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Hauck: Rout of Hawaii can't alter UNLV's focus
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Jason Bean/Las Vegas Review-Journal
UNLV players and cheerleaders celebrate the Rebels' 40-20 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV entered the game as an 18½-point underdog. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
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.
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Diamonds in the rough do not a winning program make. If nothing else, it shows the current crop needs to pounce on mistakes and flubs made by the other team, and make them pay. UNLV has shown glimmers of hope before, only to once again fall apart and deliver mediocrity. I'm still not sold.
Speaking of red herrings, I did not go to UNLV. I did take math where I went, at least, and 350k is CHUMP CHANGE. We got bozo the clown in office giving half a bill to make solar panels and they couldn't stay in business. We are running about a 4 billion PER DAY deficit in this country , and Bobby Hauck is our problem. BLOW ME, both of you.
@ blogspot & Kilgore... while I agree that UNLV's primary focus should not be football or athletics, you should also recognize the potential benefit of successful athletic programs that extend well beyond athletics. Such programs can generate significant funds for the school, which are then used to better the academic experience. The programs also benefit the local community in a lot of different ways. And by the way, I am one of the many UNLV alums that have benefited greatly from the education I earned and the experiences I had while at UNLV. Go Rebels!
@Schiff4Senate...how eloquent. Blogspsot is absolutely correct, and your entire response revolves around irrelevant red herrings and a sophomoric insult. You must be another UNLV alum whose sole benefit from attending that alleged "university" is wearing a red sweatshirt. UNLV is a joke both athletically and academically.
Beat Southern Utah Rebel's
Um, I think the coach was hired to focus on football. Could be wrong, but I think that's why he was hired. Good win, UNLV!
put a sock in it blogspot. We got criminal banksters running govt sanctioned ponzi schemes and you are worried about a revenue generating coach, who makes 350k a year. BLOW ME
HAUCK'S JOB IS TO WIN TWO MORE GAMES AND KEEPING FOCUS IS PART OF THAT. GOOD JOB BOBBY
What exactly is UNLV's focus supposed to be? Here's a hint: it's NOT football.