Rebels looking to pull off upset

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 4, 1998 | 10:10 a.m.

Jeff Horton has heard all the naysayers.

He knows that expectations for his 1998 UNLV football team, minus star quarterback Jon Denton, are low. Make that very low. Sports Illustrated recently rated the Rebels No. 98 out of 112 NCAA Division 1-A football programs.

But if Horton has any doubts about whether his struggling program can be turned around, all he has to do is look across Ryan Field during Saturday morning's season-opener at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.

It wasn't too long ago that Northwestern was the laughingstock of college football. The only poll it usually topped was The Bottom Ten. Three times during the 1980s the "Mildcats" finished with an 0-11 record.

Enter Gary Barnett. In four years, the former University of Colorado assistant took a school that hadn't had a winning season in 20 years all the way to the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth. A year later, the Wildcats repeated as Big Ten champions and went to another New Year's Day bowl, the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Yes, it can be done.

Barnett, asked earlier this week what the keys were to Northwestern's turnaround and what a program like UNLV might need to do to straighten things out, joked, "That's about a four-hour interview.

"I have no idea about UNLV's situation," Barnett continued. "I don't think you can say that what one program needs is what another program needs. I think we're all individual and we all have different problems. ... Most people think you can take the same game plan from one place to the other. I don't think that's true.

"I think the number one thing the coach and his coaching staff have to display is a high level of honesty and an interest in the players. And (the players) have to feel that. I think that's critical. I don't think the first two years we were here the majority of the players trusted me or what we were trying to get done."

That changed, however, as Barnett recruited more of his own players.

"Gary Barnett is kind of the role model for struggling programs," Horton said. "After talking with him and reading his book, it sounds like he kind of went through a lot of the same things we have. Nobody gave them a chance and they slowly got better each year. The they put it all together and showed everybody how it can be done."

Now Horton is hoping it's UNLV's turn.

A win Saturday would be the kind that Horton and company could build upon for a long time.

"It would be one of the greatest wins in school history," Horton said after the team's final practice at muggy Rebel Park on Thursday afternoon. "It would definitely be big in the realm of what we're trying to accomplish here."

Actually, after losing their final five games of 1997 and compiling just six victories in the past three seasons, any win wouldn't be bad.

"We're ready to go," Horton said. "I think we're mentally sharp. I think we're in good shape, which I think could help us in the second half."

REBEL NOTES: Following a two-hour practice at Rebel Park Thursday afternoon, the Rebels flew to Chicago and were scheduled to work out for an hour this afternoon at Ryan Field. ... UNLC coach Horton said 60 players made the trip including three true freshmen: linebacker Bill Cofer of Reno's McQueen High, linebacker La'anui Correa of St. Louis High of Honolulu, and running back Joe Haro of Clifton, N.J. All three are expected to see action on special teams. ... Speaking of St. Louis High, the Crusaders practiced at Rebel Park following UNLV's workout in preparation for their Saturday night contest with Green Valley at Sam Boyd Stadium. Four Rebels --- Correa, sophomore defensive back Kawika Batoon, linebacker James Sunia and defensive lineman Faaolo Alovao -- got to spend some time with their old prep teammates and coaching staff. ... UNLV is 16-14 (.534) in season openers but just 3-9 (.250) in road openers. ... Northwestern is only the second Big Ten team to play the Rebels. The other, Wisconsin, will host UNLV again in two weeks. ... Northwestern is scheduled to open the 2001 season at Sam Boyd Stadium. ... Wildcat fullback Matt Hartl, a major force in Northwestern's 1995 Rose Bowl season, was recently elected a team captain despite the fact he will miss the season while undergoing chemotherapy to fight Hodgkin's disease. It's his second bout with Hodgkin's. ... Wildcat middle linebacker Barry Gardner led the Big Ten in tackles (174) last season. ... Northwestern's last 10 games at Ryan Field have been decided by six points or less.