Gameday predictions: UCLA vs. UNLV

The UCLA football team opens at home against UNLV on Saturday. Last year, the Bruins played the Rebels in Las Vegas, coming away with a 37-3 win in sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen’s first road game.

The current point spread for this game – according to Westgate, BOVADA.ld and BETONLINE.ag – is 26, in favor of UCLA.

Below, the Daily Bruin’s football beat writers – Matt Cummings, Matthew Joye and TuAnh Dam – provide their predictions of how the game will shake out.

Matt Cummings, senior staff

UCLA 45, UNLV 10

The Rebels are a better team than they were last year when the Bruins trounced them 37-3 in Las Vegas, but they’re still severely outclassed in terms of talent in this matchup. They haven’t gotten a four-star high school recruit since 2007, so no matter how good of a job Tony Sanchez is doing, he just doesn’t have the pieces that Jim Mora does.

With Kendal Keys out for the season and Brandon Presley out for the game, only Devonte Boyd will pose a problem for the UCLA defense. A top-end receiver with an NFL future, Boyd will want to use this game to establish that he can play against high-level competition, but the Bruins will be able to focus plenty of attention on him. On the other side of the ball, UCLA should have its way with the UNLV defense.

Matthew Joye, senior staff

UCLA 41, UNLV 17

Sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen has something to prove this week after a three-interception performance against Texas A&M, so he will come out motivated and efficient. Expect Rosen to throw it early and often against a UNLV defense that struggles with pass rush and plays a lot of man-to-man coverage on the edges. The Rebels are still one or two years away from pulling off this kind of an upset, as upstart head coach Sanchez is early in year two of his redevelopment project. The Rebels will score more points than they did last year against the Bruins – dual-threat quarterback Johnny Stanton and shifty running back Lexington Thomas will gain some yards for sure. But overall, UCLA just has too much talent. The game will be pretty much in hand by midway through the third quarter.

[From the Texas A&M game: Rosen regrets his performance, promises better]

TuAnh Dam, Sports editor

UCLA 38, UNLV 10

This isn’t the same UNLV team as last year; the Rebels are better, and come to the Rose Bowl with a solid quarterback in Johnny Stanton and receiver in Devonte Boyd. But the Bruins are just too talented and deep for the Rebels, who finished last season with three wins for just the fourth time in the last 12 years.

Rosen will be eager to put his first-half performance against Texas A&M, which he called one of the worst of his career, behind him and get the first win of his sophomore campaign.

But the big question will be the receivers. Redshirt senior wide receiver Kenny Walker had 115 yards on six receptions, including a game long 62 yards for a touchdown, but Rosen and his receivers weren’t quite in sync to start the game. Passes were overthrown, passes slipped through hands and chances were missed in the eventual overtime loss.

[Related: Kenny Walker overcomes hurdles, suspensions for NFL shot]

Look for other Bruins to have breakout games. Mora tabbed redshirt freshman tight end Caleb Wilson to earn more playing time over redshirt senior Nate Iese and also, along with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, praised the development and upside of redshirt freshman defensive end Keisean Lucier-South.

In the end, new players, same outcome for the Bruins – a runaway win over the Rebels.