More optimism greets this UNLV football season than any in many years, but some questions remain unanswered. Those answers will begin to come tonight when the Rebels open against Sacramento State tonight.
GAME DAY:
UNLV vs. Sacramento State: 7 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium. Radio: KWWN-AM (1100). Line: Rebels -22, no total
With Labor Day weekend coming up and more notable opponents later in UNLV’s football schedule, many fans will find other ways to spend their time Saturday than drive to Sam Boyd Stadium to see the Rebels play Sacramento State.
UNLV defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell prefers not to view Saturday’s season opener against Sacramento State as a player audition; it’s a football game, and winning is the priority.
When Utah celebrated its stunning victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last January, Texas Christian players couldn’t have been faulted for believing that they should’ve been dancing in New Orleans.
When he hops on his skateboard after UNLV football practices and wheels to the parking lot, Ryan Wolfe has the look of California cool, and the temptation is to stereotype him as a surfer dude who doesn’t take much seriously.
The belief began last year for the UNLV football team, when it put together its best season since 2003, and that confidence has carried over.
First-year Wyoming coach Dave Christensen has seen Oklahoma’s talent up close — a bit too close for comfort — and isn’t confident of Brigham Young’s chances of beating the Sooners in the teams’ season opener Saturday.
A weekly Q&A feature’s first installment is with fifth-year coach Mike Sanford, whose Rebels open the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Sacramento State at Sam Boyd Stadium. Each week, the Review-Journal will ask 20 questions of a member of the UNLV football team.
He got repetitions in practice, occasional handoffs in games, but tailback Channing Trotter didn’t quite seem a part of the UNLV football team.
UNLV freshman wide receiver Mark Barefield didn’t wait until this week to get his first taste of trying to balance college academics and football.
The first-string defense is supposed to stop the second-string offense, and that was precisely what UNLV’s starters did Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
Before he can compete to be UNLV’s starting running back, C.J. Cox has to walk, and that has become a problem.
ELY — Omar Clayton had plenty to prove last year when he entered his sophomore season as UNLV’s starting quarterback.
