Rebels thrust into streak-buster role once again

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

To hear UNLV coach John Robinson tell it, the Rebels' stunning 34-13 upset of Air Force last Saturday is just a small stepping stone on the path he'd like his team to take.

"What we did Saturday night is open the door a little bit," Robinson said. "We opened a door that had been closed. Now it's open a little and you can see a streak of light coming through. Now we have to knock that damn door off its hinge. That's what our challenge is."

And blocking that door this week is a cannon. ... the Fremont Cannon.

The Rebels (2-2), who have snapped a handful of long losing streaks since Robinson took over in 1999, still have one big one left to break.

UNLV has lost five straight to in-state rival Nevada-Reno (1-3) and 10 of the last 11 meetings in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. They'll try to put an end that ugly streak on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"This is a huge game as always," senior offensive tackle John Greer said. "The pressure is mounting. I've never beaten them and this is my last chance. I want to be able to paint that cannon."

Senior safety Randy Black has other ideas.

"I want to ride that cannon afterwards," he said with a smile.

The Rebels will have to stop one of the west coast's top quarterbacks, junior David Neill, to do it.

Although he has already been sacked 26 times, including 12 times in one half against TCU, and doesn't have much of a running game to keep the defenses honest, the 6-5 Neill has still managed to throw for 757 yards and four touchdowns. He threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another two years ago at Sam Boyd Stadium when he led the Wolf Pack to a 31-20 win.

"They've got a good passer who can run," Robinson said. "They're the kind of team that if they're hot, they're hot. And that concerns us."

Robinson said he'd also like to end the losing streak "so I don't have to keep answering questions about it anymore."

He also wants to widen that door of his a little more.

"Once you get that door open, things begin to come through that door faster," Robinson said. "A chance to be on TV again (next week at Colorado State). That's good. A chance to be in a bowl game. A chance to win a conference championship. That's all good stuff. But none of it's there yet. You have to go out and get it."

The game, which will be played on Dec. 31 at 30,000-seat Spartan Stadium in San Jose, pays each team $750,000 and will be shown nationally on Fox Sports Net. Teams will be required to purchase 5,000 tickets as part of the agreement.

The Silicon Valley Football Classic gets third choice of Mountain West teams after the Liberty Bowl and the Las Vegas Bowl. The Western Athletic Conference will provide the other team.

"Last year we had tri-champs and we felt it was imperative that if we had tri-champs again, we'd have a place for all three teams to go," Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson said.

Meanwhile, CBS Sportsline, which already is making bowl game predictions that it updates each week on its website, is predicting that UNLV will play Fresno State in the game.

One problem. If the Rebels are bowl eligible, they'll never slip past the Las Vegas Bowl.

Greer took part in several drills at Thursday's practice and walked off the field with a large smile.

"It's feeling great," Greer said. "I'm really excited. I actually hoped it would feel this good on Thursday. I still have two more days to recover. It's not going to be 100%, but it's pretty close. ... I'm glad I'll be able to play in this game because its a very, very exciting game."

Greer was asked if he would have sat out the game Saturday night if the Rebels were playing a team other than their arch-rivals from Reno.

"No," he said. "Reno is that extra special, but I feel good enough to play in any game. I feel that good."

Greer will wear a knee brace and an ankle support in the contest.

Wide receiver Troy Mason, who will be trying for his third straight 100-yard receiving game, also practiced on Thursday and is expected to start.