UNLV-UNR misconceptions abound

RENO -- As the seconds tick down to yet another kickoff for UNLV-UNR football today and some take odds on whether Mike Sanford will enter Mackay Stadium on an elephant to fully experience the circus atmosphere he insists is part of the state rivalry game, it's important to clear up a few misconceptions regarding the Limited Access Bowl.

A UNLV win would completely erase last week's embarrassment that was Wyoming 30, Rebels 27.

FALSE: But it could go a long way in turning what has been a forgettable trend under Sanford.

Consider: The Rebels are 1-14 during the Halloween month under their fifth-year coach. October arrives, and the Rebels go south faster than swallows in the winter.

A loss today would put the Rebels at 2-3 and staring at consecutive home games against Brigham Young and Utah.

A win would mean momentum for such an important two-game stretch.

A loss would mean more fans suddenly would be seeking the e-mail address of interim athletic director Jerry Koloskie.

A win would mean UNLV is halfway toward the bowl eligibility requirement likely needed to save Sanford's job.

Winning the rivalry game means more to UNR than it does UNLV.

FALSE: This is something you might have assumed given UNR's current four-game win streak in the series, but you should know the Rebels had won five straight before that.

UNR leads the series 19-15, but UNLV has outscored the Wolf Pack 214-190 since 2000. This hardly has been Florida vs. Charleston Southern at any point.

But it's not an uncommon perception nationally for a state's smaller school to be tagged with a little brother complex and thought to own a larger chip on its shoulder when it comes to competing against the larger school from the premier city.

Say what you want about Sanford's record at UNLV (although I'm pretty sure all has been said) and how his teams have underperformed. I don't for a second believe he or any of his players want to win any less today than those wearing blue.

"I wouldn't say the word 'bothered' by it is appropriate," Sanford said this week. "I would just say that the idea (UNR takes the game more seriously) is a complete untruth. It's just not true.

"This is a very important game to us. We don't pay attention to any of the (perception). To me, it's about us and what we think and not what anybody else thinks."

The Rebels will own an advantage today given UNR is not coming off its annual bye week when preparing for UNLV.

FALSE: There is no such thing as an advantage when you just lost at Wyoming. That said, rumor has it they still are looking for the guy who made UNR's schedule this year and didn't first double-check things with coach Chris Ault.

The Wolf Pack have made it a (purposeful) habit of having a week off before facing the Rebels but this year hosted and lost to Missouri.

That was on a Friday while the Rebels played on the road Saturday, so the Wolf Pack still have enjoyed more preparation time. Just not enough for that schedule maker to come out of hiding.

UNLV still hasn't tackled Colin Kaepernick.

TRUE: At least I can't remember it doing so.

Ryan Wolfe might be the nation's career active leading receiver for the Rebels, but the one who should decide today's game one way or the other plays quarterback for UNR.

Kaepernick rushed for 240 yards and threw for 176 more against UNLV last season. If he has close to the same kind of effort today, the Rebels are toast before leaving the hotel.

UNLV has defended mobile quarterbacks as one might embrace someone suffering from a deadly virus.

Kaepernick has played better than an 0-3 quarterback, which always sounds crazy to say and yet feels even stranger to write.

The fact the UNLV-UNR game again isn't shown on television locally demands someone find Russell Dalrymple and put him in charge of negotiations.

TRUE: Maybe all this needs is some calmer heads sitting around a nice serving of pasta primavera. Throw in some words of encouragement from Elaine Benes, and the absolute farce that is this game not being televised might be solved.

The ogre that is ESPN owns the rights to Western Athletic Conference games and instead chose to regionally televise Colorado State-Idaho today, another Mountain West-WAC matchup. Makes sense. You know what they say about the circus type atmosphere those Rams-Vandals games produce ...

The problem remains that no matter who is the bigger boob in the entire contractual mess -- ESPN, The Mtn., the conference offices, Mike Hamrick because we haven't blamed him for anything in more than three months -- the ones who again suffer are fans.

I would have loved to ask a few of the UNLV players with Nevada ties this week about the TV nonsense, but they weren't allowed to talk.

Also, it would have been hell trying to find them among all the clowns and jugglers and lions and tigers out there at practice.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He also can be heard weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on "The Sports Scribes" on KDWN-AM (720) and www.kdwn.com.