Notre Dame football vs UNLV: Game preview and prediction
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team takes on UNLV in Week 8, and here is our game preview and prediction for this must-win battle.
The Notre Dame football team fell back to .500 this past weekend, as the Stanford Cardinal came into Notre Dame Stadium and dominated them from the outset. Sure, it was only a two-point loss for the Irish, but anybody who watched that game saw a team with more talent get absolutely embarrassed in front of the home crowd.
On Saturday, Marcus Freeman and his team look to right that wrong, as they welcome in another team they should beat in the UNLV Rebels. UNLV has struggled the past two weeks without quarterback Doug Brumfield, and while he may return, he is still considered day-to-day as we inch closer to kickoff.
Without Brumfield, this team is going to struggle in a big way, and for once this season, the Irish need to put a lesser team away early.
Notre Dame football should roll over UNLV
Even if Brumfield plays, the Irish have the advantage in this game, as they are better up front, have better coaching, and the overall talent is not even close. The Irish need to come out on Saturday afternoon fired up for a win, focus on running the football, and open up a sizeable lead before the half.
If they can do that, they should be able to win this game going away, but as we have seen all season with this year’s team, that is not always the case. For some reason, the 2022 Irish seem to play down to their competition, something they cannot afford to do against a fiesty UNLV team Saturday afternoon.
When all is said and done, I believe Freeman is going to have his team ready for this matchup, and they should be able to take care of the Rebels fairly easily. I like Drew Pyne to protect the football, the running game to be outstanding, and on defense, look for the Irish pass rush to force at least one turnover.
Final Score: Notre Dame 31, UNLV 10