UNLV's Final Month Starts Saturday: Wyoming at Allegiant, Then the Road Test That Decides the Mountain West Race
The Rebels are 5-3 and 3-1 in the Mountain West after Saturday's 31-24 win over Northern Illinois. Four games remain — Wyoming at home, a trip to 7-1 New Mexico, San Jose State, and the Fremont Cannon game — with a fourth straight conference championship game appearance on the line.
UNLV's season now fits into four Saturdays. The Rebels improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain West with their 31-24 win over Northern Illinois, and the final month opens at home: Wyoming visits Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on CBS Sports Network. The Cowboys arrive 5-3 themselves, and the early numbers make UNLV a seven-point favorite with a total of 47.5, according to the team preview read by the desk — a game the Rebels are expected to win clearly if their run defense holds up.
The road decides what November means. UNLV plays at New Mexico on November 14 — the Lobos are 7-1 and, by the preview's power ratings, by far the toughest team left on the schedule — then at San Jose State on November 21, before closing at home on November 28 against Nevada in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon, where the Rebels chase a fifth consecutive win in the rivalry, which UNLV Athletics notes would be only the second such streak in school history. The program has won 30 games over the last three seasons and is chasing a fourth straight trip to the Mountain West championship game in the first week of December.
The shape of the race is simple enough to say plainly: beat Wyoming, and the New Mexico trip becomes the conference's game of the month, with the winner holding the inside track to the title game. Slip on Saturday, and the Rebels spend the rest of November needing help. Las Vegas gets the first answer at home, under the Allegiant lights, against a longtime rival — which is exactly how a final month is supposed to start.
