UNLV 2022 Football Schedule Analysis, Breakdown, and Predictions

UNLV has had a rough few seasons as a program in recent years. With a lot of uncertainty with who will be the starters for the Rebels this next year, will UNLV be an over .500 team?

Week 0 (Aug. 27th) vs. Idaho State -

Idaho State played a Mountain West School last year and got destroyed by them. Now that school? That school was UNLV’s in-state rival, the Nevada Wolfpack. I know the Wolfpack had Carson Strong, Romeo Doubs, and Cole Turner, who all could get drafted this April to the NFL, but with this new team of young recruits, this Rebel team can play the same way and put up big numbers against Idaho State.

Prediction - 38-13, UNLV W (1-0)

Week 1 (Sept. 10) @ Cal -

The Rebels will be going into Berkeley to play Cal as their first road game. Now even though the Bears have lost their starting QB to the NFL draft this year, they are still a PAC-12 school and will be decent football program next year. The young UNLV squad will have a tough time against the PAC-12 opponent and it also being their first road game. I believe the Rebels can keep in close with their new recruits they got on both the offensive side and the defensive side. Everyone knows it is difficult to go on the road and win in college football.

Prediction - 28-17, UNLV Loss (1-1)

Week 2 (Sept. 17) vs North Texas -

Now North Texas was a middle of the road team last year, but being in the C-USA they play some pretty decent teams like Liberty and UTEP. This game will be a close game and really show the true competitiveness of the Rebels. I believe this game could go down to the wire and be very low scoring. I think UNLV pulls it out late in the fourth quarter or even in overtime.

Prediction - 17-16, UNLV Win (2-1)

Week 3 (Sept. 24th) @ Utah State -

Week 4 is when the conference games start. The Rebels go to Logan, Utah to face the Aggies. It is going to be difficult for the Rebels to get the win in this game because it is on the road and Utah State made it to the Mountain West Championship last year. They are a decent football team that will be able to keep the Rebels in check.

Prediction - 28-17, UNLV Loss (2-2)

Week 4 (Oct. 1st) vs New Mexico -

New Mexico is not a good football team. They actually lost to UNLV last year when they both only had about three wins on the season. They play them at home in Allegiant Stadium, their first conference game at home. I believe that UNLV we will this one by a few. Last year’s score was 31-17, I believe it will be around that same score in this years battle.

Prediction - 35-20, UNLV Win (3-2)

Week 5 (Oct. 8th) @ San Jose State -

Going into San Jose could be a difficult game to win for UNLV, but the Spartans are not what they were a few years ago. With their stadium they will not be able to hold the capacity of a normal college stadium so the home team fans will not be a factor in the game. UNLV could go into San Jose and pull this win off and get their first road win of the season, which is a difficult feat in itself. However, it will be a close and gritty football game.

Prediction - 21-17, UNLV Win (4-2)

Week 6 (Oct. 15th) vs Air Force -

Even though they will be at home, the Rebels will have a very tough time against an Air Force squad who always seems to be decent. The Rebels are going to fight hard but they will not be able to pull this one off. This game will most likely be their first home loss of the season. The young UNLV team will have to show toughness to maybe win this game, but it will probably be too tough of a test for the Rebels.

Prediction - 42-31, UNLV Loss (4-3)

Week 7 (Oct. 22nd) @ Notre Dame -

Come on... Notre Dame?... really? What do you want me to say? The Rebels are going to into Notre Dame and pull out the win. That’s not going to happen. UNLV was a two win team last year and Notre Dame was in the consideration for the College Football Playoffs. I know I shouldn’t be comparing to last year, but seriously, UNLV is getting a lot of money to go into Notre Dame and get their behinds whooped.

Prediction - 49-3, UNLV Loss (4-4)

Week 8 - BYE

Week 9 (Nov. 5th) @ San Diego State -

After most likely getting blown out of the water by Notre Dame before the bye week, after their week off they will be going to the beautiful San Diego, Calif. to play the the Aztecs of SDSU. SDSU won the Mountain West last year and they are a well put together team this year. I don’t see this game going in UNLV’s favor. They will be rested coming off their bye week so it’ll be a good football game after it is all said and done, but UNLV will probably won’t be on top.

Prediction - 30-24, UNLV Loss (4-5)

Week 10 (Nov. 12th) vs Fresno State -

UNLV, last year, went into Fresno and was leading at half time. They didn’t end up winning because of a prolific passing attack from Fresno State. This year it is in Vegas, but the Bulldogs will have pretty much the same passing attack this year, if not better. This will be another challenging task for the Rebels to beat a team that will most likely start with a Top 25 spot or eventually get one throughout the season. Also, former Bulldogs Derek Carr and Davante Adams will most likely be at the game, given that they play for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Prediction - 42-20, UNLV Loss (4-6)

Week 11 (Nov. 19th) @ Hawaii -

Now, the University of Hawaii is not usually very good at football, but somehow they always have a decent record at home. That’s because it is hard to fly six plus hours to play a football game. It’s also Hawaii which is hard to stay focus. Even though, UNLV could possibly be a better team, they are going to have a tough week against the Rainbow Warriors.

Prediction - 30-27, UNLV Loss (4-7)

Week 12 (Nov. 26th) vs Nevada -

It’s the battle for the Fremont Cannon. The rivalry for essentially the only two big schools i Nevada. The cannon has been blue for the past few years. Does the cannon get painted red this year? With most of Nevada’s star players either going to the NFL Draft or transferring elsewhere, this could be in UNLV’s favor. It will be the last game of the year so both teams are going to be playing their hardest and wanting to paint the cannon their respected schools color. This year the cannon could be painted red.

Prediction: 27-24, UNLV Win, (5-7)

I have UNLV Football going 5-7, which is a step up from last year. They should have a better offense and defense this year with all of the recruits they have. I know they will still have a losing season, but it takes time to build a college football team to be top in the conference. Rome was not built in a day. UNLV fans, give it a few more years and we should see this team start to produce more wins a season.