Rebels do as improved teams should, run all over inferior foe

It was nearing the end of his first season as UNLV football coach when Tony Sanchez stood against a wall at Sam Boyd Stadium, his team having just been whipped 52-14, and offered this:

“We are nowhere near physical enough. We’re not even close to these teams.”

Now, in his fourth year, things are different.

UNLV is passing the eye test up front.

The Rebels made a point about how best to defeat an inferior opponent, running all over Texas-El Paso 52-24 on Saturday night before an announced gathering of 14,122 for the team’s home opener.

Progress can be evaluated countless ways in terms of building a program, but perhaps none is as significant as how you hold up along the lines.

UNLV, then, has used a competitive effort at Southern California last week and a dominating ground performance Saturday to more than suggest things are being constructed in an advantageous manner.

Oh, yeah: Lexington Thomas is pretty good.

This is what happens when you finally have some depth, some understanding of this level of play, some learning scars from losses, some toughness.

You no longer need fortune or gimmicks to compete most weeks.

You just line up and play.

It’s so much easier this way.

“We were able to play our (backups) earlier in a game more than we ever have,” Sanchez said. “We were rolling out different defensive lineman and some along the offensive line early in the second half. It’s good to see that earlier in games.”

It’s not just good.

It’s the most important piece to any rebuilding puzzle.

The Rebels ran for 277 yards in the first half, a massive 414 on 57 carries for the game, and smartly kept things more than simple against an overmatched Miners side.

Thomas finished with 17 carries for 127 yards and two scores, the senior off to a terrific season by averaging 131.5 yards in two games.

It was also a night to not worry about, well, what everyone is worrying about, which is the completion percentage of quarterback Armani Rogers — who was 6 of 13 for 119 yards and three scores.

Not when he also rushed 10 times for 103 yards and a touchdown.

“We talked about it this week that (UNLV) has a really good offensive line,” UTEP coach Dana Dimel said. “They’ve done a good job developing quality kids up front. They had some injuries last year, but now they’re healthy and have a powerful offensive line.

“They played a really physical game.”

I’m not sure why Sanchez went the route this past week of suggesting things turn negative fast when it comes to how others perceive his program. That was sort of weird and out of nowhere.

Most folks agreed the Rebels more than held their own against USC.

But decades and decades of losing are difficult for most to merely ignore because of three decent quarters versus a Pac-12 school.

UNLV fans have every right, until proved otherwise with consistent winning on the field, to be scarlet, gray and jaded.

Just own 2018

But this is also true: Every team, every season, every game, is its own entity.

The only thing this specific UNLV side — the one that will go down as the 2018 Rebels — needs to own are those results over 12 games.

And through two of them, the Rebels can absolutely own the fact they are better in most phases (the jury is still out on the coverage teams).

They just look like college football players now.

UTEP finished with 278 rushing yards, and yet the outcome was never in question after halftime — Thomas carried twice in the final 30 minutes. It’s standard for teams leading big to lose focus down the stretch.

Yes, even teams trying to be good.

“We have to be more efficient,” Sanchez said. “As the season goes on, the competition is only going to get stiffer. Each week, we just have to have guys continue to get better, continue to buy in so we can continue to progress.”

All true, and yet this wouldn’t have happened often recently: UNLV lined up against another Football Bowl Subdivision team and merely ran over it.

Nothing fancy.

Nothing out of the ordinary moving the ball.

Nothing more than knowing you’re better and proving it by being the more physical side.

In the world of slow-but-certain progress, you can’t ask for more.

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.