Columnist Dean Juipe: Oklahoma, UNLV gain by sitting

Dean Juipe

Monday, Sept. 29, 2003 | 9 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

There's something to be said for enjoying a nice, restful Saturday late in September, particularly when it affords you the opportunity to assess your competition and enjoy the skirmishes as the less fortunate battle one another.

It was one of those bye and bye weekends for the football teams from Oklahoma and UNLV, neither of which played but both of which improved their standing and outlook.

The Sooners are ranked No. 1 and rightfully so. They're 4-0 and scored 59 points last time out against a UCLA team that bounced back to defeat San Diego State, 20-10, in one of those games that lends perspective.

Oklahoma scouts also got a look at its next opponent, Iowa State, which lost to Northern Illinois, and its opponent two weeks hence, Texas, which showed its offensive machismo by scoring 63 points against Tulane.

With the all-important Bowl Championship Series rankings about to kick into effect, the Sooners are nestled in a good spot despite the trappings of a marginally difficult schedule. They could wind up in the BCS title game.

Among the pretenders that will not reach the final game is Oregon, which was whisked from the limelight in a one-sided loss to Washington State. Like Michigan a week earlier, the Ducks enjoyed a brief one-week fling as Sports Illustrated cover boys and/or targets of praise, only to fall on their tail feathers in their very next game.

Good riddance.

A mere two weeks ago, SI listed what it thought the "real" college poll should look like and it had Michigan, Southern Cal and Georgia at 1, 2 and 3. Each team has since lost a game, making the AP and USA Today polls -- both with Oklahoma on top -- appear all the more legitimate in comparison.

The Sooners are in position for their second national championship within four years, and one of the next-best teams, Miami and Florida State, will be eliminated from title contention when they have their own showdown in two weeks.

Oklahoma has to like the way the dominos have toppled thus far.

Likewise, UNLV.

As the Rebels basked in the warm Southern Nevada sun, their upcoming opponent (and supposed archrival), Nevada-Reno, traded soft tosses with winless Southern Methodist before prevailing 12-9. The Wolf Pack is 3-1 without showing much in the way of ferocity or bite.

If the Rebels can regain their intensity after a week off, they should handle UNR with some ease.

As is the case with Oklahoma, UNLV has to be bolstered by the wreckage it sees around it. In fact, its 3-1 record looks better than ever.

In one of those transference things, the Rebels have gained stature as a result of how their former opponents have played. Do the math: Toledo lost to UNLV but then upset nationally ranked Pitt; Kansas beat UNLV in a bad game but just upset nationally ranked Missouri; Wisconsin hasn't lost since losing to UNLV; and Hawaii bounced back from losing to the Rebels as Timmy Chang threw for 397 yards in a pass-frenzied 41-21 victory against Rice late Saturday night.

Additionally, the Mountain West championship -- which is UNLV's real goal -- looks even more obtainable than it did last week when I wrote it was within the Rebels' grasp.

Only Air Force and Utah added to their stock over the weekend, the Falcons at the expense of a clearly winded BYU team and the Utes by further exposing Colorado State's vulnerabilities. The Rebels get Air Force and Utah back to back, Oct. 11 and 18, and that could be the MWC story right there.

The other Mountain West teams are in assorted stages of disrepair, with SDSU having had its bubble burst by UCLA, New Mexico just happy to have snapped a three-game losing streak and Wyoming giving away points as if they were after-dinner mints.

The weekend had its carnage, but UNLV (and Oklahoma) stayed clear of the debris. Catching their breath, they came out of it sitting pretty.