Game Week - at Central Michigan
The UNLV Rebels head to the road for the second straight week for what could be the most important non-conference game of the year at Central Michigan.
In order for the Rebels to earn the necessary amount of victories needed to head to postseason play in 2016, it's this type of matchup, against a very similar squad from a similar conference, where UNLV needs to find a way to pull the upset.
Central Michigan is coming into this contest after one of the strangest wins in college football history. All seemed lost for the Chippewas last Saturday after putting up a valiant effort at ranked Oklahoma State, before the miracle of all miracles happened.
The Cowboys were penalized for intentional grounding as time expired in regulation, but the officials gave CMU one untimed down, which turned out to be a misinterpretation of the rulebook.
Central Michigan took full advantage of the one play - completing a Hail Mary and executing a perfect lateral before diving into the end zone for the winning score. Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, you don't pay attention to sports, let alone college football.
The most improbable decision in CMU's history is something the Chips will have to get over when they host the much improved Rebels this week. In all actuality, this play could prove to work against CMU in a game it is now predicted to win by nearly two touchdowns.
On the other side of the field, UNLV visited UCLA at the Rose Bowl and, despite a 42-21 final score, hung around for the majority of the game and looked good in the process.
Two interceptions thrown by quarterback Johnny Stanton and a very difficult targeting call helped turn the tide for the Bruins before they took control in the fourth quarter.
If you back out those three plays, the Rebels were definitely up to the challenge of facing a Pac-12 contender on the road. Stanton threw the ball well, while also mixing in some nice runs off the read option. Lexington Thomas led all ball carriers with 112 yards on 19 carries.
The UNLV defense, although it got gassed late in the game, also rallied after giving up 28 points in the first half. Coming out of halftime, UNLV forced the Bruins into a turnover and to punt twice on their first three possessions.
Those defensive stops allowed the Rebels to slowly creep back into the contest. UNLV had the ball and was driving with the score at 28-21 when the third quarter came to a close.
It was on the next UCLA possession when it received the fortunate targeting call on a 3rd and 10 pass play that swung momentum back to the home team. The Bruins scored another touchdown shortly after to give them some breathing room.
This week, it will be up to the UNLV defensive line and secondary to have a strong showing. CMU's senior signal caller, Cooper Rush, has thrown for over 3,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, and completed 72% of his passes for 368 yards in the upset of Oklahoma State.
In short, the guy can play a little bit. If ever UNLV was in need of a pass rush, it would be this week. Only Josh Rosen (UCLA) and Brett Rypien (Boise State) are thought more highly as quarterbacks of UNLV's 2016 opponents.
Look for the Rebels to utilize their running attack to keep Rush off the field and play keep away from the CMU offense. That is the best way for UNLV to leave Mt. Pleasant with a victory.
PREDICTION: The question begs to be asked - how much will all the patting on the back of Chippewa players this week hurt their chances of coming into a game against UNLV focused? My guess is, quite a bit. Rebels' head coach Tony Sanchez will have his squad ready to play and UNLV pulls off the upset in this one. UNLV 31, CMU 20