← Matchups

Northern Illinois

MAC · 0-2 · power -0.1 · #185
Our numberUNLV -9.6 no book has priced this game

UNLV

MWC · 1-2 (1-0 MWC) · power +10.0 · #85
Our side
MoneylineUNLV to win ours 77%
Projected score 19–29 NIU – UNLV
2026-10-31 · 10:30 PM Allegiant Stadium · Las Vegas, NV Indoors Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series Northern Illinois lead 5–0 · 5 meetings since 1987
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge Northern Illinois Huskies 100 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #133 rush offense UNLV Rebels #233 run defense
Pass game edge UNLV Rebels 86 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #232 pass offense UNLV Rebels #146 pass defense
Run game edge UNLV Rebels 147 ranks
UNLV Rebels #20 rush offense Northern Illinois Huskies #167 run defense
Pass game even 3 ranks apart
UNLV Rebels #50 pass offense Northern Illinois Huskies #47 pass defense
Northern Illinois Huskies Run-heavy · 71% run Ball-control UNLV Rebels Balanced · 52% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 48 rush ypg
Thomas Hammock · 35-47 Dan Mullen · 67-34 · offense-minded

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Northern Illinois Huskies
LB Jashawn Nelson 19 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL #47 LB
DB Avery Jones 11 tkl #136 DB
LB Jack Murray 18 tkl · 0.5 TFL #108 LB
DB Andruw Ellis 1 tkl · 1 INT #204 DB
UNLV Rebels
DB Tre Fulton 21 tkl · 1 PD #28 DB
DB Jake Pope 23 tkl · 1 PD #62 DB
RB Jai'Den Thomas 224 rush yds · 1 TD · 7 rec #69 RB
DB Denver Harris 10 tkl · 2 PD #212 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Northern Illinois HuskiesMAC -0.1 -4.2 +4.1 #185
UNLV RebelsMWC +10.0 +1.9 +8.1 #85

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Northern Illinois offense vs UNLV defense-12.3 pts
UNLV offense vs Northern Illinois defense-2.2 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 1,467 mi
Altitude · context only397 m higher than the visitor's home elevation
Rest · context onlyHome team on 7 more days rest

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.