2010 UNLV Rebels Football Preview

2009 Results: 5-7, No Bowl

Head Coach: Bobby Hauck (1st year @ UNLV, 80-17 Overall)

Home Venue: Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800), Las Vegas, Nevada

UNLV has been one of the most consistently disappointing teams, not only in the Mountain West Conference, but the entire country in the last fifteen years. Despite their great location in Las Vegas, the Rebels have earned exactly one bowl berth while running through three head coaches during that time span. Last season’s second consecutive 5-7 finish doomed former coach Mike Sanford after five failed seasons.

Enter Bobby Hauck, one of the most successful D-1AA Head Coaches in recent history. Hauck led Montana to three National Title Games in seven seasons and led the Grizzlies to a consistently dominant showing in the Big Sky Conference. Clearly, the man can coach, but is there enough talent in Las Vegas for him to win in his first season?

OFFENSE

With Hauck comes Rob Phenicle, his longtime Offensive Coordinator at Montana. Phenicle oversaw the 2nd most productive offense in D-1AA last season and will transition UNLV to a more traditional set where the quarterbacks take snaps under center. This is a departure from their previous sets which saw a lot of shotgun and pistol snaps. Senior Omar Clayton (2,230 yards, 13 TDs, 12 INT in 2009) has two full seasons of starting experience and should continue to be productive in the new system.

The good news rolls along with the offensive line, which returns four starters from last year’s team. While they will be learning a new system, there will be three senior starters and one of the biggest factors in offensive line play is experience, so the Rebels look like they’ll be improved up front with a much simpler set of protections.

Finally, there is a lot of returning talent at the skill positions. Tailbacks Channing Trotter (541 yards, 9 TDs) and C.J. Cox (173 yards, 1 TD, injuries) should combine with Clayton and backup QB Mike Claussen (7 rush TDs) to provide a solid attack on the ground. Furthermore, junior wideouts Phillip Payne (58 catches, 661 yards, 7 TDs) and Michael Johnson (43 catches, 484 yards, 1 TD) were productive last season and should get a lot of looks in 2010. While UNLV wasn’t terrible offensively in 2009, there were some injury issues and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team finally live up to expectations this fall.

DEFENSE

Hauck arrives with both of his coordinators from Montana as new Defensive Coordinator Kraig Paulson presided over the generally excellent Grizzly defense for the last six years. Last season’s Montana team notched an incredible 37 interceptions! While Paulson inherits an experienced unit, it has underachieved in the past two seasons. Perhaps a change of philosophy will help?

Up front, Paulson inherits two senior starters at defensive tackle from a unit that has allowed over 200 yards per game on the ground in the last two seasons. However, Ramsey Feagai and Isaako Aaitui are two 300+ pound behemoths and should anchor a much stronger line against the run, though I don’t anticipate a great pass rush due to underwhelming defensive ends. However, UNLV will have to be pleased with even an average showing after their miserable last two years.

At linebacker, seniors Starr Fuimaono (67 tackles) and Ronny Paulo (59 tackles) should anchor a unit that is one of the most veteran in the league. With two big guys clogging the middle in front of them, both should see a big increase in their numbers this season. Meanwhile, the secondary is ripe for improvement this fall as the Rebels have three returning senior starters. Their problem last season was that they couldn’t force any turnovers, so Paulson’s scheme will be a godsend for a unit that couldn’t get their hands on hardly any interceptions. With so many senior starters and a new scheme in place, it would not be a surprise if UNLV saw great improvement in all aspects of the defense this fall.

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SCHEDULE

The Rebels are one of a select few teams that will play 13 games in 2010. This is thanks to a visit to Hawai’i, which per NCAA rules allows them to schedule the extra game. Hawai’i is one of three games against WAC opponents, the most notable of which is archrival Nevada, who travels to Las Vegas this season. Other notable games include the season opener at home against Wisconsin and a visit to Big East power West Virginia. The only good news is that there are six home games, but this is definitely a difficult schedule.

OUTLOOK

The last few editions of UNLV football have been major underachievers, in my opinion. Sanford didn’t do a great job molding his team into a winner and the new coaching staff clearly didn’t have that problem at Montana. While it is a big step up to play the TCUs, BYUs, Utahs and Wisconsins of the world, I really liked this hire and feel that Hauck will get a much stronger performance from the Rebels this fall. Unfortunately, the first year schedule is very tough (Nevada, West Virginia and Wisconsin could all be ranked when they play UNLV and that’s just the out of conference games!) and the Rebels will need seven wins to become bowl eligible this season. While I think they’ll get close with six wins, the schedule is just too tough for UNLV to get to a bowl game. However, the future looks bright under Hauck.

PREDICTED RESULT: 6-7 (4-4 Mountain West)