Rebels look to homer against Falcons

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 11, 1998 | 9:22 a.m.

With McGwiremania sweeping the nation, it seemed only natural that UNLV head football coach Jeff Horton would pull out a few baseball analogies for his team this week after they struck out in their season-opener at Northwestern.

"We talked about (Sammy) Sosa and (Mark) McGwire," Horton said. "Sometimes they go out and don't get a hit, but the next game they come out swinging for the home runs. That's what we've got to do. We've got to come out swinging on Saturday night."

That's when the Rebels (0-1) open Western Athletic Conference play against high-flying Air Force (1-0) at 7 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"Our goal is to be in the championship hunt and go to a bowl game," Horton said. "Those things start this week with the WAC race and Air Force."

UNLV carries a six-game losing streak into Saturday's contest dating back to an Oct. 1, 1997, victory over TCU (21-19). So a win over the Falcons would definitely be a home run for Horton and company.

Last year UNLV gave Air Force all it could handle in Colorado Springs, jumping to a 14-3 halftime lead before eventually losing a heartbreaker in the final three minutes, 25-24.

"We played them real tough, but they came out and beat us in the end," UNLV quarterback Kevin Crook said. "Hopefully, this year we can change that. I think you're going to see a different UNLV team on Saturday."

Crook said Horton talked about a lot more than McGwire and Sosa at an intense team meeting following the 41-7 loss at Northwestern.

"It wasn't pretty but it woke us up I think," Crook said. "Coach Horton is an emotional guy, you know? It wasn't so much the losing factor as that he was disappointed that we didn't play up to our ability. Everything he said was right on the money. Thank God we still have a chance to go out and redeem ourselves."

Air Force, led by quarterback Blane Morgan, comes in with a lot of momentum after scoring a surprisingly easy 42-0 win over a Wake Forest team ranked No. 22 in the nation by Sports Illustrated.

Fisher DeBerry's Falcons usually cause more than their share of problems with their option attack. The Rebels spent part of spring and fall drills preparing for the option and held Air Force to a respectable 312 yards in total offense and 250 yards rushing on 60 attempts last year.

"Against Air Force you have to be real disciplined," Rebel defensive end Talance Sawyer said. "Everybody has to play their keys because if one person messes up, they can hit a long one on us."

UNLV has eight starters back from the defense that limited the Falcons to just a field goal over the first 38 minutes a year ago.

"That helps us a bunch," defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said.

McNeill said he has no doubts his squad will bounce back from last week's 41-point outing at Northwestern.

"We'll play great the rest of the season," he said. "The Northwestern game was an awakening for us."