Iowa State Cyclones vs UNLV Rebels Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2021

Game Time: 10:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021

Venue:  Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

Where to Watch:  CBS Sports

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Cyclones -31.5, Rebels +31.5; Over/Under:  52.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Cyclones -31.5, Rebels +31.5; Over/Under:  52 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Cyclones -31.5, Rebels +31.5; Over/Under:  52.5 points

 

Iowa State Cyclones:  1-1 (10th, Big 12)

UNLV Rebels:  0-2 (6th place, MW West)

 

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Iowa State Cyclones:  Lost at home on Sep. 11 against the Iowa Hawkeyes 27-17.

UNLV Rebels:  Lost on the road on Sep. 11 against the Arizona State Sun Devils 37-10.

 

 

 

Last season the Iowa State Cyclones averaged a 66.8% completion percentage, 241.3 passing yards, and 1.7 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 195 rushing yards and 2.6 touchdowns per game on the ground. The UNLV Rebels were averaging a 58.7% completion percentage, 185.8 passing yards, and 1 touchdown per game through the air. They also averaged 144.7 rushing yards and 1.2 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

 

Last season the Iowa State Cyclones were allowing teams a 62.7% completion percentage, 237.3 passing yards, and 1.2 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 104.3 rushing yards and 0.9 touchdowns per game on the ground. The UNLV Rebels were allowing teams a 60.7% completion percentage, 227.2 passing yards, and 1 touchdown per game through the air. They also allowed 255.5 rushing yards and 3.7 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

Iowa State is coming into this game with a 1-1 record overall and has yet to play any conference games, this one being another non-conference matchup. They won their first game of the college football season against the Northern Iowa Panthers and then followed that one up with a loss in their previous game to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Brock Purdy struggled a lot in that game completing 13/27 passes for 138 yards and 3 interceptions. Hunter Dekkers did a little better completing 11/16 passes for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. Their running game was not very good as Breece Hall rushed for 69 yards and 1 TD on 16 carries, leading the team in rushing that game. Darren Wilson led the receivers with 56 yards on 2 receptions in what was a quiet day for the receiving corps. Isheem Young led the defense with 5 solo tackles and 1 assisted one while Will McDonald led the team in sacks with 1.5. They have scored 33 points in their 2 games and have allowed their opponents to score 37 points against them. Their offense is averaging 337 YPG while their defense is allowing 224 YPG.

UNLV is coming into this college football game with a 0-2 record overall and will now be playing their 3rd non-conference game in a row. They lost their first game of the season to the Eastern Washington Eagles and followed that one up with another loss in their last game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Their passing game was really bad in their last game as Doug Brumfield completed 6/14 passes for 60 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 43 yards and the 1 touchdown they scored as it was very quiet in the run game for them. Their receiving corps had an even worse day somehow, with Kyle Williams leading the way, he had 27 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Bryce Jackson led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Nohl Williams had the only interception in the game for this defense. They have scored 43 points in their first 2 games and have allowed their opponents to score 72 points against them. Their offense is averaging 330.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 482.7 YPG.

Iowa State is likely going to crush UNLV as the Rebels have struggled to move the ball and score points all year. Even their defense is allowing way too many yards against them. The Cyclones are more of a defensive team though and even though they may end up holding this team to 0 points, they are very bad on the offensive side of the ball. They are favored by 31 points here but Arizona State, the team UNLV last played, did not even clear that number against them and their offense has looked much better than Iowa State's has. UNLV will cover this spread as the Cyclones will score but not enough to clear that kind of number.

 

Cyclones Rebels Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (10:30 pm ET start time) is Cyclones 31 Rebels 7.

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Iowa State Cyclones: 10-11 ATS as a favorite. 3-5 ATS in non-conference games.

UNLV Rebels: 1-5 ATS off a road loss. 3-7 ATS in home games.

 

 

Iowa State Cyclones:  O. Vance (LB) Prob Sat - Undisclosed injury. S. Shaw Jr. (WR) Prob Sat - Upper Body injury. J. Amos (DB) Ques Sat - Leg injury.

UNLV Rebels:  T. Martell (QB) Ques Sat - Thumb injury.

 

 

Iowa State Cyclones: Xavier Hutchinson is one player to watch in this game. He leads the team in receiving and will want to make some big plays here after last week’s performance in their upset loss. Look for him to make some big plays down the field.

 

UNLV Rebels: Charles Williams is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns. UNLV has not been great in their first 2 games so look for him to make some big runs and help his team establish a running game to help relieve the pressure on the quarterback.

 

"I would assume Brock is going to be our guy. I think from the perspective of, 'Man, did we put Hunter Dekkers in to challenge Brock's position on our football team?' Absolutely not. I think what we put Hunter in to do was to kind of allow Brock to gather himself and really settle the game down and really try to go win the football game and even at that time in the fourth quarter, we felt like we could continue to stay in the game and had opportunities to maybe do that." - Matt Campbell on benching starting quarterback Brock Purdy in the 4th quarter of their last game.

 

 

“Week 2 is a great week for growth in a lot of ways, depending on what kind of environment and landscape you’re going into. We’re going on the road for the first time in our program in a really hostile environment. With a crowd. With a really good football team. A well-coached football team. … That’s going to be a challenge in itself. But then you’ve still got to execute what wins and fix the things from the week before.” - Marcus Arroyo coming into their week 2 talking about his optimism for his team to improve.

 

 

 

WR Hutchinson, Xavier 

WR Scates, Joe 

WR Milton, Tarique 

TE Kolar, Charlie 

TE Rus, Jared 

QB Purdy, Brock 

RB Hall, Breece 

 

WR Jenkins, Steve 

WR Griffin, Zyell 

WR Williams, Kyle 

TE Fauolo Sr., Giovanni 

QB Brumfield, Doug 

RB Williams, Charles 

 

 

Passing: B. Purdy (337)

Rushing: B. Hall (138)

Receiving: X. Hutchinson (110)

Touchdowns: B. Hall (2)

Sacks: W. McDonald IV (2.5)

Tackles: J. Hummel (13)

 

Passing: D. Brumfield (177)

Rushing: C. Williams (207)

Receiving: K. Williams (114)

Touchdowns: C. Williams (2)

Sacks: J. Windmon (1.5)

Tackles: J. Windmon (14)

 

Coaches:

Iowa State Cyclones: Matt Campbell (6th season)

UNLV Rebels: Marcus Arroyo (2nd season) 

 

89 degrees F partly cloudy, 30% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 10 mph wind speeds NE.