Leila Navidi

UNLV’s Frank Summers runs with the ball during the game against Iowa State at Sam Boyd Stadium.

By Ryan Greene

Sat, Oct 4, 2008 (midnight)

While it doesn't have the build-up of last week's showdown with UNR, the UNLV (3-2 overall, 0-1 Mountain West) players and coaches are treating this weekend's trip to face Colorado State (2-2, 0-0) as an even bigger deal.

"We need a win badly -- as coach says, it's a 'ring game,'" said sophomore offensive lineman Evan Marchal. "This win can get us into a bowl game. Every game's important to win, but this one, from the standpoint of being a 'ring game, it's really important."

Ring game? Come again?

"I got (the term) when I was at (USC) from John Jackson, who now works for Fox Sports. He was a receiver that I coached, and he talked about it being a ring game,'" said coach Mike Sanford. "Every Mountain West Conference game, you're playing for a ring, and that's how we see it, we see this game that way."

And the Rebels aren't just pumping up the significance of this game to make something out of nothing. A win would get Sanford's club to 4-2 and two-thirds of the way to bowl eligibility at the season's midway point. A loss? Well, it would be the team's second straight, and on top of that leave two weeks for it to fester with the bye week on the horizon.

Sanford and his players have made it clear all week just what needs to improve from a week ago if they want to snap two streaks: a five-game skid against Colorado State and a road losing stretch in conference play that dates back to 2004.

That brief list is highlighted by getting the ground game settled, both on offense and defense.

"I think we've got to be able to run the football, but we're also not going to be stupid," Sanford said. "If they're storming the castle every down, you've got to be smart with what you do. I'm not going to make a stand and say we'll run the ball 80 times, but we're a better team when we mix the run and pass."

At the same time, the Rebels know that getting Frank Summers going once again will be key against CSU. Though he ranks fourth in the Mountain West in rushing yardage, with 406 hashmarks in five games, he's coming off one of his least productive games as a Rebel. The senior was held to 20 yards on nine carries and without a catch in the 49-27 loss to UNR.

"It's a big focus," Marchal said of getting Summers going. "Last week we really didn't game plan to run that much, but this week we plan on pounding the rock a lot more."

Added quarterback Omar Clayton: "That could have been the difference in getting more points and making the game more of a game in the second half (against UNR). Getting the run game going is essential for our offense. It's essential for us to be able to use play-action when we want to or to be able to pass. The run game complements everything else we want to do on offense."

Meanwhile, the defense is looking to atone for the 444 rushing yards it yielded to the Wolf Pack, with quarterback Colin Kaepernick being responsible for 230 of them. Earlier in the week, basic tackling fundamentals were a key part of practice at Rebel Park.

Senior defensive back Geoffery Howard said poor form became an issue for the UNLV defense as last week's game wore on. He said guys started to lead with their shoulders instead of wrapping up and driving ballcarriers, all in an effort to make a momentum-changing hit.

This week, poor form isn't an option as CSU boasts a back who is built like and runs like Summers in senior Gartrell Johnson. He is just behind Summers on the MWC rushing leaderboard, with 300 yards on 66 carries this season.

That's not all the Rams rely on, though. While Summers is trying to re-establish a groove for UNLV, Billy Farris is trying to do the same for Colorado State. The senior quarterback was yanked late in last week's loss at Cal in favor of redshirt freshman Klay Kubiak, but will start Saturday at home. Being a standard pocket passer, he should be a relief to the Rebels' defense, which has struggled trying to contain dual-threat quarterbacks this year, but Farris will take his fair share of shots down field. He's also working with an exceptional set of receivers. Rashaun Greer and Dion Morton get the bulk of the deep balls, while Kory Sperry -- a legitimate NFL prospect at tight end -- is as reliable of an intermediate area threat as there is in the MWC.

One intangible UNLV might not have to worry so much about, though, is being comfortable on the road. That's where prior experience this season comes into play, as the Rebels are in too tight of a squeeze this weekend to let simple road jitters become a problem.

"From the Utah game to the Arizona State game, I think we got our feel on aggressive crowds in good environments to play the game," Clayton said. "It's not like 'Oh, OK, it's an away game, we've got to get our minds right.' It's just another game. We're going to get prepared and we're going to go play."