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twitterUNLV FOOTBALL:
Notebook: Rebels showing emotion on practice field
Slight skirmish on Tuesday seen as a good thing — if controlled
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 | 2:30 a.m.
The Rebel Room
BYU POSTGAME: Rebels run ragged ... again
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Ryan Greene, Rob Miech and Alex Adeyanju digest all there was to take in from UNLV's 59-21 loss to BYU on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.
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- Opponent: Utah
- Date: Oct. 17, 7 p.m.
- Where: Sam Boyd Stadium
- TV: The Mtn. (Cox ch. 334)
- Radio: ESPN Radio 1100 AM
- The Line: Utah by 16.5
Well, you can't accuse the UNLV football team of having mailed it in emotionally after two beyond-humbling losses to UNR and BYU.
That showed Tuesday evening during the closing moments of practice out at Rebel Park.
Whistles blew and bodies collided as a small skirmish broke out between a couple of players during live drills. The fracas was diffused relatively fast, with junior defensive tackle Isaako Aaitui coming out of it fired up and without a helmet.
UNLV coach Mike Sanford didn't offer up specifics of how it all got started, but he attributed the added emotion to the fact that the Rebels' starting offensive and defensive units have been going head-to-head in practice, as opposed to working against scout teams.
It's all part of the coaching staff's effort to increase practice intensity and productivity.
"Nothing wrong with that," Sanford said. "Guys are fired up, and they got a little fiery with each other. As long as that doesn't carry over into the locker room, there's nothing wrong with that. That's football. Football's a passionate game."
The necessity of a good showing this weekend for the 2-4 Rebels against No. 24 Utah, who checks in at 4-1 after coming from behind to win at Colorado State last Saturday, 24-17.
If UNLV can somehow get past Utah, the Rebels have more than a couple of winnable games remaining down the stretch run of their 2009 schedule.
"It shows that they really care about the game and you can see the passion coming out," said sophomore safety Chris Jones. "I just hope they take it into Utah and take it out on them."
More than anything, UNLV needs something to help bring back the confident feeling that once radiated from the team back in August, as the Rebels entered a season full of hope, promise and expectation.
"I'm not gonna say people's morale isn't slightly down," junior quarterback Omar Clayton said. "I mean, people are frustrated. Anytime you have three tough weeks and two weeks have been really bad, there's a lot of frustration. I think our players and coaches are continuing to work.
"We realize that whatever we've been doing these past three weeks, individually, as a team and as both an offense and defense, it hasn't been working. The offense hasn't put up enough points to make games competitive, and the defense hasn't played well enough to keep the scores low. Everyone has to change something and continue to keep working, and that's what we're trying to do."
Utah mystique?
While it's not hard to get up to play conference heavyweights such as TCU — who may very well make a run at a BCS game this year — and BYU, Utah carries a bit of mystique within the Mountain West Conference.
After all, the Utes have been through two undefeated seasons since 2004 and won BCS games both times, including last season's Sugar Bowl upset of Alabama. In the process, the Utes have put themselves on the national map, and anyone who gets the best of them gets noticed.
"The Mountain West is on the map because of Utah," junior running back Channing Trotter said. "TCU does their job every single year. BYU is known nationally. But Utah is the one going undefeated, beating Alabama, winning the Fiesta Bowl (in 2005), I think that's huge for us. There's always a little added incentive going against a nationally-known team like that."
Injury updates
Senior receiver Rodelin Anthony, who sprained his ankle in Saturday's loss to BYU, practiced for part of Tuesday's practice but was unable to finish.
Also only going for a portion of Tuesday's session was sophomore tight end Kyle Watkins, who also suffered from an ankle sprain on Saturday.
Both will be gametime decisions on Saturday evening, along with junior linebackers Starr Fuimaono (ankle) and Ronnie Paulo (shoulder).
Ryan Greene can be reached at ryan.greene@lasvegassun.com or 702-948-7844.
Discussion: 16 comments so far…
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Great, now the players are fighting each other. Watchout Utah, you're in big trouble now.
I feel like I'm developing battered wife syndrome with this team. Every time they disappoint me, I still find some excuse to give them another chance. Well, the excuses, chances, and second opportunities end this Saturday. If the Rebels put in another sub-par performance, it's over. Even at 2-4, the odds are slim to none this team will make a bowl game. After five dismal seasons, the notion that the football program is making progress under Sanford and Sons will be impossible to defend. If the Rebs lose to Utah on Saturday, I will finally move out of Sam Boyd, check into the football fan equivalent of Safe Nest, and not bother to come out until UNLV's divorce from the current coaching staff is final.
What are the changes in the defensive depth chart?
They cannot have the same so called starters at safety? We watched Jones lead Rebels in tackles. And also be the #1 cause for the first 3 touchdowns,-stats don't always tell the true story.He cannot tackle.!!
I bet the real story is:
Sanford lost control of the team and a semi-decent offensive unit is sick of the pathetic defensive unit.
FIRE THESE COACHES.
bigb
-check your jock.LAS VEGAS is looking for a MANS sport to represent Las Vegas.
A coach making excuses for his players fighting one another is like a parent making excuses for their children's bad behavior. "They're just, um, spirited." Wrong. They're the ones in control.
In order for football to succeed at UNLV, three things must happen- 1) the image of corruption and thug culture at UNLV athletics, dating back to the days of Hyde and Tarkanian, must be erased from the national memory; 2) the image of Las Vegas as a temptation-laden trap for young men must be changed; 3) a new stadium near or on-campus must be built.
The perception of UNLV athletics, the perception of Las Vegas, and the location of the stadium form a trifecta that puts the football program at 4th and long from kickoff. I challenge anyone to argue otherwise.
GDR, I will argue with you all day long on this. You clearly let your UNLV hate cloud any type of rational thinking.
1) Nobody knows who Harvey Hyde is anymore, or Jim Strong, or the types of athletes we recruited in the 80s. I challenge you to provide any form of proof to backup your claim that people still view UNLV football as a 'thug' school. For crying out loud, the kids we are recruiting now weren't even born. Please reference a recent recruit we have lost because of Harvey Hyde or our football program's 'thug' image. LOL.
2) Where is our recruiting base? That's right, SoCal. And guess what? All those SoCal people travel here all the time and don't have the stupid misconceptions and stereotypes about the town itself. People that have been to Vegas understand the difference between the strip and the town. Recruits and parents back east? Maybe so. But we don't recruit there that often. Cali recruits' parents by in large LOVE to have yet another reason to make a Vegas roadie. If UNLV were any good, we would be stealing SoCal recruits left and right from every PAC10 school except SC right now.
3) Anyone who thinks an on-campus stadium is necessary for a winning football program is an absolute retard. Miami U. UCLA. To name a few. There are probably 25 examples of programs with winning histories that still don't play on-campus. If you are a top-25 program that garners national respect, or at the very least, a program that consistently fields a winning team, you could play the games at the friggin intramural fields and the kids and fans would care less. Winning cures everything.
big b,
If basketball is not a "man's" sport then neither is football. They are both on the same plane.
UNLV has a "man's sport" sport that represnts Las Vegas very well and we won a national championship in 2006.
http://studentlife.unlv.edu/recreation/b...
Stop by the gym (next to soccer field on campus) and show your support.
no bigb
never played football against a college level hoopster. Nor have I not been able to understand that Football is America's sport.
Yes I have played football at a college level.No never seen a basketball player with pads on across from me.Also bigb never did never would argue the ahtleticism of a basketball player.I have much respect for them.But the idiotic thing is you throwing up some showergazing stats at me ,like a percentage of body. Take that 350llb bench and rub it in your chest.
Sanford needs to go.
www.firemikesanford.com
Get over the "we need a stadium on campus" argument; it's not going to happen. Very few of UNLV's student actually live on campus anyway. The T&M is on campus and back in the Spoon Era it was half empty too....
A decent program will put people in the seats at Sam Boyd, just like it has in the T&M.
It is a slap in the teams face to look up in THEIR STADIUM and see more fans for the other team than the home fans!I dont want my car to get dusty oh boo hoo! BE A FAN WIN OR LOOSE AND GIVE THEM A BOOST!IF YOU WANT TO COMPLAIN,DO SO,BUT MAKE SURE YOU HAVE REASON?LIKE YOUR AT THE GAMES!!!
Emotion doesn't win football games skill wins football games!! The rebels have no heart and little skill, they will lose big again this week. Utah (63) UNLUV'D (24).
UNLUV'D get's no luv till they man up and play like balla's. - (Just a thought) - Once Trotter called out the teams effort after the Wyoming meltdown he has only gotten 10 carries since. Sanford didn't dig one of his players telling the truth to the media about this coaching staff's inability to prepare the whole team and the lack of heart on this team so he isn't giving Trotter the ball, I can see right through it!!!
UNLUV is a train wreck and is only going to get worse as the year goes on.
Limiting mistakes will be a MUST if THE REBS expect to have a chance against this decent Utah team...........GO REBS!!