UNLV vs Houston Prediction College Football Picks 8/31/24

In this article, we will formulate a UNLV vs Houston prediction for this College Football Week 1 game on Saturday, August 31st, at TDECU Stadium.  Let’s take a look at a UNLV Rebels vs Houston Cougars pick. To formulate this prediction, we will examine:

-The Rebels recent form and recent player performance 

-The Cougars recent form and recent player performance

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving UNLV

-Recent Betting trends and streaks involving Houston

-Recent betting trends in games played between UNLV and Houston

-A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for Today’s Game between the Rebels and Cougars

UNLV Looks to Build On Last Season

UNLV had success last season and they have confidence heading into this game. Last season UNLV’s offense averaged 34.4 points per game, and they are going to need that offense to continue the same type of success here. The big question for UNLV heading into this game is who is going to start under center. As of Monday UNLV still hadn’t announced a starter for this game. Matthew Sluka was the patriot league player of the year last year, and he has a chance to be the starter this season. Running back Jai’Den Thomas found the end zone 12 times last season and is going to be the top running back again this year. 

UNLV’s defense has seven starters back from last year’s team and that includes linebacker Jackson Woodford who is one of the better players in the conference on defense. Cameron Oliver anchors the defense and he’s going to need to have a big game here to really try to take away the Houston air attack. UNLV will play against Utah Tech and Kansas following this game.

Why UNLV Will Beat Houston

• UNLV has won four of its last five road games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Houston has lost each of its last three games.
• UNLV has covered the spread in 16 of its last 17 road games against non-conference opponents.
• Houston has failed to cover the spread in nine of its last 12 games as a favorite against non-AP-ranked teams.

Houston Looks to Bounce Back

Houston had a bad season last year finishing with a 4-8 record overall but they hope this year is going to be better. The bad record was enough for head coach Dana Holgorseon and in steps Willie Fritz to take over the job. The good news for Fritz is it looks like he has a good quarterback on paper. Donovan Smith is already being mentioned near the top of many NFL draft boards, and they are going to need him to have a big game here and a big season overall. Michigan State tight end Maliq Carr did come in and there is an expectation that he has a big season.

On defense for Houston is where there are a whole lot of questions and that is where this team’s big weakness could be. Last team the defense really struggled to defend, and not much was down this offseason to really improve on that side of the ball. 

Why Houston Will Beat UNLV

• UNLV has lost each of its last six road openers as an underdog.
• Houston has won four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.
• UNLV has failed to cover the spread in each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked teams.

UNLV vs Houston Prediction

UNLV and Houston are going to have no issue running up the score. Donovan Smith is a really good quarterback, and he’s going to have a huge game against the UNLV defense. I don’t trust the Houston defense though, and whoever is under for center is going to have a huge game for UNLV. There will be zero defense played by either team and this game is going to end up being a shootout. Back the over.