5 players to watch in Saturday’s UNLV-Wyoming game

Five players to watch when UNLV’s football team (3-6, 2-3 Mountain West) plays Wyoming (7-2, 5-0) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday (Root Sports) at Sam Boyd Stadium:

1. Brian Hill, RB, Wyoming:

The junior had 142 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard run, in Saturday’s 52-28 win over Utah State. He’s third in the nation in rushing with 1298 yards and tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns with 13. Hill ran for 289 yards and three touchdowns in a win over UNR this season and rushed for 232 yards and a 72-yard touchdown last season in the Cowboys’ 35-28 win over UNLV.

2. Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming:

The 6-foot-5-inch sophomore is coming off his best two outings of the season. He threw for 261 yards and a season-high four touchdown passes and ran for another score in the win over Utah State, a week after throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-28 upset win over then-No. 13 Boise State. Allen is 130-for-220 (59.1 percent) this season for 1884 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions — five of which came in a Sept. 10 loss at Nebraska.

3. Kurt Palandech, QB, UNLV:

The junior almost helped the Rebels erase a 30-10 second-half deficit in their 30-24 loss Oct. 29 at San Jose State. He threw for a score and ran for a score in relief of ineffective starter Dalton Sneed before throwing an interception from the Spartans’ 44-yard line in the final minute. Palandech is 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception this season after completing 49.3 percent of his passes (75 of 152) for nine touchdowns and five interceptions last season. The fleet-footed Palandech ran for 293 yards and four scores last season.

4. Charles Williams, RB, UNLV:

The true freshman running back is second on the team in rushing, with 601 yards, and needs to run for 24 yards Saturday to break the school’s freshman record for rushing yards in a season (624, James Wofford, 1997). Williams should get his fair share of carries after leading rusher Lexington Thomas (632 yards, eight touchdowns) suffered a high ankle sprain in UNLV’s loss at San Jose State. The Fresno, Calif., native also has 409 kick-return yards and leads the Rebels in all-purpose yards with 1018.

5. Tanner Gentry, WR, Wyoming:

The senior had four catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns against Utah State and leads the team in receptions (48), receiving yards (778) and touchdown catches (eight).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.