Kansas dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 after losing to Illinois last week in a game in which quarterback Jalon Daniels threw three interceptions.

Kansas now returns home to host UNLV on Friday night for revenge on last year’s Guaranteed Rate Bowl, a game the Jayhawks won in a shootout with nearly 1,000 yards of offense.

Can the Rebels get revenge, or will Kansas get back on track after their Week 2 loss?

Here’s our UNLV vs. Kansas preview, including a prediction and tip for the game.

UNLV vs. Kansas Odds

UNLV vs. Kansas Prediction

The last time these two teams faced each other, there were a lot of fireworks.

Quarterback Jason Bean threw for six touchdowns in a 49-36 victory for Kansas.

Of course, both teams look different now, as Bean is no longer eligible and UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava has transferred to USC.

At Kansas, Daniels is back at quarterback after playing in just 12 games over the past two seasons.

His health is paramount for a Jayhawks team that relies heavily on its offense to compete against top-tier opponents.

Besides Daniels, the team’s top three receivers (Lawrence Arnold, Quentin Skinner and Luke Grimm) and running back (Devin Neal) are the key offensive returners.

That combination of skilled position players, minus Bean, made them the ninth-highest-rated offense in the country in 2023.

While Daniels is still dealing with rust, the season has started slowly (three touchdowns, four interceptions), but he will undoubtedly make a breakthrough soon.

Until that happens, he can still count on Devin Neal, one of the best backs in the country.

Neal rushed 14 times for 101 yards against Illinois and could have a big day Friday as the Rebels ranked 78th in opposing rushing yards per game last season.

Despite losing offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to Penn State, this Jayhawks offensive team has all the ingredients to be explosive.

However, new OC Jeff Grimes came under fire for his late-game play-calling against Illinois, largely due to a lack of running plays. Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. combined for just 21 total carries (two in the fourth quarter) despite averaging nearly 7 yards per attempt for the game.

Expect that to change against UNLV, which ranked 91st in the nation last year in passing yards (171.8 yards per game).

“I have to do a better job of getting them the ball in key moments,” Grimes said this week.

Meanwhile, UNLV was rated the 13th-worst team in coverage by PFF in 2023.

However, it spent most of the offseason trying to address that problem by bringing in safeties Tony Grimes, Jalen Catalon, Jarvis Ware and Kodi DeCambra, and cornerbacks Malik Chavis and La’Vario Wiley. Grimes, Catalon and Chavis will all start in the Rebels’ revamped secondary.

UNLV vs. Kansas Pick

The Rebels remain suspect in the secondary after allowing Utah Tech to score 14 points, both on long touchdowns through the air.

And while their run defense appears to have improved (52.5 yards per game on the ground through the first two weeks), the results against Houston and FCS opponent Utah Tech have been good.

Betting on American football?

Kansas has won four of its last five home games and is now undervalued in the market after last week’s loss. While I liked the number when it was 6.5 points earlier in the week, the current 8.5 still puts the Jayhawks in perfect bounce-back position.

Pick: Kansas -8.5 (-120, BetMGM)

Why You Can Trust New York Post Betting

Andrew Norton handicaps the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC, and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved an excellent ROI of 14.1%, converting on 60% of his NBA spread picks and leading Tallysight in his SportsIQ metric.