UNLV Rebels vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 8/31/2024 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UNLV Rebels vs Houston Cougars

Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024

Location: TDECU Stadium in Houston, TX

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Cougars (-2)

Total/Over-Under: 54.5

The UNLV Rebels (9-5 last year) are on their way to TDECU Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2024 where they will try to beat the Houston Cougars (4-8 last season). Houston opens this contest as 1.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over/under is 54.5.

The UNLV Rebels wrapped up their season with a 9-5 mark. In their last game, the Rebels went up against the Kansas Jayhawks and ended up losing by a score of 49-36. In the running game, the Rebels conceded 142 yards on 39 tries, which averages out to 3.6 yards per rush surrendered. UNLV surrendered 19 completions on 28 tries for a total of 449 yards, and a completion rate of 67.9%. In all, they ran 59 plays which gave them 386 yds. The UNLV Rebels ended up running the ball 24 times and recorded 95 yds, which is an average of 4.0 yds per attempt.

The Rebels earned 5,778 total yards over the course of last year. UNLV earned 17 passing touchdowns and 39 touchdowns on the ground. They surrendered the ball 20 different times. UNLV recorded 287 1st downs, and they were called for 97 penalties for 865 yards. Offensively they maintained an average of 173.5 yds via the ground game, which had them sitting 44th in the nation. Concerning getting in the endzone, the UNLV Rebels averaged 34.4 points per game.

The Rebels ranked 90th in college football regarding their opponents scoring, conceding 28.6 PPG. Opposing teams ran for an average of 4.3 yards per run and 161.8 rushing yards per game last year. In total, they allowed 2,265 yards on the ground in 14 contests. When it comes to yards via the pass, the Rebels allowed 3,552 yds which had them ranked 124th in Division 1. In their 14 games played last year, they yielded 253.7 yards per outing via the pass and surrendering a completion percentage of 61.4%. They gave up 415.5 yards/game which had them sitting 106th in the nation. They gave up 27 throwing touchdowns as well as 22 rushing touchdowns.

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The Cougars ended the year with a 4-8 record. In their last game, the Cougars took a loss by a score of 27-13 against the UCF Knights. The Cougars finished the contest with 259 yards while running 52 plays (5.0 yards per play). Houston rushed for 3.0 yds per attempt, totaling 94 yards on 31 attempts. Houston gave up 43 rush attempts for 223 yards (5.2 yards per carry). The Cougars secondary conceded a completion rate of 85.2%, surrendering 253 yards on 23 out of 27 passing.

In terms of their scoring prowess, the Cougars had a ranking of 90th in the nation averaging 23.7 PPG. The Houston Cougars averaged 360.2 yards per outing, which had them sitting 86th in Division 1. The Houston offense compiled 590 penalty yds on 68 violations, which had them sitting 91st in college football in terms of helping out the opposition. They gave away 13 picks while conceding 2 fumbles and they tallied 230 1st downs. For the prior season, the Cougars compiled 2,898 yards via the pass as well as averaging 241.5 passing yards per outing, putting them at 53rd in Division 1. They averaged 118.7 yards per game via the ground game and ran for 1,424 yards for the year.

The Cougars allowed 31.5 PPG, which had them ranked 108th in Division 1. Houston allowed a total of 2,023 yards via the ground game (168.6 yards per contest) and 28 touchdowns via the rush throughout last year. Last season, they surrendered 378 points in total. They conceded 22 touchdowns from the passing game and 255.3 yards per game, ranking them 117th in D-1. The Cougars defense took the field for 851 plays, which had them sitting 68th in college football. Their defense had 5 fumbles recovered and 10 interceptions over the course of last season.

Who will win tonight's Rebels/Cougars college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Cougars -1.5

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