Rebels’ flaws evident in Robinson’s last loss

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Nov. 22, 2004 | 9:45 a.m.

SAN DIEGO --- As UNLV's team bus arrived at Qualcomm Stadium for the final game of the John Robinson era, the driver made a wrong turn and seemed to get lost for a while.

The Rebels (2-9, 1-6) eventually arrived in plenty of time to drop a 21-3 decision to San Diego State (4-7, 2-5) to stake their claim to last place in the Mountain West Conference, but that bus ride pretty much summed up the season for the Rebels.

What could go wrong did go wrong. And as an unusually large number of injuries piled up, the team seemed to make one bad turn after another.

The retiring Robinson waved to about a dozen fans who cheered him as he left the field after Saturday night's latest loss. He stopped briefly to hug his wife, Linda, and then gave his last locker room speech, leading his squad through one more rendition of the Rebels' fight song.

When he appeared to meet with the media for one last time, Robinson was quick and to the point.

"You know that's it for me," he said after giving a brief rundown on his team's offensive misfortunes against the Aztecs. "I've had a great time. I've enjoyed being here. I think this program has a chance to continue to get better. I'm hopeful the new coach will have a good run. I'll be his chauffeur or anything he needs.

"There's no real need for questions," he said with a smile. "Anybody here got any entertaining questions? I know most of you and you don't have any of those. ... Thank you all very much."

Senior fullback Dyante Perkins was just one of a number of players who sat at his stall with tears running down his face.

"It was pretty emotional," junior safety Joe Miklos said. "It's really tough to see him go. Coach Rob has really brought a lot to this program and everything. Just because we didn't have the season we wanted this year reflects nothing on how great a coach he was. He's a great man and it's really touching to see how much he really cares. You can really tell."

Junior defensive end Leon Moore said: "Outside of direct family members dying this is like the saddest day I've been involved with in my life."

Added sophomore quarterback Shane Steichen, who had a fumble returned for one touchdown and an interception returned for another: "It was frustrating not to send him out with a win. Coach Robinson gave me a chance to come here and play. I love him for that and everything he's done for this program."

Miklos was asked if he could say just where a once-promising season had gone south.

"Turning points? We had a lot of them," Miklos said. "We got bit by the injury bug really bad early on this year. I think we basically played a really tough pre-conference schedule that I think took a toll on us."

Indeed, when 6-foot-8 starting tight end Greg Estandia, who was expected to play a key role in Bruce Snyder's offense, went down with a knee injury on the final play of the final practice of preseason camp, that seemed to be a sign of bad things to come.

The Rebels lost three key offensive starters --- left tackle Tyler Crandal, Estandia and all-Mountain West punt returner/wide receiver Tremayne Kirkland --- before the first game of the season. And senior quarterback Kurt Nantkes, expected to finally make an impact on offense, reinjured his pelvic area on a hit in the second game of the season at Wisconsin and seemed to go in the tank, especially in a stunning 31-21 home loss to Utah State.

Senior leadership, expected to be a strong point on the team, disappeared when the going got tough. Nantkes, apparently upset at a demotion and as well "family issues," didn't even bother to show up for Senior Day while linebacker Adam Seward, en route to his second Mountain West Conference tackling title in three years, seemed to be pointing fingers at Robinson and the offense in a newspaper article, causing even more friction in an already volatile locker room for the final two games.

For Saturday night's finale, UNLV was minus eight starters from its fall two-deep including All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer and Claridge, the Mountain West Conference sack leader, and both starting offensive tackles. Star wide receiver Earvin Johnson, who broke Damon Williams' school mark for career receiving yards, continued to play despite a badly dislocated finger while offensive guard Joe Critchfield willed himself on the field each week despite nursing a painful high ankle sprain.

Miklos, who never lost a game in two years as a starter at famed De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., vowed to make sure the Rebels don't endure another long season in 2005.

"I was talking to some guys as soon as that final whistle went off and we just started saying, 'Next year.' I'm going to start my offseason workouts (today). This is not going to happen next year."

The big question, of course, is who will replace. Utah offensive coordinator Mike Sanford seems to be the front-runner after helping mastermind a Utes offense that is averaging 46.3 points and 502.7 yards per game -- despite yanking star quarterback Alex Smith in the third quarter of most of those games.

"As long as he comes in and does the things that it takes to win, I don't care who it is," Moore said.

Miklos added: "I hope they bring in the right person who would fit here because I think there's a good chance to succeed here."

Only time will tell.

The Rebels finished the season with just 16 takeaways this year compared to a Mountain West-leading 35 a year ago. UNLV ranks 115th our of 117 teams in turnover ratio this week at minus-1.55. ... UNLV quarterbacks combined to throw just 11 touchdown passes compared to 17 interceptions. The Rebels rank 112th in pass efficiency (96.6) ahead of just New Mexico (115th, 85.2) in the MWC.