Article Written By: Justin Pollock
When: Jan. 1 at noon ET
Where: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
Watch: ESPNU
Over/Under: 54 points
Spread: North Texas (-6.5)
Match-up
| UNLV | UNT | |
|---|---|---|
| W-L | 7-5 | 8-4 |
| Avg Points | 31.3 | 31.5 |
| Avg Points Allowed | 31.5 | 18.1 |
| Home Record | 4-3 | 5-1 |
| Road Record | 3-2 | 3-3 |
| Division Record | 3-2 | 4-2 |
| Conference Record | 5-3 | 6-2 |
This years Heart of Dallas bowl puts the (7-5, 5-3 MW) UNLV Rebels up against the (8-4, 6-2 C-USA) North Texas Mean Green
History
The Rebels didn’t start off on a good foot losing to @Minnesota and then at home against Arizona, but they would get it going as they went on to a 4 game winning streak including wins over Hawaii and Central Michigan. The Rebels would finish the season going 3-3.
The Rebels Head Football Coach Bobby Hauck has been with the team for 4 seasons going for an awful combined record of 13-37. This is his first winning season with the program. Bobby Hauck is going to lead the UNLV Rebels into the programs first bowl game since the 2000 season when they played in the Las Vegas bowl and beat Arkansas 31-14. The Rebels are undefeated in bowl games with a record of 3-0.
The North Texas Mean Green started the season 2-3 including losing to @Ohio, @Georgia, and @Tulane. North Texas would go on to finish the season very good, going 6-1. Their only loss being against UTEP 21-13.
Led by Dan McCarney, North Texas has gone 17-19 in the last three seasons, but never being invited to a bowl game. This may be a good thing because the Mean Green are 1-5 in bowl appearances.
These two programs have met 4 times before this game, UNLV is undefeated against the Mean Green, going 4-0. In their last meeting, which was in 2000, the Rebels won at home 38-0.
Impact Players
For the North Texas Green Mean, they look towards WR, Brelan Chancellor, and for the UNLV Rebels they lean on a WR also in Devante Davis.
Senior WR Brelan Chancellor is the leader for the Mean Green’s offense as he is leading the team in receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. During the season, Brelan had accumulated 718 total yards with 4 touchdowns, as well as 3 games with over 100 receiving yards.
Junior WR, Devante Davis, has been the leader for the Rebels all season. The 6-3 210 pound Davis amassed 1,149 receiving yards with 14 total touchdown this season. Devante Davis has recorded 5 games with more than 100 receiving yards and the last game of the season he gained 171 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-19 win over San Diego State.
Prediction
With none of these teams having anything to lose, watch for trick plays and wild hits as these teams had 3 weeks to add any new plays to the playbook. This game is going to have some high scoring as both of these teams allow opponents to score more than 18 PPG, but the high powered UNLV Rebels offense is going to be the key factor in this game.
UNLV: 35-27