Take 5: UNLV football changes travel philosophy to islands, hopes it leads to win at Hawaii

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 | 2 a.m.

During the UNLV football’s past two trips to Hawaii under fifth-year coach Bobby Hauck, the Rebels have lost by 38 points each game.

But in Hawaii’s two trips to Las Vegas during Hauck’s tenure, the Rebels have won both times.

So, for the Rebels’ appearance at 8 p.m. Saturday against Hawaii, Hauck changed his team’s travel plans. They’ll leave Las Vegas Friday afternoon for the six-hour flight to Honolulu, which is similar to how the Rebels have traveled to their other road games this year.

For past Hawaii trips, they left two days ahead of time, leaving a day to recover from the long travel and three-hour time change.

“What we were doing wasn’t working,” Hauck said. “We don’t want to make more of it than what it is. ... We are trying to give us the best chance to win the game. The way we were approaching the game wasn’t working for us.”

It’s a rare winnable game for UNLV (2-9 overall, 1-5 Mountain West). Three-win Hawaii is a minus-9 betting favorite and averages fewer than three touchdowns scored per game.

Against UNLV at home, though, it has been a different story. Two seasons ago, UNLV was a small betting favorite, but the Rebels were flat and Hawaii had one of its rare good performances of the season.

That game nearly cost Hauck his job.

“The Hawaii game is a game a lot of us look forward to every year,” Hauck said. “We haven’t played very well on the islands. We need to do that. It would be a big deal for us to go over there and get a win.”

UNLV has six players from Hawaii on its roster and another two from American Samoa. For them, playing at Hawaii is the highlight of the schedule because they grew up competing against some players on the Hawaii roster.

“You want to play hard to represent your family and represent the football team you are on,” said Maika Mataele, UNLV’s senior wide receiver who lists his hometown as Kaneohe. "... For the Hawaii players, this is our bowl game."

Here’s five tidbits to get your ready for Saturday:

Devonte Boyd looks to continue great first season: In a season that hasn’t gone as planned, freshman wide receiver Devonte Boyd’s strong rookie campaign has been one of the few bright spots. The Basic High product has 56 receptions for 821 yards, breaking the UNLV freshman record for receptions last week. He needs 91 yards to surpass Ryan Wolfe’s mark of 911 receiving yards by a freshman. Nationally, Boyd ranks second in receiving, trailing Bowling Green’s Roger Lewis (60 receptions for 858 yards).

Another bright spot for Rebels: When looking at the statistics from this season, it's easy to focus on how poor the Rebels defense has performed — it ranks in the bottom five nationally at No. 123 overall. But there is one category the Rebels are shining in: fumbles lost. UNLV has lost just two fumbles in 11 games, the third-best mark nationally. UNLV, though, isn’t the best team in Nevada in the category. UNR has lost just one fumble this season — a stat the Rebels would love to add to in next week’s Fremont Cannon rivalry game.

Hawaii running backs could do damage: Hawaii ranks just 103rd nationally with 135.5 rushing yards per game and 116th nationally with 19.5 points per game. But UNLV surrenders 278.5 yards per game on the ground, meaning the Hawaii running backs could be in line for a season high on the ground. UNLV is 0-8 when surrendering more than 200 yards on the ground — a important stat considering the game could be close.

Hawaii’s defense pitches rare shutout: In a 13-0 victory last week at San Jose State, Hawaii recorded its first shutout since 2005. They forced three turnovers and blocked two field goal attempts. The win broke a program-worst 17-game road losing streak, giving them plenty of motivation for the UNLV game. Linebacker TJ Taimatuia was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week last week, recording 11 tackles.

Road woes: If UNLV loses, it would signal four seasons of failing to win a road game in Hauck’s five-year tenure. Last year, the Rebels went 3-2 away from Sam Boyd Stadium. The Rebels are 3-28 on the road under Hauck.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21