Take Jayhawks To Dominate UNLV

Kansas vs. UNLV, 9:00 ET

We had college football return recently with a few Bowl Games on Friday and Saturday. I only had one play in the Friday contest and it didn't go well. To be honest, I'm not sure anyone but the books made money on that game. Most people predicted (like me) that UCF would win the game and that it would be a ridiculously high-scoring contest. The game ended with Georgia Tech winning 30-17. It is part of the thrill and frustration of sports betting, looking, evaluating, and coming to a conclusion. Then the game goes completely different than you thought. I'm looking to earn that unit back on the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, a game between Kansas and UNLV.

Kansas isn't particularly known as a football school, but they've put together some solid campaigns over the past couple of years. This season they produced an 8-4 campaign, losing to Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State. Two of those losses were against ranked opponents, and only one of the four losses was more than a one-score game. They've had three different quarterbacks leading their way this season, but started, and ended the season with Jason Bean under center. I assume he is starting this game as well. The good news is really no one is going to miss the game due to injury and transfer portal concerns. There are a couple of lineman that could miss that might impact the game, but not at the level of a quarterback, linebacker, or wide receiver, for example. Kansas was very good offensively this season and scored 33.6 points per game this year. There were some tough opponents in there and certainly ones with better defenses than UNLV. I expect them to find ways to get the ball into space for receivers against a secondary that allows too much space. I also expect that the ground game will find holes and chew up yardage.

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 4: A UNLV Rebels helmet is shown on the sidelines during the team's game against the Hawaii Warriors at Sam Boyd Stadium on November 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)

UNLV is back in a bowl game for the first time since 2014. While it is impressive that they've made it to the game, and they have a 9-4 record coming into today, this is certainly an uphill battle for the Rebels. One thing that is in their favor is that the game is in Phoenix, which could give them a bit more of a "home-field" advantage than Kansas. If you look at their schedule, they really didn't play almost anyone significant. They faced Michigan early in the season and had a reasonable 35-7 loss against them. The offense couldn't get much going. There other three losses came to Fresno State, San Jose State, and Boise State. The last two opponents were the last two games of the season. The defense allowed 81 points throughout those two games. On offense, the team has found ways to rack up passing yards, but weren't overly dominant on the ground. It isn't like the Rebels will be shut out in this game, Kansas isn't a great defense, but they still allow other teams some opportunities that they shouldn't.

The game is interesting because I think the clear edge is with Kansas and they should be able to rack up yards. If I have to pick a team to get a stop, it would be the Jayhawks. UNLV is a solid team and a good offense, but in comparison to strength of schedule and the outcome of these games, I think Kansas has a significantly better outlook. I'm going to take Kansas to win this game at -12. I don't really like the total for the game, and originally looked at the team total for Kansas, but 41 points is a lot to get and more could go wrong than right in order to hit it. I'll just take Kansas on the spread.

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