Hauck: Rout of Hawaii can’t alter UNLV’s focus

UNLV's surprising 40-20 victory over Hawaii on Saturday might just be the turning point second-year coach Bobby Hauck needs to revitalize the Rebels' struggling football program.

But history suggests to be careful about making any such assumptions.

Previous coach Mike Sanford twice appeared to have such program-changing moments. The Rebels beat Utah 27-0 in 2007 to open 2-2, then didn't win again that season. They began the 2008 season 3-1 after back-to-back victories over Arizona State and Iowa State, but finished 5-7.

John Robinson appeared to have a turnaround season in 2000, going 8-5 and beating Arkansas soundly in the Las Vegas Bowl. Quarterback Jason Thomas, however, underwent shoulder surgery the following spring, and UNLV went 4-7 in 2001. The Rebels beat Wisconsin, Hawaii and UNR in consecutive weeks to begin 4-1 in 2003 before winding up 6-6.

And in 1994 under first-year coach Jeff Horton, UNLV pulled off a dramatic win over UNR and routed Central Michigan in the Las Vegas Bowl to go 7-5. Horton went 6-39 over his final four seasons.

Hauck understands the importance of UNLV (1-2) building on the victory over Hawaii, beginning with Saturday's 6 p.m. game against Southern Utah (2-1) at Sam Boyd Stadium.

But whether his players overlook a team from the Football Championship Subdivision is another question.

"I'd like to say no because I can't imagine us taking anybody lightly," Hauck said. "We've got a one-game winning streak. We know what we've got to do, which is get better every week. So we're going to go back to work this week.

"We need to improve every bit as much as we did last week and go play a great game."

The athletic department is trying to build momentum on the uptick in fan interest by offering two-for-one tickets and staging a kids festival before the game against Southern Utah.

And no doubt the players have received their share of congratulations from friends and family, making it perhaps a little more challenging to focus on the Thunderbirds.

"We prepared well all last week," UNLV quarterback Caleb Herring said. "The important thing now is to do what we did last week."

Southern Utah could be a challenge. Quarterback Brad Sorensen, who began his college career at Brigham Young, has completed 73 percent of his passes for 898 yards and six touchdowns.

The Thunderbirds recorded a 35-14 victory Sept. 10 over then-No. 12 Sacramento State -- the same team that opened the season with an upset victory at Oregon State.

So Hauck can easily sell his players on the merits of Southern Utah. He might have something even more important to offer the Rebels after this past weekend -- proof their hard work and willingness to stay the course can pay off.

"Our guys showed a lot of character last week because it would've been easy to say, 'Ah, we're not any good,' and no one did that," Hauck said. "You guys (media) were around all week and saw that. One of the points I made a week ago, it's hard when you invest and you don't get tangible results on the scoreboard.

"For our guys to get reinforcement for their effort is obviously a huge plus."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.