After fooling around for a couple of decades on rolls of the dice with career assistants, Big Sky coaches, and even hires from the high school ranks, UNLV finally decided to get serious with its latest coaching selection and inked a legit a name with some real credentials. Indeed, Barry Odom checks a lot of boxes, having served not too unsuccessfully in the SEC as the head coach at Missouri, preceding a stint the past three seasons as Sam Pittman's defensive coordinator at Arkansas, a role in which he had previously served with some distinction at Memphis. All Odom lacks is past experience west of Fayetteville, but that hardly proved a help to predecessors Mike Sanford, Bobby Hauck, Tony Sanchez, or Marcus Arroyo, the latter dismissed after yet another losing campaign for the Rebels a year ago, while in the process alienating almost everyone in the athletic department and fan base.  

That's not expected to be a problem for Odom, who has spent most of the last decade dealing with the SEC and its accompanying demands. Indeed, Odom might think he has landed in a sort of paradise away from that type of microscope without even having to bother to check into one of those luxurious hotels on the Las Vegas strip... 

Bruce Marshall's full breakdown of UNLV's 2023 outlook, which includes how he's playing their win total, can be found below as part of SportsLine's preview of the Mountain West season.

Mountain West preview: Conference winner | Air Force | Boise State | Colorado State | Fresno State | Hawaii | Nevada | New Mexico | San Diego State | San Jose State | UNLV | Utah State | Wyoming

2023 UNLV at a glance

• Last Year: 5-7 SU, 7-5 ATS, 5-6-1 O/U
• Returning starters: Offense 6; Defense 6
• Win total: 6 (Over +115, Under -115)

What do you need to know about UNLV before locking in your Mountain West futures bets? And which side of their win total makes for the best play? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Mountain West futures betting strategy from a veteran college football expert!