Columnist Steve Carp: Saturday’s showdown a game both teams must win

Steve Carp

Friday, Oct. 1, 1999 | 10:40 a.m.

Steve Carp is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at 259-4078 or carp @ lasvegassun.com

Right now, historical perspective doesn't mean jack squat to either Jeff Tisdel or John Robinson. As far as they're concerned, let NBA commissioner David Stern wrestle with history as it relates to Nevada.

The two football coaches have to deal with the reality of the present. And the reality is Saturday's Battle for the Fremont Cannon at Mackay Stadium in Reno is about the resurrection of a season rather than bragging rights to the Silver State.

Right now, possession of the cannon won't get anyone connected with the Wolf Pack a drink at the Old Waldorf. But should Nevada-Reno keep control of the trophy late Saturday afternoon, perhaps all of Virginia Street can hoist a cold one to dear ol' alma mater.

With his team off to a sputtering 0-4 start and the prospects of 0-5 a realistic possibility, Tisdel knows there's little slack left to be cut. The fans are going to expect a win over 2-2 UNLV and the ever-critical gaze of former UNR coach and current athletic director Chris Ault is less than arm's length away.

Granted, UNR has not played a Mister Softee schedule. Colorado State, Oregon, Oregon State and Fresno State are not a bunch of chumps, especially for a team that resides in the chump-laden Big West Conference. Give the Wolf Pack the option of playing some of those Louisiana directional schools instead of the Pac-10 foes it did play and we're not having this conversation.

But the rules in Reno are the same as here in Las Vegas. You play the hand that's dealt you or you fold. To Robinson's credit, he wisely saw that fast 2-0 start by UNLV for what it was -- a win over a team it should have beaten and a lucky win over a team it didn't necessarily deserve to beat.

And with the Rebels at .500 following back-to-back thumpings, Robinson holds the party line -- that any downtrodden program will take its lumps and that the important thing is how you handle the adversity.

We'll find out Saturday just how these Rebels handle the drop down in class after failing to handle the class hike against Iowa State and Utah. If they don't handle it, it'll hurt the UNLV fans. For losing to UNR is never easy. If they do manage to leave Reno with a win and the cannon, it marks another progressive, positive step forward, which is what Robinson is looking for.

Tisdel doesn't have that luxury. There is no "grace period" in Reno. The pressure's on to win this game, if for no other reason than to stop the bleeding.

But there's a bigger picture here for the Wolf Pack. It is preparing to move to the WAC next year and if it's going to be competitive, it needs to win the games it is expected to while pulling the occasional upset.

Saturday may be one of those "barometer games." Given UNR is an 11-point favorite, the oddsmakers expect the Wolf Pack to win. But given the way it has played and the fact UNLV is more than capable of winning this game, perhaps it may be more accurate to say a UNR win would be an upset.

If you back the Pack, all you care about is finally winning a game. If you're Tisdel, you'd like to win just to get the second-guessers off your back and keep your boss from looking over your shoulder.

And if you're Robinson and all this Fremont Cannon stuff is as foreign to you as winter golf rules in Finland, you're going to bring your loose, hungry team to Reno and try to get better, perhaps stealing one in the process a la Baylor.

Add it up and it makes for a very interesting first weekend of October in the Silver State.