October 16, 2026 - 4:44 pm

Following a 13-7 nail-biter against the North Dakota State Bison, in which the UNLV Rebels handed the Mountain West Conference newcomer a first loss of the season, the Scarlet and Gray will hit the road to take on the Air Force Falcons.

The Rebels remain undefeated in conference play entering their third league test of the season and have allowed 13 points across eight quarters against Mountain West competition.

The last time these two programs met in Colorado Springs was in November 2023, when the Rebels took home a 31-27 win to send UNLV to its first Mountain West Championship game in program history.

UNLV 4-2, 2-0 (MW); Air Force 4-1, 2-1 (MW)

Saturday

12:30 p.m. PT

Falcon Stadium

CBS Sports Network

ESPN 1100 AM and 100.9 FM

What’s at stake?

Conference standing

The Rebels Week 6 victory moved UNLV into first place in the Mountain West standings, but a loss to the Falcons could drop the Rebels to as low as third place.

A win, however, would extend UNLV’s lead over the rest of the conference and strengthen its position in the race for a Mountain West Championship appearance.

Defensive consistency

The Rebels’ defense was crucial in UNLV’s win over NDSU, recording three interceptions, six tackles for loss and two sacks while coming up with two fourth-down stops.

The last time the Rebels’ defense put together a similarly strong performance was against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, when UNLV earned a 21-6 win on the islands. However, the Rebels followed that performance with a 44-6 loss to North Texas the following week a result they wish to avoid in Week 7.

Home-field advantage

The Falcons have played three games in front of their home crowd this season, coming away with two wins. Their only home loss came against North Dakota State in a one-score game. While UNLV won the last meeting between the programs in Colorado in 2023, the Rebels have historically struggled on the road against Air Force.

UNLV has lost nine of its 12 meetings against the Falcons on the road dating back to 1997, and that home-field success extends beyond the Rebels as Air Force holds a 255-142-3 record at Falcon Stadium since the venue opened in 1962.

Post-Szarka test

Falcons starting quarterback Liam Szarka, who last season recorded 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns, along with 175 passing yards and another touchdown against UNLV, was ruled out for the remainder of the season with an injury sustained during Air Force’s Week 5 matchup against Navy.

In his absence, Air Force turned to sophomore Evan Medders and senior Kemper Hodges against the Northern Illinois Huskies, earning a 28-7 victory without completing a pass. It reamins to be seen if that same gameplan will be implemented against the Rebels come Saturday.