After another loss, tension among players boils over

Steve Addy

Monday, Oct. 22, 2001 | 9:27 a.m.

So much for the Rebels sweeping their final seven games.

Instead of rolling a seven, their tenuous season is in danger of being royally flushed.

To prevent that, the Rebels must quickly leave behind the frustration of Saturday's 26-24 home loss to Colorado State and win their final four games to compile the required six victories for bowl eligibility.

But that's going to take better execution and composure than UNLV mustered against the Rams, as well as a concerted effort to fix any splintering among the Rebels' ranks. There were signs of discord after Saturday's pratfall.

Among many players and head coach John Robinson, there was brave talk about circling the wagons and staying together. But quarterback Jason Thomas was upset about a dropped pass by Bobby Nero with 20 seconds left that cost the Rebels one last chance to win.

On first down from UNLV's 25, Thomas launched a 60-yard pass to Nero, who had emerged from double coverage. The ball went through Nero's arms, clanged off his knee and bounced away as he fell to the ground.

Two plays later, Thomas was sacked and time expired.

"We need people out there to make plays," Thomas said of Nero's drop. "The play could've been made."

Robinson was upset by Thomas' statement, saying on his TV show Sunday, "He's got no right to point the finger at anyone else."

Thomas had an uneven game, rushing for 87 yards but completing only 8-of-21 passes for 173. One of his hook-ups was a 60-yarder to Nero in the second quarter, leading to a field goal. It was the Rebels' longest pass play all season.

But Nero's drop at the end was merely the last of several costly gaffes by the Rebels, dropping them to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West heading into Saturday's game at Wyoming (2-5, 0-4).

While UNLV showed grit in rallying from a 10-0 deficit for a 17-16 lead, the Rebels didn't have enough mulligans to negate four lost fumbles, ill-time penalties, their now-customary assortment of drops and their defense's susceptibility to trick plays.

Dominique Dorsey fumbled twice, and Thomas and punter Gary Cook also lost fumbles. Earvin Johnson dropped a likely touchdown in the first quarter, despite a pass interference call against CSU, and Troy Mason and DeJhown Mandley dropped catchable balls.

Above all, two option passes by Rams running back Henri Childs and a reverse for a TD led to the Rebels' undoing. They could've overcome their other mistakes if not for those defensive lapses.

Childs threw a second-quarter option pass to quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt, who went 56 yards for a score, and a 27-yard pass to tight end Joel Dreesen in the fourth quarter. The latter immediately preceded the clinching TD, a nine-yard reverse run by Chris Pittman.

"The first one was a surprise," Robinson said. "On the second (pass), we read run. It was a good play on their part."

But Robinson expressed annoyance at the reappearance of mistakes the Rebels seemed to have reduced in wins over Nevada-Reno and San Diego State.

"We are not playing well in crucial areas," he said. "That's not acceptable at this point in the year. There's a just-miss quality about our team that's very frustrating. We better face it in a tough manner."

Three weeks after declaring that the Rebels would win their final seven games, Robinson declined to offer a revised prediction.

"I don't have a quote," he said. "But we'll be up to the challenge of the rest of the season."

The appearance of Wyoming on the schedule is usually a guaranteed confidence booster. The Cowboys were pounded by Utah 35-0 Saturday, suffering their 11th straight MWC loss since 1999.

"My guess is he's down for a while," Robinson said. ...

Fullback Stephen Costa was limited by a sprained toe and his status will be evaluated during the week. Tackle Brandon Bair suffered a thigh bruise and is listed as questionable.