Syracuse vs. UNLV prediction: College Football odds, picks, best bets Friday

UNLV has drawn plenty of attention following the abrupt departure of quarterback Matthew Sluka, who left Vegas last week due to what he described as unfulfilled NIL promises. While Sluka used his dual-threat ability to lead UNLV to a 3-0 start, the Rebels improved to 4-0 with Hajj-Malik Williams taking over under center last time time out.Williams was the starting quarterback in the spring before Sluka transferred from Holy Cross.In his first start, Williams guided UNLV to a 59-14 victory over Fresno State, completing 13-of-16 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns.While his performance could help the Rebels forget all about Sluka, he might need similar heroics to get past a pass-happy Syracuse team Friday night.The Orange have one of the more explosive offenses in the country.According to CFB Stats, they rank 34th in Explosive Plays with 25.Quarterback Kyle McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, is just 10 touchdowns away from eclipsing his 2023 mark of 24 touchdowns.

Landing McCord in the transfer portal was quite a coup for first-year head coach Fran Brown.The two were already familiar with one another, dating to McCord’s days in youth football. Brown knows that getting the best out of McCord is also critical to his success as a first-time head coach.With the coaching staff intimately in tune with McCord’s strengths, they’ve succeeded in putting together an offensive game plan to showcase his talents. UNLV’s dominance over Fresno State showed it was ready to move on from Sluka.

Head coach Barry Odom deserves credit for his ability to recruit two quarterbacks with similar traits that fit his style of play.While it’s only a one-game sample size, UNLV’s offense might be better without Sluka, whose biggest strength was running the ball.He racked up 253 yards on 6.5 yards per carry and has 3,831 rushing yards in his college career.Despite completing 57.4% of his passes, which includes his time at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with Holy ...