Rebels go for feel-good win

TEMPE, Ariz. -- UNLV can lose to Arizona State tonight and still win, and it wouldn't have anything to do with a moral victory.

It would be about building for the rest of the Rebels' season, which arguably begins next Saturday at home against Iowa State.

That game figures to be more of a barometer of where the Rebels stand than the season's first three, including today's 7 p.m. kickoff in which they are 23-point underdogs to the No. 15 Sun Devils.

A crowd of about 60,000 is expected at Sun Devil Stadium to watch Arizona State (2-0), last year's Pacific-10 Conference co-champion, have what is expected to be an easy night against the Rebels (1-1).

Sun Devils quarterback Rudy Carpenter has passed for 733 yards in the first two games, wide receiver Mike Jones is averaging 20.1 yards a catch and cornerback Omar Bolden seldom gets beaten.

Regardless of tonight's outcome, the Rebels need to emerge healthy. They can't afford more losses like the season-ender to linebacker Starr Fuimaono, who suffered a major knee injury in last week's 42-21 loss at No. 22 Utah.

If the Rebels come out relatively unscathed, they will set themselves up for possible success as their schedule becomes much more conducive to victories. Six of the next eight games are at home, and there aren't any Utahs or Arizona States in that group.

In addition to actually upsetting the Sun Devils, there are other ways to win.

Rebels coach Mike Sanford said it's important to reduce penalties, put together four solid quarters and receive better play out of the substitute if a starter gets injured.

After committing only four penalties in the opener against Utah State, UNLV had 12 for 73 yards at Utah. In both games, the Rebels let down in the third quarter after much stronger play in the first half.

UNLV also had difficulties once Fuimaono and fellow linebacker Ronnie Paulo went out early in the second quarter against the Utes. Utah's offense awakened on the spot.

"The guy that goes in the game needs to be prepared better," Sanford said. "That's a combination of us doing a better job of coaching and our players being more accountable that they're one play away from getting in the game."

Defensively, coordinator Dennis Therrell said it's important to "get our confidence back. We lost our confidence in the second half of that ballgame (at Utah).

"It doesn't matter if you're playing one of the junior highs or you're playing the Green Bay Packers, you've got to go out there and play with confidence every snap, play hard and attack people."

Quarterback Omar Clayton said it was important to keep the no-turnover streak going, create takeaways on defense and minimize three-and-out offensive possessions.

"The longer you keep doing those things, the more the team becomes accustomed to it and it becomes a habit," he said.

The Rebels, of course, won't take the field solely to meet specific objectives. They want to win, even though it would be a national newsmaking upset.

UNLV, however, probably is catching the Sun Devils at a good time because the latter could be looking ahead to No. 2 Georgia's visit next weekend.

"We can't take nothing out of it but winning," Rebels tailback Frank Summers said. "If you want a moral victory, we had a moral victory for a half last week. We're going in this game like we should win it and we can win it.

"I think this program is past moral victories or past learning anything from a loss. We've had enough of that learning experience."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.