The Frisco Bowl will feature UNLV and Ohio this season. Both of these teams were among the best in their respective Group of Five conferences, but neither could quite win a league title.
Ohio (8-4) started the season strong with a three-point loss at Rutgers and a 17-10 win over West Virginia. After a loss to Ohio State, the Bobcats got back above .500 with victories over Gardner-Webb and Bowling Green.
The Bobcats then lost to Ball State, though, and that made defending their MAC Championship from a year ago a lot more difficult. They did win five of their next six games against Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), UMass, and Buffalo. But their one loss during that stretch against Western Michigan prevented them from earning a MAC title berth.
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Something that could impact Ohio’s performance today: Brian Smith has been fired as the head coach at Ohio, and John Hauser has been promoted to interim head coach with a chance to keep the HC job long term.
Ohio’s Frisco Bowl opponent, UNLV, made another run to the Mountain West Championship in 2025 but couldn’t quite finish the job and lost to Boise State in the league title game.
But the Rebels (10-3) still enjoyed a phenomenal season. They won their first six games against Idaho State, Sam Houston, Miami (Ohio), Wyoming, and Air Force as well as a 30-23 Power Four victory over UCLA.
It wasn’t certain UNLV would return to the Mountain West title game, though, when the Rebels lost back-to-back contests against Boise State and New Mexico. But the Rebels bounced back and won four straight against Colorado State, Utah State, Hawaii, and Nevada to get to that point.
And now UNLV is hoping to win its first bowl game with Dan Mullen as its head coach.
UNLV vs. Ohio Betting Odds
Ohio is a +6.5 college football betting odds underdog against UNLV, with the Over/Under being 65.5 as of this writing. The moneyline for UNLV is -275, while it’s +220 for Ohio.
UNLV vs. Ohio On TV
The matchup between UNLV and Ohio will be televised on ESPN.
The game will kick off at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 23. The contest is taking place at the Ford Center At The Star in Frisco, Texas.
UNLV vs. Ohio Prediction
I predict UNLV will win and cover the 6.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Over 65.5 total points.
UNLV reportedly won’t have opt-outs for this bowl game, which is quite unique in this era of college football. That amount of talent for the Rebels should help them dominate this game.
UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea, a G5 All-American, threw for 3,275 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions on a 66% completion rate. He also rushed for 621 yards and nine touchdowns.
Jai’Den Thomas led UNLV with 985 yards and 12 touchdowns while catching 36 passes for 221 yards and one TD. UNLV wide receiver Jaden Bradley caught 54 passes for 869 yards and four scores for the Rebels.
With so much talent on offense, I think UNLV will score early and often in this matchup.
