Columnist Dean Juipe: Robinson calms UNLV fans’ fears

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 1999 | 10 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.

It was a test of sorts.

Two days after a one-sided loss, UNLV head football coach John Robinson was back on public display and speaking to a luncheon gathering at the Palace Station. Would he, or could he, be his usual witty and provocative self in the aftermath of a 24-0 drubbing at the hands of Iowa State? Or would the pall that came over Boyd Stadium extend into the following week and perhaps signal the bloom falling from the rose that Robinson and his Rebels had enjoyed when they were 2-0?

As Oscar De La Hoya also found out Saturday night, it's tough staying undefeated. But unlike the former welterweight world champion, Robinson not only accepted the defeat but bounced back with vigor.

Acing his Monday exam, Robinson was almost soothing in specifying the reasons for the loss and in complete command as an overflow crowd looked on in something approaching awe.

He was that good.

And, however unintentional on his part, those on hand were reassured that the Rebels -- in spite of their many faults and shortcomings -- could not possibly be in better hands.

UNLV hosts 2-0 Utah this Saturday and another loss could be forthcoming and, perhaps, many more will follow. Yet there is a tangible feeling of hope that the program is, at last, headed in the right direction and the person almost solely responsible for that aura is the head coach himself.

"I'm going to talk to you as I pretty much talked to the team," Robinson said before mixing informative insights with catchy anecdotes to paint a picture of a team that was once giddy with its success but has since been slapped back to reality. "I don't think we're heartbroken or discouraged or saying 'There goes everything.' But we had some wide-eyed stares on the sidelines." Apparently the Rebels either overestimated themselves or underestimated the Cyclones and it didn't take long to realize it was a costly error in judgment.

"We weren't quite ready," Robinson said. "They punched us in the mouth first and I think we had some kids panic. (Iowa State) was a bigger, better, faster team than we expected. We spent the night trying to get up from a first-round knockdown."

While spreading the blame and certainly including himself -- "too many distractions during the week" -- Robinson isolated the offensive line as an area of concern. As always, he was blunt in his assessment.

"We aspire to have the kind of offensive line Iowa State has," he said. "They were dirty, mean and nasty SOBs. They held and they used all kinds of tricks.

"Do any of you know any degenerates we could recruit?"

The faithful laughed at that line and several others, expunging whatever was left of the subdued atmosphere that was apparent when the luncheon began. In a masterful performance, Robinson took another step in gaining the community's trust by once again laying his cards on the table.

"This thing is going to be tough and this league is going to be tough," he said of reversing the Rebels' (mis)fortunes. "We got caught up in some things last week because it was our first home game and because we were 2-0. Heck, some of our guys had never been 1-0. I'd like to think we've learned some lessons."

With a renewed enthusiasm, class was dismissed.