Columnist Dean Juipe: Robinson needs time, patience

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1999 | 11:56 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

Vultures have their eye on the UNLV football team's exposed carcass.

It's there for the picking. The Rebels have lost three straight, the schedule isn't getting any easier and it's clear coach John Robinson's preseason goal of six 1999 victories was a wildly optimistic dream.

None of this, however, is totally unexpected.

Three wins, or maybe four, figured to be a more realistic appraisal for the disheveled program Robinson inherited. Now, at 2-3 and coming off a poor performance at Nevada-Reno, the Rebels can feel the presence of circling predators.

Their fair-weather fans have already bolted and UNLV is a 25-point underdog for Saturday's game at Wyoming.

Last week it didn't seem right to be an 11-point underdog at Reno, and, in fact, a man who makes his living crunching football stats called it "a bad number." He liked UNLV by 7.

Silly boy.

"I'm a little shaken that we've lost three in a row," Robinson admitted before a Monday luncheon crowd at Sam's Town. "It's disturbing. I'm a little mystified."

Yet, in truth, he's not really surprised. Or overly concerned.

He knew -- and said privately -- that this season was apt to have more downs than ups. Those two victories to open the season -- over weaklings North Texas and Baylor -- merely disguised how long the road to complete recovery figures to be.

An associate of the coach says Robinson really only has 35 quality players on his roster, but that he's hoping to add 20 a year for the next couple of years. Then, and only then, will the Rebels truly be competitive.

As for the here and now, UNLV looked awful at Reno and it's difficult to envision a victory over any team left on the schedule aside from Oct. 30 at New Mexico.

That reality has Robinson talking about "long-term focus" and trying to glean something positive from the six games that remain to be played this season.

"If we could make a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, we'd bring a couple guys in," he said in a humorous attempt to underscore that he is doing the best with what he has before him. What he has is a team with several weaknesses -- UNLV is 2-22 on pass attempts covering 20 or more yards -- and one that might be inclined to pack it in, if the coaches did the same.

"The Reno game almost had a nightmarish quality to it," Robinson said. "It was similar to the previous two games. All of those games were almost out of reach by halftime and that's three weeks in a row and it's something that has to stop."

He can't will it to stop, however.

And while it's apparent he has some players stashed -- everyone agrees scout team quarterback Jason Thomas will be terrific when he becomes eligible next season -- the short-term prognosis for the Rebels isn't very good. The trick for both players and fans is to see past the current struggles and buy into the notion Robinson will eventually turn the program around.

"There's a realization that this is going to take some time," Robinson said of his team staggering toward some distant oasis. "But despite a temporary lack of success ... we will ultimately have success."

Until then, expect a few more losses under the premise that patience will someday be rewarded.