Rebels hope to pull off stunner against Badgers

MADISON, Wis. -- After getting crushed by a combined score of 93-17 in their first two games, you would think the last place the UNLV Rebels would want to play Saturday is in a stadium affectionately called "Mad City" against the nation's 14th-ranked football team, the University of Wisconsin.

But that's the fate for the Rebels.

The oddsmakers have established the Badgers as 38-point favorites, and Wisconsin has arguably the best runner in college football in Ron Dayne. And UNLV will have a redshirt freshman, Chris Hayward, making his first college start at quarterback under very hostile circumstances. Still, Rebels head coach Jeff Horton isn't about to start waving the white flag before kickoff.

"Hey, we're going back there to win the football game," Horton said. "That's the bottom line."

It's a bottom line that Dayne, a 5-11, 258-pound bulldozer of a tailback, and an NFL-sized offensive line led by tackles Aaron Gibson (6-7, 368) and Chris McIntosh (6-7, 310), figure to make very difficult for the Rebels to accomplish.

Still, Horton says he was pleased by the way his team bounced back in practice. And he's quick to point out that the 1997 UNLV football team rebounded from an 0-2 start to play its best football in a 3-8 campaign.

"Our kids have had three good days of practice," Horton said before joining his club on a Thursday night charter flight to Madison. "They have responded to what we've told them. We've worked hard all year but so far have nothing to show for it. But we just have to keep on playing hard and good things hopefully will eventually come.

"We were kind of in a similiar situation a year ago," Horton continued. "We lost our first two games (to Nevada-Reno and Air Force) and then came back to win three of our next five games, lost another in overtime and lost a close one at USC. So the kids know we can turn things around. I know our kids and coaching staff haven't given up."

Still, Wisconsin is not the kind of team you want to try to turn your season around against.

The Badgers (2-0) opened their season with a Dayne-less 26-14 victory at San Diego State, then hammered Ohio 45-0 last week.

Dayne, who already holds 24 school records, figures to add another one Saturday. He needs just 33 yards to break Billy Marek's school career rushing mark of 3,709 yards set from 1973 to 1975.

"He's a special player," Horton said. "The main thing we have to do is not let him get going downhill. We need to plug the gaps and try and get him to go outside where he's less effective."

Dayne, slowed by an ankle sprain the past month, figures to finally be close to 100 percent Saturday.

Meanwhile, Hayward, a 6-4, 210-pound quarterback from San Clemente, Calif., will try to dissect an underrated Badger defense that is yielding an average of 153.5 yards per game and held Ohio to just 37 yards passing last week. The Bobcats gained just 102 total yards, the lowest figure of the Barry Alvarez era and the fifth-fewest yards allowed in Wisconsin history.

"This is what it's all about if you play football," Hayward said. "These are the kinds of games you want to play in. I'm really looking forward to getting out there and showing what I can do."

* REBEL NOTES: UNLV, which arrived in Madison around midnight on Thursday, will work out for about an hour this afternoon at Camp Randall Stadium. ... Saturday's game will be shown on tape delay at 12:30 a.m. Sunday on PBS KLVX Channel 10.

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