The UNLV Rebels (10-3) and Ohio Bobcats (8-4) are set to face off in the 2025 rendition of the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Tuesday. The Mountain West vs. MAC showdown will kick off at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Rebels are 6.5-point favorites down in Frisco, Texas, with -265 Moneyline odds, and the total has been set at O/U 64.5 points. Here is a preview of the bowl game featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
UNLV vs. Ohio Preview, Prediction
UNLV Preview
The Rebels came out of the gate on fire, upsetting UCLA after notching early wins over Idaho State and Sam Houston. UNLV added additional road wins over Miami (OH) and Wyoming before besting Air Force back in Vegas. Back-to-back losses at Boise State and versus New Mexico sunk the Rebels’ chances at sneaking into the College Football Playoff, but they finished the regular season with four straight wins over Utah State, Colorado State, Hawaii and Nevada. Boise State came out on top in the Mountain West title game to snap UNLV’s winning streak heading into bowl season, though.
Dan Mullen’s offense ranks No. 15 in the country with 35.9 points per game, led by quarterback Anthony Colandrea. The Virginia transfer led the Mountain West with 3,275 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns and a 152.7 passer rating while throwing just eight interceptions. The Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year also rushed for 621 yards and nine touchdowns. Junior Jai’Den Thomas, meanwhile, was the Rebels’ leading rusher. He racked up 1,206 yards and 13 touchdowns from scrimmage. And although Jaden Bradley paced the team with 869 yards and 54 catches, Daejon Reynolds and Troy Omeire each cleared 30 catches, 470 yards and five touchdowns, as well.
UNLV ranks No. 94 in the country, allowing 28.8 points per game, thanks in large part to its bottom-20 passing defense. Senior linebacker Marsel McDuffie still made the All-Mountain West Second Team with his 103 tackles, right alongside cornerback Aamaris Brown.
Tuesday will mark UNLV’s third straight bowl appearance after reaching the postseason just once in the previous 22 years. The Rebels have not been to the Frisco Bowl since the game started in 2017, but the Mountain West is 2-2 when the conference sends a representative.
Ohio Preview
The Bobcats fired coach Brian Smith for cause last week after the 45-year-old was reportedly engaging in extramarital affairs and inappropriate alcohol-related conduct. Ohio has promoted defensive coordinator John Hauser to interim head coach for the Frisco Bowl.
To open his first full season at the helm, Smith’s Bobcats lost by three at Rutgers, then beat West Virginia 17-10. A blowout loss to No. 1 Ohio State sent Ohio back under .500, but the team went 7-2 from then on. Their only losses over that stretch came by six points at Ball State and by four points at Western Michigan. The Bobcats bested Gardner-Webb, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), UMass and Buffalo.
Ohio has one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the country in Parker Navarro, who started his college days at UCF back in 2020. He made his second straight All-MAC Second Team in 2025 after throwing for 2,232 yards, 14 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 135.7 passer rating and rushing for 839 yards and eight touchdowns. He had plenty of help in the backfield, too, since running back Sieh Bangura led the MAC with 1,243 yards and 14 touchdowns of his own. Wide receiver Chase Hendricks is sitting at 67 receptions, 950 yards and seven touchdowns, while no other Bobcats pass-catcher has more than 27, 388 or three.
The Bobcats rank No. 60 with 28.7 points per game and No. 50 with 22.9 points allowed per game. Defensive lineman Jay Crable made the All-MAC Second Team with 6.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss, while cornerback Tank Pearson made the All-MAC Third Team with two interceptions and 12 passes defended.
UNLV vs. Ohio Pick, Best Bet
Looking at their respective results against their one common opponent, UNLV beat Miami (OH) 41-38 on the road while Ohio beat the same RedHawks squad 24-20 at home. It’s hard to gleam much from that other than the fact that the Rebels are superior offensively and the Bobcats are superior defensively, which is pretty evident at any level of analysis. Ohio has held eight straight opponents under 27 points, while UNLV had scored at least 29 in every game prior to the Mountain West Championship.
Ohio could be at an even steeper disadvantage on offense, though, since Smith handled play-calling duties for the past two seasons. So while Navarro and Bangura made for one of the best rushing duos in the country this season, the mind behind their success is no longer on the sidelines. On the other side of the ball, Dan Mullen has proven to be a sharp enough offensive strategist to score against basically anyone with an elite mobile QB of his own.
UNLV went 5-2 away from home this year with a 7-point average margin of victory, and both of those losses came at Boise State. Ohio, on the other hand, went 2-4 with a 4.8-point average margin of defeat away from home. Heading down to Texas with the program under so much scrutiny just cannot be good for a team that already wasn’t great away from Ohio, so the Bobcats’ biggest loss of the season could be in the cards.
