UNLV vs Kansas Picks and Prediction – 9/13/2024

In Friday night college football action, the UNLV Rebels will invade Children’s Mercy Park to face the Kansas Jayhawks. Make sure you are ready for all the football action with our college football picks. The Rebels (2-0) reached the Mountain West Title game last season and appear to be improved for second-year head coach Barry Odom. Last week, UNLV followed up an impressive road victory at Houston with a 72-14 thumping of FCS Utah Tech. 

All-American WR Ricky White hauled in three touchdowns from UNLV QB Matthew Sluka in the first quarter and finished with 111 receiving yards. Greg Burrell contributed 101 rushing yards and a score for the Rebels, who racked up close to 700 yards of total offense. 

The Kansas Jayhawks have featured one of the most high octane offenses the last couple of years, but lost OC Andy Kotelnicki to Penn State in the offseason. The Jayhawks (1-1) currently rank in the middle of the Big 12 Conference in total offense and are averaging 32.5 points per game. On Saturday, Kansas committed four turnovers during a disappointing 23-17 road loss against Illinois.  

Kansas took a 10-3 lead late in the second quarter on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jalon Daniels to Luke Grimm. Daniels threw a costly interception right before halftime that was returned 30 yards for an Illinois score. Devin Neal added a game-high 101 rushing yards for the Jayhawks.

Kansas built an 18-point halftime lead and went on to defeat UNLV 49-36 in last season’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Jason Bean torched the UNLV secondary for 449 passing yards and six touchdowns. The Rebels are much improved defensively and will get revenge on Friday. Final Score Prediction, UNLV Rebels win 31-27.