Home cooking, football on our menu

Last week, Air Force’s option offense was too much for us, and we couldn’t get them off the field. They gave us some new wrinkles, and our young guys struggled against it. There is a reason they rank in the top 10 in the nation in rushing every year. We knew they would get their yards, but we can’t give up that many and win the game.

We ran the ball well again, but we have to find more production in our passing game. We have to have more balance in our offense if we want to be successful. The quarterback position gets a lot of attention, but Caleb Herring and the other QBs are doing a nice job managing the game. We need to do better once the ball is snapped. That goes for protection, for throwing the ball on time to where it should go and for the receivers to get open and hold on to the ball. The simple fact is we’re not doing those things well enough.

We have a couple of big games left in the season. This week, we host a good San Diego State team in our final home game, and we have a lot to play for. Our seniors are playing their final game at home, and we have a chance to finish with a winning record in our stadium this season.

The Aztecs are a good football team with dynamic players on offense. Running back Ronnie Hillman is as good as there is in the West. He gets tough yards but can take it to the house on any given play. They also have a gifted quarterback, Ryan Lindley, who will be an NFL draft pick in the spring. They are an exciting team and will be a real challenge to stop. They do a bunch of unusual things on defense that we need to handle.

Our seniors will go out and hopefully have a lot of fun playing their final home game. I’m proud of them, as they have worked really hard through a coaching transition and didn’t win as much as they wanted. But they are part of building a foundation that will help this program become successful moving forward. Saturday will be a big night for them. They’ve put in a lot of work, and our younger players will want to send them out winners.

It’s also a big holiday week, and I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Football has become such a big part of the culture. Just like eating turkey, you sit down with your family to watch football. It’s really part of the American tradition.

By the time Saturday night comes around, everyone will be ready to get out of the house and watch some football, so we hope to see you at Sam Boyd Stadium for the 7 p.m. kickoff.

Go Rebels!

UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck writes a weekly column for Rebels Report.