Columnist Dean Juipe: Rebels have that 7-4 look

Dean Juipe

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:49 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.

Welcome to another exciting edition of "You Asked For It," in which sports fans from around the country are granted a treasured wish.

This week our program originates from Las Vegas, where battered and weary UNLV football fans have secretly and sometimes publicly hoped to not only see their team improve but to see it play a legitimately formidable schedule.

Ka-ching! Wish granted. The Rebels will be at least a little better this season and opening the season with consecutive games at Tennessee and Wisconsin provides an imposing, if delectable, big-time fix.

As always, the granting of the wish comes with fair warning: You know, be careful with your pent-up desires, and all of that. Aspirations are one thing, reality can be another.

In the Rebels' case, it's of foremost importance for them to survive those trips to Knoxville and Madison with their physical and mental capabilities intact. What a 1-2 punch! What a combination! UNLV vs. not one but two acknowledged perennial powerhouses, back to back, doing so not only to add to the athletic department's always-in-need coffer but to condition the team to the rigors of smash-mouth football and prime-time TV.

There's some consensus of thought that maybe, just maybe, UNLV could upset Tennessee in that first game, and it's a plausible assumption. Most preseason magazines say the Volunteers are rebuilding, yet they were 10-3 last season and have a horde of returning starters.

Let's call that a loss for the Rebels, who are coming off a 6-6 season but are listed in some publications as among the most improved teams in the country this year. They'll gain some valuable experience playing in front of 104,079 devoted Tennessee fans at Neyland Stadium and it's certain to be exciting. But since the day five or so years ago when this game first appeared on the 2004 schedule, it was pegged as an on-the-field loss no matter how rewarding the tradeoffs.

Then it's on to Wisconsin, where choruses of "On Wisconsin" will quickly grow tiresome to the Rebels as the Badgers look to avenge a stunning 23-5 loss at UNLV last season. Odds are, they will. Wisconsin will be coming off a lightweight opener vs. Central Florida and the Rebels may still be nursing a few wounds, and even with the prospect of a delightful fall day in the Midwest it's apt to leave the visitors 0-2.

This, however, will not be as excruciating or as debilitating as it may seem on paper, provided UNLV is neither dispirited nor overly hobbled as it returns home to face an Air Force squad that is a couple of sorties short of a thumbs-up mission. The Falcons are going down and the wreckage may be strewn throughout the Mountain West Conference as Air Force's streak of 10 consecutive winning seasons is apt to come to an end.

Feeling better about themselves, the Rebels ought to manhandle visiting Utah State of the Sun Belt Conference before sliding into the comforts of a third consecutive home game as Nevada-Reno comes to town. Chris Ault is back for a third term as the Wolf Pack head coach but 23 letter winners were lost, and every tangible factor favors the Rebels in this one.

What looks to be two likely losses at Brigham Young and Utah, respectively, bracket a game vs. New Mexico as the Rebels jostle for position and respect at midseason. If those games follow the chalk, UNLV will be 4-4 with three regular-season games to play and no giant killer among their upcoming opponents.

The Rebels should beat Wyoming here and they can certainly close with victories at Colorado State and San Diego State, neither of which is apt to have as much at stake as UNLV by that stage of the season.

If all goes according to plan, the Rebels will be 7-4 and a natural pick to represent the league in the Las Vegas Bowl. John Robinson will have his second winning season in his six at UNLV and the populace will be appeased.

The asterisk, of course, is attached to those two opening games. As tickled as we in Las Vegas are to see the Rebels playing the likes of Tennessee and Wisconsin, the dangers are ever present. If excessive injuries or intimidation is among those games' results, a derisive chorus might be heard.

The fact that "You Asked For It" may be no comfort at all.