Slippery QB exposes flaws in UNLV defense

The latest UNLV football loss to UNR is over, which means Wolf Pack coach Chris Ault is somewhere dancing on a couch wearing a lampshade and the Rebels now can just have nightmares about tackling Frankie Albert rather than looking pathetic trying to do so.

OK, so Colin Kaepernick isn't left-handed and doesn't attend Stanford and isn't running the T formation.

He's also alive, which helps.

But he has the deception part nailed, which UNLV saw -- or make that didn't see -- snap after snap in UNR's 49-27 victory Saturday night.

Kaepernick faked his way around Sam Boyd Stadium like Harry Houdini in shoulder pads, and the Rebels responded to his trickery with the quickness of Harry Reid in cement cleats.

Either that, or UNLV defensive players must believe the saying "stay at home" is only for naughty children. The Rebels remained in defensive lanes as a wobbly driver might after one too many Happy Hour cocktails. They were ridiculously confused far too often.

Result: The fourth straight Wolf Pack victory in the series was earned on the legs and arm of Kaepernick, a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore (at least 6-1 of that is legs) who was offered just one scholarship out of high school because he was headed toward being a high Major League Baseball draft pick and everyone assumed he'd jump at the opportunity.

But he preferred football to that future, told Ault as much and put away his bat and glove for good. On Saturday night, he rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns while throwing for 176 and two more.

He totaled 2 yards rushing in high school. He had 98 against UNLV's defense riding in the bus to the stadium.

He is really, really good. He is the kind of quarterback Ault eventually will make great. Kaepernick, health willing, also has two more games against UNLV, which should pad the kid's career stats into Hall of Fame consideration at UNR.

The one thing no one knew a month ago was how much, if any, the Rebels could stop people, that if UNLV simply would have to outscore opponents just to give itself a weekly chance.

Talk about a frightening preseason image.

The Rebels lost their best player (linebacker Beau Bell) off a team that last season ranked 62nd nationally in total defense, had a talented part-time starter (safety Shane Horton) transfer to Southern California and watched a starting defensive end (Jeremy Geathers) leave school early for an NFL dream he hasn't yet and might never realize.

Oh, yeah. There also was another change at defensive coordinator, with the roulette wheel landing on Dennis Therrell. I'm pretty sure the only guy not to take a shot at the job is Lon Kruger, but he has been somewhat busy.

Four games and three wins told us a lot about UNLV's offense. That scoring wouldn't be as difficult as previous years. That being a terrific student in the classroom helped make quarterback Omar Clayton a quick learner on the field. That a wide receiver like freshman Phillip Payne has limitless potential and one like junior Ryan Wolfe is even better than imagined, and the kid already was terrific.

But the impressive start to Mike Sanford's fourth season wasn't as clear when it came to defense. The Rebels before Saturday ranked average to poor on that side -- 82nd in scoring defense nationally, 79th against the run, 64th against the pass -- and had shown worrisome flaws.

Utah State moved the ball against UNLV at times far too easily; Utah toyed with the Rebels in a third quarter that decided that game in Salt Lake City; Iowa State was down 21-0 at halftime last week, forced overtime at 28-all and drove 98 yards in nine plays with no timeouts in just 1:31 to force the extra time.

Fact: The one thing everyone knew a month ago was that Sanford and his staff and the players and their fans would have taken a 3-2 nonconference record and not asked a single question. It was a schedule filled with four potential losses and one few believed UNLV could maneuver as well as it did.

But with the team's second Mountain West Conference game looming Saturday at Colorado State, anyone who dismisses the defensive leaks that allowed UNR to run for 444 yards and finish with a total of 620 is delusional.

UNLV won't face another dual-threat quarterback as skilled as Kaepernick this season. That's the good part.

But as effortless as the Wolf Pack moved the ball and scored at times ... that's the troublesome part.

What was that? I think Frankie Albert just faked his way around right end for another 66-yard score.

Ed Graney can be reached at 383-4618 or egraney@reviewjournal.com.