Rebels’ Thomas has some catching up to do

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 7, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

WHO: Rebels vs. Northwestern

WHEN: Today, 5 p.m.

WHERE: Sam Boyd Stadium

RADIO/TV: KBAD-920 AM, ESPN (Ch. 19)

EXPECTED CROWD: 25,000

TICKETS: Sideline $30; End zone $17. Call 895-UNLV or Thomas & Mack ticket office. Tickets are also available at unlvrebels.com or tickets.com.

LINE: Northwestern by 3; Total is 56 1/2

SERIES: Northwestern leads, 1-0

Eight is enough for UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas.

It has been eight days since Thomas admittedly played the worst game of his football career, a 14-10 nationally televised loss at Arkansas. Eight very long days.

But the 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior from Compton, Calif., gets a chance at redemption today at 5 p.m. when the Rebels (0-1) host Big Ten favorite Northwestern at Sam Boyd Stadium on ESPN.

For Thomas, it's a chance to move on after his 4-of-16, three-interception nightmare in Little Rock.

"Win or lose, playing good or playing bad, you always want to get into the next game," Thomas said. "It just so happens I didn't play well in the last one.

"It was tough. I'm over it now, though. I've been back throwing good balls again in practice."

Still, playing the worst game of his quarterbacking life following an off-season of Heisman and All-America hype wasn't exactly the way Thomas had hoped to start the season.

"Everybody has to have a 'worst game of my life,' " Thomas said. "John Elway had one in the Super Bowl when he threw something like five interceptions. I'm just trying to learn from it.

"One thing I took from (former USC head coach Paul Hackett) is, 'It's not how you perform, it's how you respond to a bad performance or a good performance,' " Thomas said. "Hopefully I can respond to this one well."

Jason Thomas quoting the head coach who wanted to make him a wide receiver at USC?

"Paul Hackett, man," Thomas said laughing. "Yeah, he did teach me something."

Thomas said one big positive to come out of the Arkansas setback was the reception he received from his teammates.

"As soon as we got back to the locker room the guys were like, 'Don't worry about it. You know you're a better player than that,' " Thomas said. "The guys were very supportive. That just goes to show you what kind of team chemistry we have. For them to still be supportive of me after such a terrible performance ... It feels good to have a team that still has faith in me and rallied around me."

Now Thomas would like to show his teammates that their faith was justified. And what better way of doing that than by leading the Rebels to a win over a nationally ranked team for the first time since 1981?

"I just want to win," Thomas said. "If we do and I play well, great. If I don't play well and we still win, that's still the most important thing. I just want to get that 'W.' "