Analyzing the opposition: UNLV preview

Michigan football will host the UNLV Rebels at the Big House on Saturday for what will be both teams' second game of the season.

The Wolverines (1-0) are coming off a 30-3 home victory against East Carolina, while UNLV (1-0) also started its season off with a 44-14 victory over Bryant.

Let's break down the Rebels, how they match up against the Wolverines and predict what will happen in this one.

Game: Sat., Sept. 9, 3:30 p.m. EST on CBS/Paramount+

Spread: MICH -37 (as of 9/8)

Total: 56.5

Head coach: Barry Odom, 1st year, 26-25 overall

2022 record: 5-7, 3-5 Mountain West

What to know: Odom, who was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas the past three seasons, is in his first year as the head man of the program and is back as a head coach for the first time since 2019 after posting a respectable 25-25 record at Missouri in four seasons with the Tigers. He is looking to build a program which has posted just two winning seasons since 1994. There is optimism in the UNLV program that they've found the right guy to move the program in the right direction, with potential to get the Rebels to their first bowl game since 2014 if everything goes really well. For this game, let's take a glance at how they match up against the Wolverines.

The major element to watch out for in the UNLV offense is the mobility of quarterback Doug Brumfield and his ability to pick up yards with his legs.

In UNLV's win Week 1 win, Brumfield was the team's second leading rusher, carrying the ball seven times for 71 yards.

He is assisted in the ground game by Pittsburgh running back transfer Vincent Davis, who had over 1,800 yards and 16 scores in his career before transferring, while he carried it three times against Bryant for 79 yards and a touchdown.

There are a couple of other running backs the Rebels rotate through, but Davis is the one who can provide the explosive plays for their offense.

The passing game is more of a question mark from UNLV, with its main wide receivers coming in as transfers from other programs.

However, junior wide receiver Ricky White, who Michigan fans certainly remember after his near 200-yard receiving performance in 2020 against the Wolverines when he was in a Spartans' uniform, is Brumfield's top target.

White had just two receptions for five yards in the team's opener, but the Michigan secondary will certainly have to be on alert as he is clearly capable of making big plays down the field.

However, Brumfield was more effective as a runner in Week 1 as he completed 11-of-18 passes in that game for just 86 yards and no touchdowns. Quarterback Jayden Maiava also got some time, throwing for 40 yards in the contest.

If UNLV is unable to make any chunk plays through the air, it's going to be very difficult to move the ball against the Wolverines' defense. The plan for UNLV in the passing game will likely be to get the ball out quickly, but that is going to allow the Wolverines to be ultra aggressive in taking away those short passes.

On the offensive line, the Rebels are replacing nearly all of its starters from last year's team, making it hard to imagine they will be able to create much of a push or give Brumfield enough time to look down the field.

If Brumfield does end up holding the ball too long a few many times, I would expect the likes of Derrick Moore, Josaiah Stewart and Braiden McGregor to cause problems in the UNLV backfield.

The defensive side of the ball is the side Odom specializes in, and is likely to revamp the UNLV defense early on in his tenure.

He and defensive coordinator Michael Scherer will have plenty of upperclassmen options from the transfer portal to make a few improvements on that side of the ball—including from linebackers Zavier Carter (LSU transfer) and Jackson Woodward (Arkansas transfer).

In the secondary, Jaxen Turner (Arizona) and Jalen Frazier (NC State) are transfer safeties and should provide some stability in the secondary, but the defense lost last year's top cornerback, Nohl Williams, to California in the transfer portal.

The fact of the matter is, even with some added pieces in the front seven, UNLV wasn't all that stout against the run last season and showed some vulnerabilities in that aspect against Bryant while allowing their quarterback and top running back to go for 146 yards combined on 20 carries.

Like last week, I doubt J.J. McCarthy will be utilized much in the running game in this type of game, but I would be surprised if Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards and the Michigan rushing attack didn't have more room to operate this game as opposed to against the Pirates.

I believe Michigan's defense is going to make UNLV's offense one dimensional and force the Rebels into several third-and-long situations, which will make it difficult for UNLV to be able to move the chains consistently.

This should be a game where the Wolverines can dominate up front on both sides of the ball, and as mentioned above, a game where the running game will be able to show out.

Michigan also guarded against the big play last weekend with Rod Moore and Will Johnson out, and would expect them to largely do the same this weekend even if those two players are still missing.

I do think UNLV can make just enough plays to cover the spread, while the Wolverines taking their starters out early will also just barely allow the Rebels to cover. The running clock for first downs also doesn't play into the favor of favorites covering very large spreads like this one.

Final score prediction: Michigan 45, UNLV 10