UNLV (1-0) vs Sam Houston State (0-1)
August 29, 2025 at 09:30 PM EDT
The Line: Betting Odds: Sam Houston State +13.5 — Over/Under:
The UNLV Rebels and the Sam Houston State Bearkats meet Friday in college football action from Shell Energy Stadium. Here’s a UNLV vs Sam Houston prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UNLV vs Sam Houston pick. We will examine:
The UNLV Rebels recent form and player performance
The Sam Houston State Bearkats recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UNLV Rebels
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Sam Houston State Bearkats
Recent betting trends in games played between UNLV and Sam Houston
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the UNLV vs Sam Houston game
UNLV Rebels Betting Preview
UNLV had quite a season in 2024, with more ups than downs. The Rebels would bag double-digit wins at 11-3 overall with a nice 6-1 run in Mountain West games. That would put UNLV in second place behind only Boise State among the standings. In the conference championship against the Broncos however, UNLV took a 21-7 loss. The good news however, is that the Rebels were able to rebound in the LA Bowl against California, powering out a victory 24-13 in the end. Highlights of the season included two four-game win streaks with losses to only Syracuse and Boise State along the way.
UNLV has one game under their belt this year already, last weekend versus Idaho State. The Rebels were blanked 10-0 in the first quarter but stormed back on the way to a hard-fought 38-31 win in the end. Anthony Colandrea threw for 195 yards and a score on 15-of-21 passing, and Jai’Den Thomas carried 10 times for 147 yards and three scores as the key offensive player. Jaden Bradley added six receptions for 131 big yards as well.
Sam Houston State Bearkats Betting Preview
Over on the Sam Houston State side, they managed to reach double-digit wins overall last season as well, but just missed out on the Conference USA championship game. Sam Houston would go 10-3 overall with a 6-2 run in conference matchups. The Bearkats landed behind only Jacksonville State and Western Kentucky with that result, losing to both teams in head-to-head meeting during the season. The consolation prize was a New Orleans Bowl berth, where Sam Houston took out Georgia Southern 31-26 in a thriller on December 19.
Sam Houston also has one game in the bag so far this year; they took on Western Kentucky last Saturday. In that one the Bearkats were down 20-10 by halftime and couldn’t keep pace in a 41-24 loss. Hunter Watson threw for 19-of-30, 209 yards and an interception while also leading the rush on 91 yards and a score off 14 carries. Elijah Green caught seven balls for 61 yards in the defeat.
Sam Houston State Bearkats Player Prop Facts
- Shane Porter led North Texas for rush attempts (97) last season.
UNLV Rebels Player Prop Facts
- Anthony Colandrea led Virginia for rush attempts (128) last season.
Matchup/League Facts
- Sam Houston State ranked T12th among FBS teams for 4th down conversion percentage last season (70.0).
- Sam Houston State ranked 13th among FBS teams for passing yards allowed per game last season (177.0).
- UNLV was one of only nine FBS teams undefeated in road games last season (6-0).
- UNLV ranked 12th among FBS teams for Q1 points per game last season (8.4).
UNLV vs Sam Houston Prediction
I’ll lean toward UNLV, but you could make a case either way. The Rebels certainly have some things to work on after their tight win over Idaho State—despite posting 532 yards of offense (300 rushing), 7.8 yards per play and 25 first downs. UNLV went just 3-of-12 on third-down tries and had eight penalties for 90 yards overall. On defense, the Rebels coughed up 555 yards (395 passing), 7.2 yards per play and a whopping 30 first downs to the Bengals. Thomas carried the ground game (alongside Colandrea’s 93 yards), and Bradley absolutely dwarfed every other receiver. After Bradley’s 131 yards, the next-closest pass-catcher had 24 yards. The Rebels need to find some different contributors to help out in game two, but I think they’ll be able to pull it off. Sam Houston gave up 506 yards (401 passing), 26 first downs and 11-of-19 on third-down tries to Western Kentucky in their opener, so there should be some opportunities available.