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StumblePublished Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 | 12:45 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 | 12:51 p.m.
Editor's note: The Las Vegas Sun's new UNLV football player blogger is senior safety Alex De Giacomo, who last season registered 60 tackles for the Rebels. He is taking the place of graduated player blogger Jason Beauchamp, and his entries will appear weekly at lasvegassun.com during the 2010 season.
Last weekend's loss to Wisconsin was tough. I'd say I was a little surprised, because they just kept chipping away and getting a few yards at a time and had such a long time of possession on offense. We were really trying to fight and pick up our slack and everything as a defense. We were able to do more in the second half, but the most important thing was we just kept fighting.
I'd say the first quarter we were down a little bit because we made a couple of mistakes, they got a big drive and scored. But Will Chandler made a couple of big plays on defense and kind of picked us back up near the end of the first half. We were ready for the second half with a stronger mindset and everything.
Seeing Will step up like that was great. I was super happy for him. I was hoping he'd take that fumble recovery to the house. He ran out of gas, but he did a great job and I was proud of him. However, I had to bust his chops a little bit for not scoring. Eveyrbody did. Even his dad did it near the sidelines.
There was a visible improvement in our tackling across the board from last season. All through camp, even in the beginning of practices, we've worked on tackling pretty much every day. It was a big step forward, and we've improved a lot with it.
Obviously, the road doesn't get any easier, moving from one ranked opponent to another, with Utah on the slate for this weekend.
For me, and I know most of the guys on the team, I'm pretty fired up. We want a challenge, and it's just an opportunity to score an upset. We're just definitely hungry and trying to get a win. We're willing to take on any opponent right now.
Utah, they're a very good team — Tough and physical. They have a very balanced offense, and they even run a bit of the wildcat formation. It's something additional that we have to be ready to beat to stop their offense.
Oddly enough, it was in our loss at home to Utah last season when things started to pick up for me in terms of playing time and my production.
I had a fun time playing against them. They were tough, but I had a fun time. This game definitely has some sort of meaning to me, maybe a little more than others, because that's when I started playing well and coming into focus. It led to me finishing strong last year and everything. They're a tough team. I'm glad we play them early in the season, and it's a good challenge for us.
For the team, and for the rest of the Mountain West, facing Utah is a bit odd, though, because it could be the last time most of us play them, as they'll head to the Pac-10 next year.
I had actually forgotten about that a little bit. We haven't really won over there in their house, and they've got a good home winning streak going on, so we're trying to make a good last impression.
I'd say if anything, that factor adds a lot of motivation. Their fans will be loud and everything. I've heard a lot of good things about playing over there.
We're all hoping that those UNLV fans who came out to Sam Boyd Stadium last Saturday for the first game in a new era of Rebels football aren't discouraged. To you all, I add this:
If anything, we're in the making of a good season. One game down, OK, we lost it. If anything else, we're not going to give up. I'd just say keep the faith, and good things will come.
Talk to you again after we get back from Salt Lake City.
Great to hear from you Alex.
I wasn't expecting a miracle at the game last Friday (not that I wouldn't have loved to see one!!). I thought the defense played much better fundamental ball and didn't look lost. This season is going to be one of the roughest of recent memory just with the schedule. I'll be at Sam Boyd every game this year. Good luck in Ewwwwtah.
new coach means starting from scratch. dont expect much this year and hope for improvements little by little. keep penalties to a minimum and stay focused, things will get better.
I saw as lot to be encouraged about, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite being overmatched physically, the tackling and fundamentals were the best I've seen in years. And I love the way you guys fought hard right to the end. That's also something I'm not used to seeing. The future looks bright to me!
Nice article!! Keep up the motivation and fire your teamates up to have an excellent Senior season and keep working towards your personal and TEAM goals!! Go REBS!