Rebels: ‘A team in crisis’

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 28, 2001 | 9:56 a.m.

UNLV head football coach John Robinson says his 0-3 team is in "a crisis" heading into Saturday afternoon's Mountain West Conference opener with 20th-ranked BYU (3-0) at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"For me not to recognize that fact would be folly," Robinson said.

And Robinson's squad, which set winning the MWC title as its No. 1 preseason goal, knows it probably must beat the high-scoring Cougars for only the second time in school history to do that.

"Our backs are against the wall," quarterback Jason Thomas said following Thursday afternoon's practice at Rebel Park. "That's the way we have to look at it. We've got to come out fighting."

Not to mention playing a whole lot better football than they did in last Saturday's 38-21 loss at Arizona.

"We've had a good week of practice," Thomas said. "But the thing about it is we had a good week of practice last week, too. You've got to go out and play well on Saturday. I think we're going to do that this week."

The normally reliable Rebel defense, which was shredded for 440 yards by Arizona last week, must really come up big for UNLV to have a chance.

Under new head coach Gary Crowton, who replaced the legendary LaVell Edwards at the end of the 2000 season, BYU is the top scoring team in the NCAA, averaging an eye-popping 55.3 points per game, including 70 in its season-opening win over Tulane. The Cougars had four scoring drives in the second quarter alone of that game that lasted less than a minute.

Senior quarterback Brandon Doman is off to a blistering start, completing 68.4 percent of his passes (52 of 76) for 780 yards and seven touchdowns. The former high school option star also has rushed for 160 yards on 24 carries and scored four more touchdowns.

The Cougars also have a strong running game led by a veteran offensive line and standout junior tailback Luke Staley, who is averaging 10.8 yards per carry and 104.3 yards per game.

"Wow, they have a powerful offense," UNLV defensive coordinator Mike Bradeson said. "It's very diverse and hard to prepare for. They get the ball to the wideouts. One receiver (Junior Mahe) has 24 catches. The backs have catches. The backs have runs. They throw screens on you, reverses, trick plays, option and quarterback draws. They've added a lot to their repertoire."

The key to stopping the Cougars?

"Tackling them," Bradeson said with a smile, "and hopefully ending up in the right spot. (Doman) obviously is the key because he's the triggerman. Mahe is tremendous. The backs are tremendous. The tight ends catch the ball and run well. They have just such an array of offense. It's tough to practice for everything they throw at you."

Still, the Rebels say they're looking forward to the challenge of at least trying to slow down the Cougars.

"To me it's exciting to be able to go out and play a team that's averaging so many points like that," senior defensive end Anton Palepoi said. "I just feel like we have to come ready to play."