UNLV at UCLA: position-by-position breakdown

QUARTERBACK

Johnny Stanton’s UNLV debut was nearly flawless, as the transfer completed 10 of 12 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Opposing signal caller Josh Rosen is coming off a three-interception game against Texas A&M, but he’s still considered one of the most talented passers in the country and a future NFL prospect.

Edge: UCLA

RUNNING BACK

Bruins sophomore running back Soso Jamabo had a strong first game, rushing 23 times for 91 yards and catching five passes for 41 yards. The Rebels have a good young running back duo in Charles Williams and Lexington Thomas, but against two Power Five schools last year Thomas had 10 carries for 12 yards.

Edge: UCLA

WIDE RECEIVER

Both teams got big wide receiver performances in week one. Devonte Boyd had four catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns for UNLV, while Kenneth Walker III had six catches for 115 yards for UCLA. The Bruins depth at receiver looks stronger though, with juniors Elridge Massington and Darren Andrews contributing.

Edge: UCLA

OFFENSIVE LINE

The average weight of the Bruins starting offensive line is 10 pounds more than the Rebels’ average. UCLA is also two inches taller on average. That said, Rosen was sacked five times against Texas A&M with a group of protectors that had 14 starts combined going into the game. UNLV has showed more cohesion early.

Edge: UNLV

DEFENSIVE LINE

UCLA failed to record a sack against Texas A&M and gave up 209 rushing yards in its first game with a predominantly 4-3 defense. Defensive end Deon Hollins sat out the game with a concussion and it’s unknown what his status will be. If Hollins can’t go, it will be interesting to see if UNLV has improved enough up front to make this matchup interesting.

Edge: Push

LINEBACKER

UCLA has become known as a linebacker school, with Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks and Myles Jack all being first or second round picks in the NFL Draft the last three years. This year the Bruins are led by Jayon Brown and Kenny Young, who already have 14 tackles combined.

Edge: UCLA

SECONDARY

All of the Bruins defensive backs returned this year, including playmaking safety Randall Goforth. That experience should provide stability in the back end while UCLA focuses on fixing issues up front. The Rebels secondary played well against Jackson State, snagging two interceptions, but this game presents a whole different challenge.

Edge: UCLA

SPECIAL TEAMS

New do-it-all special teams weapon Evan Pantels punted and kicked for UNLV in his first game, making nine extra points and punting twice for an average of 35.5 yards. Bruins punter Austin Kent had a 43.33 yard average on his punts, but the Rebels return game looked stronger during the first week.

Edge: Push

INTANGIBLES

After dropping its season opener and falling out of the national rankings, UCLA will be motivated to get back on track at home. An upset of this magnitude would be a stunning result for the Rebels.

Edge: UCLA

HANDICAPPER’S TAKE

Bruce Marshall (goldsheet.com): UCLA 50 - UNLV 14 — UNLV hoped to catch UCLA looking ahead to Brigham Young. After bullying FCS Jackson State, UNLV “O” and juco QB Stanton will find things tougher. New pro-style Bruin “O” has chance to roll vs. still-suspect Rebel “D.”

Ben Gotz is a sports reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Contact him at bgotz@reviewjournal.com or follow him on Twitter @BenSGotz.