UNLV @ Texas Christian preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2010 ) Texas Christian 48, UNLV 6

THE STORY: Before the season, the Mountain West Conference was considered Boise State’s to lose, but with a victory on Saturday over UNLV, No. 17 TCU will clinch its third consecutive conference title. The Horned Frogs have won six in a row since a loss in overtime to SMU, including a 36-35 victory at Boise State that put them in the driver’s seat in the Mountain West. UNLV has lost four in a row, seven of its last eight, and hasn’t beaten TCU since 1997. Since the two teams became Mountain West rivals in 2005, the Rebels haven’t scored more than 14 points in any of their six losses to the Horned Frogs.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, Versus Line: TCU -38.5

ABOUT UNLV (2-9, 1-5 Mountain West): Since a 38-35 home win over Colorado State on Oct. 29, the Rebels have dropped four straight, three of which have come by at least 17 points. In UNLV hopes to avoid a similar fate against TCU, it will have to improve an offense that ranks 114th in the country in yards (284) and 113th in scoring (18). Freshman running back Dionza Bradford has been one of the few bright spots in the back half of the season, rushing for more than 100 yards on three occasions to tie the UNLV freshman record.

ABOUT TCU (9-2, 6-0 Mountain West): No team has been more dominant in recent years in the Mountain West than the Horned Frogs, who have won a record 23 straight league games after their 34-10 blowout of Colorado State two weeks ago. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for coach Gary Patterson and TCU, but another victory would give him his sixth double-digit win season in the last seven years. Sophomore quarterback Casey Pachall has made tremendous strides in his first year as the starter, ranking seventh nationally with a 163.6 efficiency rating.

EXTRA POINTS:

1. TCU leads this all-time series 8-1, including a 4-0 mark in Fort Worth.

2. The Horned Frogs are second nationally in kickoff returns, averaging 27.3 yards.

3. UNLV has lost 15 consecutive road games dating back to 2009.

PREDICTION: TCU 45, UNLV 14. The Horned Frogs shouldn’t have any trouble clinching their third consecutive outright Mountain West title.