LOOKING IN ON: UNLV FOOTBAL

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

Las Vegas Sun

Mike Sanford's goals were pretty straightforward going into UNLV's season opener Saturday night against Idaho State: Play great and win the game.

Mission accomplished.

Whether UNLV played "great" is open to interpretation when it's a Division I-AA opponent, but the Rebels showed flashes of brilliance on both offense and defense in a 54-10 whipping of the Bengals at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Virtually every one of the Sun's pregame players to watch played a significant role in the Rebels' highest-scoring game since 1986, to wit:

1. Rocky Hinds

Playing in his first "live" football game in nearly four years, Hinds overcame a slow start and passed for 322 yards and a touchdown and ran for another 42 yards and a score.

"He did a lot of good things but the thing's that great about it is he can get better," Sanford said of Hinds.

2. Erick Jackson

The Rebels' leading rusher from last season proved to be the workhorse in the backfield Saturday night. Jackson paced UNLV with 79 yards on 11 carries and broke off a 29-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

3. Aaron Straiten

Another highly touted newcomer on offense, Straiten had a quiet night at wide receiver. The 6-3, 205-pounder caught two passes for 15 yards and was thrown for a 7-yard loss on his only rush of the game.

4. Defensive backs

UNLV's trio of transfers - Eric Wright (USC), Mil'Von James (UCLA) and Tony Cade (who began his collegiate career at Oklahoma) - debuted to mixed results.

Wright was the most effective of the three, breaking up three passes and forcing a fumble. James had four solo tackles and Cade had three tackles (two unassisted).

"I think our defense, in general, played really well," Sanford said. "We did a really nice job putting pressure on them."

5. Beau Bell

The Rebels' standout linebacker picked up where he left off last season, leading UNLV in tackles (11 total, 7 unassisted) and registering a sack.

6. Sergio Aguayo

Aguayo nailed a 40-yard field goal and was perfect on two point-after attempts before suffering a knee injury in the second quarter that kept him sidelined the remainder of the game.