Columnist Ron Kantowski: Can Baylor come out to play?

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2002 | 10:53 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

Wisconsin probably is not the ideal season-opening opponent for the UNLV football team. The Badgers might be a little too big, a little too strong and a little too deep for the Rebels, given it's only August.

If I had to make a prediction, it's that it's going to be hotter than Jennifer Lopez's evening gown for Saturday's 5:45 p.m. kickoff. Beyond that, the Rebels probably will play Wisconsin close before succumbing to all that beef and bratwurst in the interior lines.

That would be yet another moral victory for the Rebels. The trouble is that after last year's disappointing 4-7 season, they need the real kind to boost a confidence level that hasn't been at "full" since they turned Arkansas into pork rinds during the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.

While the matchup with Wisconsin is more intriguing than a John Grisham novel, this is one year the Rebels might have picked on a Dr. Seuss opponent for starters. Or maybe they could have split the difference and opted for somebody like Baylor, had former AD Charlie Cavagnaro not let the Bears out of a game they owe the Rebels (that's why UNLV will visit Toledo this year).

Baylor could very well be the quintessential season opening opponent. The Bears play mediocre football, but they do it in a power-laden conference (Big 12). If you're Florida, they're good enough to give your first team a workout for 2 1/2 quarters. If you're Central Florida, they're not so good that you can't beat them in the fourth quarter.

They've also got a little tradition and one of those names that smacks of college football. If you look hard enough, you can probably even find somebody semi-famous who went to Baylor. Like an evangelist or maybe an astronaut. But when I think of Baylor, I think of Mike Singletary, and that Dave Dials guy reading the scores on the old Prudential College Football Scoreboard.

"TCU 17, Baylor 13." Man, that just sounds like a crisp autumn day.

Playing the Bears right out of the gate isn't a novel concept at UNLV. In 1988, the Rebels went to Baylor and lost the lid-lifter 27-3. It would be the most disorganized effort Waco would witness until the ATF guys came to town to deal with David Koresh. Of course that was then (Wayne Nunnely was coach) and this is now.

Over the years, UNLV has shown little rhyme or reason when it comes to scheduling openers. Since beginning with Baylor in 1988, the Rebels have opened with Houston, Southwest Missouri State, Nevada-Reno (twice), UTEP, Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Rice, Tennessee, Northwestern, North Texas, Iowa State and Arkansas.

Bruce Snyder, the former Utah State, Cal and Arizona State coach who will serve as analyst on the UNLV radio broadcasts this fall, said there are pluses and minuses to playing a heavyweight in the season opener, although most experts probably would consider Wisconsin more of a cruiserweight this year.

"The obvious upside is when you have a game like Wisconsin or anybody else in that category, it captures the team's imagination months before the game. In the spring and summer, there's more of a focus," said Snyder, who came within a few plays of guiding ASU to the 1996 national championship. "You really have to be ready, but I liked that sense of urgency."

And the downside?

"Well, you could get pummelled," Snyder said.

That's something Cal, one of Snyder's old schools, probably won't have to worry about Saturday.

The Golden Bears open against Baylor.