Vanderbilt football vs. UNLV: Score prediction, scouting report in Week 3

Vanderbilt football heads west to face UNLV, its third straight season with a West Coast road trip.

The prior two were successful, as the Commodores won at Colorado State in 2021 and at Hawaii in 2022.

But Vanderbilt (2-1) also has some less pretty history with the Rebels, losing the home half of the home-and-home series 34-10 in 2019.

The Commodores will need to play a cleaner game than they did in a loss to Wake Forest in Week 2 in which they had three turnovers.

UNLV (1-1) has played two games, defeating FCS Bryant and losing at Michigan, prior to the matchup Saturday (6 p.m. CT, CBS Sports Network).

Here's what to expect from the matchup:

Run-heavy offense

UNLV likes to lean on its run game and can provide several different looks, including some unbalanced personnel, two-running back sets, read-options and a dual-threat quarterback. In its first two games, 55% of its plays have been runs.

Despite that, the passing game has been slightly more successful, with an average of 5.88 yards per play, compared to 4.6 yards per play when rushing. The Rebels have a strong preference to run in the red zone, though, as all six touchdowns have come on the ground.

Two quarterbacks

UNLV's starting quarterback is Doug Brumfield, but his backup, Jayden Maiava, also has seen time and led a touchdown drive against Michigan.

Brumfield is 21-for-37 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. Maiava has gone 9-for-13.

Shorthanded secondary?

Vanderbilt may end up shorthanded in the secondary this week, as second-string safety Savion Riley is out and starting corner BJ Anderson is questionable.

Although Anderson has struggled at times, it still would be a significant hit to the Commodores' depth in the secondary if he is not available, especially with Riley out. In that scenario, Trudell Berry likely would see the majority of snaps in place of Anderson.

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Score prediction

Vanderbilt 35, UNLV 21: Vanderbilt is simply the more talented team and that will win out in the end.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football vs. UNLV: Score prediction, scouting report