UNLV vs. Ohio
Now that we know about what happened with Bobcats head coach Brian Smith, the focus can finally be on the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. The UNLV vs. Ohio matchup serves as the nightcap of the ESPN tripleheader of bowl games on Tuesday with a 9 p.m. ET kickoff in the Lone Star State. It seems like the former Ohio head coach liked to put a little something extra in his coffee in the office.
Ohio University put Smith on administrative leave and the circumstances were shrouded in secrecy for a while, until late last week the school released that Smith had been reprimanded multiple times for consuming alcohol in his office at the football facility. We also found out that he was having an improper relationship with a student. DC John Hauser had already been named the interim head coach, so that hasn’t changed during the bowl prep period. But, it’s a big story and a big distraction for the Bobcats and something that UNLV hasn’t had to contend with at all.
Odds from Circa Sports as of December 20, 12:45 p.m. PT; check out our Circa Betting Splits and DraftKings Betting Splits.
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl: UNLV (-6.5, 65) vs. Ohio
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)
“Boring” is a word that carries a negative connotation, but it shouldn’t in the case of the Rebels. While Bobcats players have been dealing with all the change and uncertainty around the program, the Rebels have simply been able to focus on business. Head coach Dan Mullen has been prepping for his first bowl game since 2020 and he’s a guy with a 7-3 record in bowls.
In Mullen’s first season in Sin City, UNLV went 10-3, losing to Boise State twice and New Mexico once, with one of those losses to the Broncos coming in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Rebels won 11 games for the first time in program history last season and can do it again this season, so they’re rewriting the record books and the vibes are high within and around the program.
Mullen made a really good decision bringing in former Virginia QB Anthony Colandrea, as he racked up just under 4,000 yards of offense during the regular season. He’s thrown for 3,275 and run for 621, accounting for 32 total touchdowns. Colandrea’s scrambling ability and designed runs helped the Rebels to 5.6 yards per carry, putting the Rebels solidly in the top 10 nationally in that department.
Of course, Ohio’s a good run offense as well, as they were a top-20 unit in terms of the ground game. However, that came against the 125th-ranked strength of schedule, a mark only that high because the Bobcats played Ohio State in non-conference play. UNLV’s SOS per Jeff Sagarin was only 104th, but the Mountain West is definitely better than the MAC.
Parker Navarro was Ohio’s second-leading rusher with 148 carries for 843 yards and 5.7 yards per attempt. The difference between Navarro and Colandrea has been throwing the ball. Navarro only posted a 14/10 TD/INT ratio. Sieh Bangura returned after one season at Minnesota to rush for over 1,200 yards, but Jai’Den Thomas of UNLV ran for more yards per carry with 7.2, though he had 85 fewer carries.
In other words, the things Ohio does well are things that UNLV does well and even better on offense. As for the defenses, one word – “woof”. These are two baaaaaad defenses, as Ohio allowed just under six yards per play and UNLV allowed 6.4 yards per play in the regular season. The Bobcats did only allow 5.3 yards per play in conference and their game against Ohio State did skew the numbers a bit, but UNLV is a major step up from MAC offenses.
UNLV vs. Ohio Frisco Bowl Prediction
It would be surprising to see Ohio ready for this game against UNLV. With a national coaching search in progress just a year after Tim Albin left, a lot of players are likely to leave the program and may be sour about how everything has gone down at the end of this season. Last year’s team won the MAC. This year’s team did not. That’s always the goal. Meanwhile, UNLV has serious program momentum and Mullen has an enormous coaching advantage here.
Pick: UNLV -6.5
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