Instant Analysis: A loss to rivals unacceptable for UNLV, but program still on rise

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 | 4:04 p.m.

There’s one way to judge if a UNLV football season is successful. If the Fremont Cannon is red at the end of November, take a bow and enjoy the holidays with the satisfaction of a job well done.

If the cannon is blue, which it soon will be following UNR’s 45-10 victory today, it’s an unacceptable, painful-to-stomach result. Losing to Reno is an awful way to end coach Tony Sanchez’s second season — one where signs of improvements in the program were obvious. They finished with four wins, a one-win increase from 2015.

The Rebels were 10-point betting favorites and had home-field advantage. But, by the end of the first quarter, it trailed 10-0 and had gained just 13 yards. Game over.

It’s one thing to lose to a good Reno team, like the ones when Colin Kaepernick ran wild on UNLV. It’s another to lose to this Reno team — it ranked last in the nation in rushing yards allowed and had just four wins. Its coach doesn’t exactly have job security.

Yet, it was the players wearing blue uniforms who were engaged and ready to play. Players wearing red needed a shot of Red Bull.

Here are some observations on the state of the UNLV program:

Rebels still on right track: While the initial reaction is to be critical of Sanchez, and that’s more than fair, it’s not necessarily accurate. The program is significantly better off today than it was two years ago, and that has everything to do with the way he’s managed the program. Forget about what happened on the field today. Yes, UNLV made a poor UNR team look like Alabama, and yes, UNLV didn’t score in the second half. But that’s not looking at the big picture. Don’t forget about the following:

• Players are bigger and stronger. With the exception of today, they competed at a higher level. There’s a solid group of about 15 underclassman poised to have solid careers. Remember, UNLV was hit with injury, especially at wide receiver, and didn’t have its best team today. Its defense, though, needs a massive overhaul — UNR running James Butler had 244 total yards and two touchdowns and looked like an all-American.

• The program’s Academic Progress Rate, one that was so bad the Rebels nearly were hit with a penalty that would leave them ineligible to earn a bowl berth, is no longer a problem. Sanchez fundraised to bring players on campus in time for summer school, getting them on the right track toward academic success.

• They’ll be breaking ground on a $30 million on-campus practice facility soon. From the design of the facility to the fundraising to build it, Sanchez deserves all the credit. It gives UNLV some of the best facilities in the Mountain West, instantly taking the program to the next level.

Inconsistent Rebels: One week, UNLV loses to Idaho at home. The next, it beats Wyoming, which next week will play in the Mountain West championship game. One week, UNLV falls flat in trailing Colorado State 35-0 at halftime. The next, it is competitive into the second half against Boise State on the road. A four-win season could have easily been six or seven. While inconsistent play is a sign of a young team, it’s still puzzling. How could UNLV rank in the top 20 nationally in rushing yards but only rush for 182 today against UNR, which has one of the nation’s worst rushing defenses?

Special teams was a disaster: On the game’s opening kickoff, Evan Pantels booted the ball out of bounds, giving Reno possession at the 35-yard line. Eight plays (and double-digit missed tackles) later, UNR took the lead for good. Then, after forcing UNLV to punt after three plays on its initial possession, the UNR punt returner broke free to bring the ball deep into UNLV territory. He fumbled but still had a lengthy return. The sequence of plays caps a year of struggles for special teams. UNLV ranked 127th nationally in punt return average and 80th in kickoff returns. When coaches further dissect the season and search for ways to upgrade the team, they surely will take a long look at special teams. Today’s game film, or last week when they surrendered a long punt return at Boise State, will provide plenty of teaching moments.

Quarterback in 2017: There’s one quarterback on the roster we haven’t seen in game action, and redshirt freshman Armani Rogers has long been labeled as the program’s savior. For UNLV’s sake, here’s hoping those predictions are accurate. The three quarterbacks the Rebels used this season — Johnny Stanton, Dalton Sneed and Kurt Palandech — were solid rushing the ball and mostly inadequate in passing, especially on throws down the field. Make no doubt about it, one of the three can’t be the UNLV starter next season. While some of the struggles are the result of the Rebels losing their top four receivers to injury, forcing Palandech to throw to a backup quarterback and a converted third-string defensive back, that’s only half of the story. They just aren’t capable passers. They are capable of leading UNLV to the next phase of its development: a winning season. Rogers may be different. A former four-star recruit, he passes the eye test at 6-foot-5, 215 pounds. More important, he’s got a strong arm. Lone question: Do the Rebs turn their offense over to a freshman?

Up next: It’s recruiting season — a time when Sanchez and his staff have enjoyed some minor victories. That’s a good thing because, as witnessed today, there are some immediate needs to address. They had double-digit three-star recruits last February for a recruiting class that ranked second in the Mountain West behind league power Boise State. Some of those players, such as running back Charles Williams and offensive lineman Jaron Caldwell, have been immediate contributors. In his initial two recruiting classes, Sanchez has been able to balance his positions — they lacked tight ends last season and signed three in 2016, for instance. This time around, the first order of business needs to be finding players who can make a tackle. You can’t win games giving up more than 400 yards and five touchdowns a game.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21