Sixth win could get Rebels in

SAN DIEGO -- UNLV football coach Mike Sanford spent part of this week attempting to build up San Diego State by disputing the severity of the Aztecs' injury situation.

In trying to discredit coach Chuck Long's tale of alleged woe, Sanford pointed out nine healthy San Diego State defensive starters who helped beat the Rebels 38-30 last season.

Such talk is normal by the coach of a favored team, and this is a rare opportunity for Sanford to try out his Lou Holtz poor-mouth material.

The truth is the Rebels should beat San Diego State when they meet at 5 p.m. today at Qualcomm Stadium.

UNLV (5-6, 2-5 Mountain West Conference) is a 10-point favorite -- 21/2 less than the opening line -- against one of the nation's worst teams. The Aztecs (1-10, 0-7) are last in the league in most major defensive categories and rushing offense.

If the Rebels ever are going to break their long conference road losing streak, now at a school-record 18 games, this would be their most likely and advantageous time to do so.

And if they do, then what? Even at 6-6, there is no certainty UNLV would be awarded a bowl berth. Would the Rebels, especially the seniors, consider a bowl-less .500 season successful?

"Way successful," Rebels cornerback Geoffery Howard said. "Even though I'm a senior, it's a jump-start to next season for other guys."

In addition to beating the Aztecs, UNLV's best hope for a bowl is if Utah beats Brigham Young and Wyoming defeats Colorado State today. A Utah victory would most likely put the Utes in a Bowl Championship Series game, freeing an MWC bowl slot. A Colorado State loss would take the Rams out of bowl contention. Then UNLV would probably receive a New Mexico Bowl bid.

If UNLV and Colorado State both win and finish 6-6, the Rams would get the invitation to Albuquerque.

Outside of a Mountain West-affiliated game, the Rebels' best hopes are the Hawaii and Texas bowls.

"It's way better than last year when we were playing for nothing," Howard said.

If the Rebels miss the postseason, they would have only themselves to blame. They lost three consecutive games in October -- Colorado State, Air Force and BYU -- despite leading in the final three minutes in each of them.

"We knew at those times -- and we talked about it with our team -- that we were in direct bowl contention when we played Colorado State," Sanford said. "When we played Air Force, we knew we were in direct bowl contention with them. And also (against) BYU. No question, but the reality is we lost those games."

If today is the last day of the Rebels' season, they will regret those missed chances.

"I think for the guys returning, it will be a big motivating factor in the offseason regardless if we go to a bowl game or not," senior wide receiver Casey Flair said. "If you look at those three games, if we make one or two plays, right now we're sitting in a position where if we win this game, for sure we're in a bowl game."

Of course, UNLV can forget about any kind of bowl trip if it doesn't beat San Diego State.

The Rebels also have motivation beyond making a bowl.

A 6-6 record would equal the combined number of wins from the previous three seasons, and would get the Rebels to break-even at the end of a season for the first time since they finished 6-6 in 2003.

"We cannot take this team lightly," Howard said. "It's not going to be a walk in the park for us. We've got to go out there and play."

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