

The defense looked much improved last week and had their first consistent game from start to finish. They will hope that star defensive back Aamaris Brown will be healthy enough to play this week, but if not, another man will have to step up and make big plays in his absence. Last week, Mumu Bin-Wahad came out of nowhere and had a monster game. We've seen different players step up all season.

Air Force Falcons Outlook

Quarterback Liam Szarka has been the star of their high-octane offense. He leads the team in both passing with 850 yards and rushing with 448 yards. He's also thrown for seven TDs and rushed for six TDs. His 448 rushing yards are 200 more than any running back on the team, and his six TDs are double any other player on the team at any position.

The Falcons' defense has been the issue this season. In all four of their losses, they have given up at least 30 points. That could be really bad news for the Air Force, being that UNLV may be the best offense that they have faced all season, or close to it.

Prediction

UNLV Rebels Win 41 - 31

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