Are you seeing red this weekend? Wait, make that scarlet. As in UNLV’s official colors, scarlet and gray.
You should be. Seeing red (or scarlet), that is.
The UNLV Rebels are in rare, oxygenated air. A quick glance at against-the-spread performances at Covers.com shows that only three teams are a perfect 6-0 against the betting number. One is No. 7-ranked Oklahoma. Another is 11th-ranked Oregon. Then there is UNLV, also flawless at 6-0.
In fact, the Rebels are 5-1 in the win-loss column. Their only loss was a 35-7 defeat at Michigan in which they covered +38.5. It’s the first time they have won five of their first six games since 1984 — when Ronald Regan was president and gasoline was $1.13 a gallon.
After opening at -7, UNLV is now -7.5 vs. Colorado State at 4 p.m. Saturday in its homecoming game at Allegiant Stadium. The Over has been bet up from 61 to 63.5. Covers.com says 70 percent of the action is on the home team.
The Rebels are coming off a 45-27 road win over intrastate rival UNR in which they covered -7.5.
“There’s momentum, you can feel it. You feel it in the city — not just with our sport, but with all of the UNLV sports, and then you’ve got all the other things in the city,” first-year coach Barry Odom told the team’s official website. “I don’t want to confuse the message. I’m thrilled for our program to be 5-1, 2-0 in the conference, but that’s right where UNLV should be.”
Are you ready to ride the Rebels at least one more time?
Writing for CBS Sportsline, Micha Roberts, who bills himself as “Former Vegas Bookmaker,” said he likes the total over 63.5. He notes UNLV has scored 40+ points in five of their last six games. At the same website, Kenny White, the “Wizard of Odds,” says he likes underdog Colorado State, noting that the Rebels have played the 116th-ranked schedule and will be happy just to win the game.
Regardless, expect to see red — that is, plenty of scarlet-and-gray scattered among the crowd at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
