The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and the UNLV Rebels meet Saturday in college football action from Allegiant Stadium. Hawaii last played versus New Mexico State in their fifth game of the year. The Warriors would go on to power out a three-point win. As for UNLV, they’re coming off a matchup versus UTEP. In that one the Rebels won by 17 points. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 

The Warriors have five games in the books already this year. The first pair were both losses: one came 35-28 to Vanderbilt in the opener, then a 37-24 result versus Stanford. Hawaii finally got into the win column versus Albany in game three, taking a 31-20 win, but then drew an unenviable matchup versus Oregon in what was eventually a 55-10 loss the next weekend. 

Matched up against New Mexico State, Hawaii was down 17-3 at halftime but tightened the screws in the second half on the way to a 20-17 win. QB Brayden Schager posted 245 yards with a score, and Jordan Johnson led the rush on 44 yards. Pofele Ashlock added 77 receiving yards from seven catches. 

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Team Facts

Hawaii has lost each of its last eight road games.
Hawaii has covered the spread in nine of its last 10 games against conference opponents.
Hawaii has lost the first half in each of its last four games against conference opponents.
Eight of Hawaii’s last 10 games in September have gone UNDER the total points line.

UNLV Rebels 

Over on the Rebels’ side, they didn’t have too much trouble with Bryant in their opener and cruised to a 44-14 blowout win. UNLV wasn’t up to snuff against Michigan in game two during a 35-7 loss, but the Rebels bounced back in the next game versus Vanderbilt in a 40-37 victory thriller. QB Jayden Maiava finished with 261 yards, one TD and one pick in that one. 

In the UTEP game last Saturday, UNLV held a 28-21 lead going into the final quarter and managed to pull off a solid 45-28 victory. Maiava put up 190 yards and an interception, but Jai’Den Thomas paced the offense with 100 rush yards and four scores off 13 carries. Ricky White was tops in reviving with two grabs for 62 yards. 

UNLV Rebels Team Facts

UNLV has won each of its last six September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
The underdog has covered the spread in eight of UNLV’s last nine games.
UNLV has won the first half in each of its last three games against conference opponents.
Five of the last six games between Hawaii and UNLV have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

UNLV ranked 34th among FBS teams for Q4 points allowed per game last season (5.7).
UNLV ranked 37th among FBS teams for Q2 win percentage last season (.583).
Hawaii ranked T25th among FBS teams for Q4 win percentage last season (.538).
Hawaii suffered the equal-most losses by a margin of 40+ points of any FBS team last season (3).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stick with UNLV in this one. The Rebels have a few things to clean up from the UTEP game (namely the 10 penalties for 96 yards) but overall they did a nice job in the win. UNLV finished with 497 yards (307 rushing), 23 first downs and a nice 10-of-17 on third-down tries. That makes 85 combined points in the last two games for UNLV, but they’ve also given up a lot on the other side. Hawaii finished with 343 total yards (245 passing) in their win last weekend so they should be able to gain a bit of ground on the Rebels. That said I don’t think the Warriors will be able to keep pace on the scoreboard.