New UNLV Football Preview - UNLV vs Wyoming - Week 6

Photo Credit: UNLV Athletics

Game Preview: UNLV vs. Wyoming – Week 6

UNLV (0-4) vs. Wyoming (1-2) – Week 6

The Rebels are back in action on Friday hosting the University of Wyoming.

UNLV vs Wyoming — *Photo Credit: UNLV Football*

The Rebels are set to host the Wyoming Cowboys after having a week off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. UNLV was set to play at Colorado State a week ago, but since that was canceled the Rebels will come in with a 0-4 record. Marcus Arroyo is still looking for that first win as head coach of UNLV.

Wyoming, like UNLV, didn’t play last week either. In fact, they haven’t played since November 5^th, missing the past two games. They missed games against Utah State and Air Force. Both teams will head into this matchup with a lot of rest as Wyoming looks to even their record, while the Rebels look for their first win of the season.

A struggling UNLV rush defense matches up against a strong Cowboy running game.

Wyoming opened up the season with a 37-34 overtime loss to Nevada. They followed it with an impressive win against Hawaii which they won by a score of 31-7. They then fell to Colorado State by ten points (34-24) in their last outing on November 5^th. Wyoming has had an impressive start offensively to begin the season.

The Cowboys have 9 total rushing touchdowns in 3 games. They have three different players with 3 rushing touchdowns. Running back, Xazavian Valladay, leads the team with 82 carries for 397 yards with his 3 touchdowns. Running back, Trey Smith, has also punched the ball into the end zone 3 times. Wyoming is led by freshman quarterback, Levi Williams, who in 3 games only has 1 passing touchdown. However, he has used his legs to get in the end zone 3 times. The Cowboys have been impressed so far with Williams, but still want to see some improvement in the passing game. Defensively, Wyoming is led by linebacker Chad Muma who leads the team by a large margin with 38 tackles.

A big issue for the Rebels so far this season has been stopping the run. Every game this season, UNLV has given up at least 140 total rushing yards. In order, for each game this season, this defense has allowed 287, 147, 243, and 176 yards on the ground. It is a very young Rebels defense and they have to learn to stop the run so that the offense can get back on the field.

A positive for the Rebels has been true freshman wide receiver, Kyle Williams. He has been nothing short of phenomenal so far this season. He has been the best freshman receiver in the Mountain West Conference as he averaged 5.3 receptions per game. He has gotten better each and every week and will be a big part of the Rebels’ offense in the second half of the season. Williams had 9 catches for 110 yards receiving and a touchdown two weeks ago at San Jose State. Regardless of who the quarterback is, Williams has had a productive first half of the season. Max Gilliam started his 4^th consecutive game but was replaced by TCU transfer Justin Rogers. Rogers came in and completed 12 of 18 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown with the touchdown pass going to Kyle Williams.

UNLV will look to finish the game with a strong second half.

The Rebels come in at 0-4, but in the last two games they have battled late against two of the top teams in the entire Mountain West Conference. They were tied with Fresno State heading into the 4^th quarter before being outscored 13-0. Last week, they trailed San Jose State by only a touchdown late in the third quarter before being outscored 14-0. The Rebels have failed to score in the final quarter of every game this season. They play Wyoming who has scored a total of 38 4^th quarter points in their limited 3 games played. UNLV has played better each week but has had trouble finishing off games. They will look to change that on Saturday against the Cowboys.

The UNLV Rebels are scheduled to play host to the Wyoming Cowboys on Friday at 1:30 at FS1.

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-Jarret Thompson – Franchise Sports Media

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