Graney: Can UNLV handle the hype? Rebels face biggest game in program history

UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard loves big football games. The atmosphere. The physicality. The intensity. The stakes.

What it means in the grand scheme of a season.

“We’re not going to run from it,” Woodard said. “Guys know this is a big game. We have a lot of mature players on this team who have played a lot of ball. I want it to be a big game. It’s what we have worked for.

“Big-time players show up and make big-time plays in big games. We’re going to see who has the big-time players.”

The senior was speaking about the biggest game in school history. The Rebels meet No. 17 Boise State at Allegiant Stadium on Friday night.

And herein lies the challenge for UNLV — you know, other than trying to slow down Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who seems to have 100 yards each week before stepping off the bus.

Managing the hype

The hype that comes with this kind of week needs to be managed. You can’t play the game on Wednesday. The fire must be built up over time.

It’s one of the more impressive things about UNLV since Barry Odom took over as coach last year. The preparation. The weekly focus. The ability to compartmentalize energy and passion until the ball is kicked off each week.

That becomes even more critical now.

This isn’t just about moving forward atop the Mountain West. There are greater implications this season with the new 12-team College Football Playoff and the opportunity for a Group of Five team to receive an invitation.

And make no mistake: Boise State and UNLV are in the thick of such conversations.

It’s a huge week, a massive game, for both teams.

“We talked a little bit in a team meeting, and then again (Monday) morning on, you know, who the opponent is, what they’ve done well, what we are built for, what we’ve done well,” Odom said. “It’s about your preparation and about your habits and about executing the game plan. Then the logo really doesn’t matter.

“They read everything out there anyway, just like I do. I mean, we know it’s a big game. … Understand the moment that they’ve earned, that they’ve created for not only themselves, but our program and for a conference.”

Woodard said it best: That if there is one thing we have learned about UNLV these past few seasons, it is that it will do whatever is necessary to win on the field. That no matter what the scoreboard might say at a particular moment, the belief is always present. That no matter whether a certain practice goes well or not, the standard never changes.

And that’s to win a conference championship.

To do so, the Rebels need to go through Boise State. They might have to do so twice, depending on which teams advance to the Mountain West title game.

Hoopla and predictions

“I mean, you look around the world, the world of college football this week, this is in the top five games in college football,” Odom said. “It’s UNLV and Boise for anybody that put out a list of what the games are this week. So we certainly know there’s a lot of attention for it and about it.

“And that’s what you dream of as a player and as a competitor and as a coach. To be in this situation. To have this opportunity. So that’s what we work so hard for, and why guys are going to end up coming to UNLV. To play in games like this and on the national stage. It’s as big as it gets.”

It’s a week of hype and hoopla and predictions. A week where you have to control emotions until things begin for real under the bright lights of Friday night.

Yeah. It’s a really big game.

“Whichever team wants it most usually comes out the winner,” Woodard said.

I’m pretty sure a lack of desire won’t be an issue on either sideline.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.