We head to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as Vanderbilt faces UNLV. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Vanderbilt-UNLV prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

Vanderbilt enters the game at 2-1. They started the season with a win out in Hawaii, but there was some concern. It was just a seven-point win even though the Commodores were heavily favored. The next week they won again, taking out Alabama A&M 47-13. Last week it was a trip to Wake Forest. They were holding in the game for much of it. Vanderbilt was down just 17-14 in the second quarter when Brendon Harris took a fumble 31 yards for the score and put Vanderbilt down ten. They never fully recovered from that and would fall 36-20.

Meanwhile, UNLV is 1-1 on the year. UNLV started the Barry Odom era with a big win over Bryant. The fireworks started just seconds into the game. On the first offensive play from scrimmage, UNLV's Vincent Davis ran 69 yards for a touchdown. UNLV would add another ten points in the first quarter to give them a 17-0 lead in the game. Bryant tried to hold the ball a lot for the second quarter, but UNLV would still score on a 19-yard run from Doug Brumfield as time expired in the half. In the second half, UNLV would add two more touchdowns and a field goal, as they defeated Bryan 44-14. The next week did not go so well. They were beaten soundly by Michigan. UNLV would not score until the fourth quarter, and lose in that game 35-7.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Vanderbilt-UNLV Odds

Vanderbilt: -4.5 (-110)

UNVL: +4.5 (-110)

Over: 57.5 (-115)

Under: 57.5 (-105)

How to Watch Vanderbilt vs. UNLV

TV: CBSSN

Stream: CBS Sports App

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Vanderbilt Will Cover The Spread

For Vanderbilt to cover, AJ Swann will need to play well. He has been doing that for the most part this year. On the season he is 6-98 passing for 766 yards with eight touchdowns. He has made ten big-time throws according to PFF, which are graded on long depth and great accuracy. Still, there are some concerns he needs to take care of. This year, he has thrown three interceptions and five turnover-worthy passes. Swann needs to take care of the ball for this offense to be effective. Moreover, he needs protection. He has been pressured 28 times on 105 dropbacks this year, leading to six sacks. He also needs some help from wide receivers. They have five drops already this year.

The receiving core is led by Will Sheppard. This year he has 20 receptions on 29 targets for 217 yards and six touchdowns. He has been reliable for the most part, but he does have three drops this year, while also having a fumble. The best part about his game has been the contested catches. This year he has gone up for seven contested balls and come down with five of them. Vanderbilt also would like Jayden McGowan to have a repeat of last week. He took in six of seven targets while coming away with 72 yards. Impressively, 47 of those yards came after the catch.

Vanderbilt also needs to hone in on a poor passing offense from UNLV. To do that, they need to get pressured on the quarterback. Last week, they had just nine pressures on the quarterback, coming away with two dacks. CJ Taylor led the way from his safety position. He got pressure on the quarterback twice, coming away with a sack each time. They also need to do better in coverage. The top two corner for Vanderbilt allowed five of seven targets to be caught and two touchdowns. They did not have an interception but did have one pass breakup. If they can step up in this game, Vanderbilt will cover with ease.

Why UNLV Will Cover The Spread

For UNLV, Doug Brumfield needs to be better. He has struggled so far this year. On the season he is 21-37 with 186 passing yards. He has not thrown a touchdown yet this year and has thrown an interception. Further, he has two more turnover-worthy passes. Brumfield has been protected fairly well too, but is not getting away from pressure. He has been pressured just 11 times this year on 49 dropbacks. Still, he has been sacked six times, including five times last time out. The receiving core has not helped him out much either. They have dropped four passes in two games.

UNLV will also need a good ground game. Vincent Davis has been solid this year for UNLV but is not getting enough carries. So far this year he has just nine carries for 104 yards with a touchdown. He has made some long runs this year and breaks away from defenders with ease. Jai'den Thomas has also been solid in his limited action. He has 61 yards on 13 carries, but the yards be-carry average is heavily affected by UNLV struggling to block Michigan. Thomas has two touchdowns on the year and has also forced five missed tackles.

UNLV also needs to get to the quarterback. In the first game, the defense had 19 quarterback pressures, and while they hit the quarterback seven times, they came away with just one sack. The issue is that five of the pressures came from the slot corner Jerrae Williams on disguised blitzes. That did not work against Michigan, and will not work against Vanderbilt either. Further, they need to be sure in their tackling. They did better last week. After missing ten tackles in their week one game, they missed just five against Michigan. Still, many of those were in the second half, as UNLV still had starters in and Michigan had moved to backups.

Final Vanderbilt-UNLV Prediction & Pick

In this game, UNLV is going to have to find a way to score. They struggled in their first game against an FCS opponent and then could not move the ball at all against Michigan until they had third-string guys in. Vanderbilt has a solid defense and it could be tough sledding again. Further, UNLV needs to slow down Vanderbilt. That will not be happening in this game. Take Vanderbilt and lay the points.

Final Vanderbilt-UNLV Prediction & Pick: Vanderbilt -4.5 (-110)