Columnist Steve Guiremand: Rebels face brutal schedule

Steve Guiremand

Monday, March 26, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. Reach him at 259-2324 or steveg@lasvegassun.com. Regular columnist Dean Juipe has the day off.

With March Madness in full bloom, major league baseball just around the corner and UNLV's never-ending search for a new men's basketball coach still dragging along, it would be easy for the average sports fan to overlook another major happening in town this past week:

The start of spring football practice for John Robinson's defending Las Vegas Bowl champion Rebels.

OK, I know spring practice is usually a real ho-hum affair.

But this could be the most important spring practice of the three-year Robinson era at Rebel Park.

Why? Just take a look at UNLV's 2001 schedule.

The Rebels open the season Sept. 1 at perennial SEC power Arkansas. And you can bet that the Hogs, who no doubt were a tad cocky before getting embarrassed 31-14 by UNLV in the Las Vegas Bowl, haven't been this geared up for an opener since the last time a Ned Beatty Film Festival hit town.

Just six days later, UNLV must bounce back and host a rested Northwestern squad that will once again contend for the Big Ten title and has the kind of spread offensive attack that can make even the most talented defense look silly.

The following week the Rebels host Colorado State in what could ultimately be the Mountain West Conference title-decider. Then it's on to Tucson for a game against Pac-10 heavyweight Arizona before returning home to battle a BYU team the Rebels have not defeated in two decades.

You're no doubt probably sick of hearing the Billy Packers of the world use the phrase "survive and advance" when it comes to NCAA basketball tournament action. But that might not be such a bad motto for Robinson's squad in 2001.

It could have been worse. The folks at the Mountain West Conference who decided to plug Colorado State and BYU into UNLV's already overwhelming September schedule originally wanted the Rebels to play Northwestern on Thursday night, just five days after UNLV flies home from Little Rock.

When it comes to scheduling, the folks at the MWC obviously rely on their wallets more than their brains. All one has to do is look back at last season, when BYU coach LaVell Edwards took it in the shorts for the "good" of the conference.

With ABC games at defending national champ Florida State and Virginia already on the Cougars' slate the first two weeks of the season, and other big nonconference games against Mississippi State and Syracuse also on their slate before the end of September, BYU was rewarded by the MWC folks with an early-season road trip to Air Force in Week 3.

As a result, Edwards' team got off to a 1-3 start and suffered a number of key injuries to its battered starters. The Cougars never recovered.

One big advantage that Robinson & Co. have over last fall's BYU team is a veteran -- and finally healthy -- starting quarterback returning in Jason Thomas. What they don't have is a proven starting tailback or a go-to wide receiver or sure-bet starters to replace defensive leaders Randy Black and Amar Brisco in the secondary.

That's where spring practice comes into play. When the final day rolls around on April 14, Robinson & Co. better have those holes filled.

If not, it could be a long season.

Just ask LaVell Edwards.