Columnist Dean Juipe: Stakes high as Rebels end season

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4084.

When the UNLV football schedule was released last summer, the two games at the tail end of the season elicited ghostly impressions.

If the Rebels had another miserable year, attendance at the team's final two games -- vs. San Diego State and Colorado State -- would be minimal. With cooler weather and a lousy team, few would take the time to drive to Sam Boyd Stadium and witness another round of carnage.

So it comes as a pleasant surprise to hear a halfway decent crowd is anticipated for Saturday's game with SDSU, as at least 20,000 are expected. That's not bad considering the Rebels' 3-6 record, and it's a sign that many in the city have bought into the notion of the team being in good hands with John Robinson.

Yet the schedule is unfortunate in some respects, as interest in UNLV football has, somewhat naturally, waned of late after three consecutive losses. Factor in the optimism that will greet the opening of the UNLV basketball season with tonight's home game against Mississippi Valley State, and the exploits of the school's football team have taken on a secondary importance.

But that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. Overall impressions of the Rebels' season will be colored by how they fare this week and next.

In addition, UNLV carried two unsightly streaks into the season that have since been snapped -- consecutive losses (16) and consecutive road losses (26) -- but it is now working on a third -- consecutive home losses (10) -- that it needs to do something about.

The Rebels have not won a home game since Oct. 11, 1997, when they beat Texas Christian.

That's two-plus years without a home victory, which doesn't do much for ticket sales and won't do much for moving season-ticket packages in 2000 if the streak remains intact. The Rebels are 0-3 at home this season, losing to Iowa State, Utah and Brigham Young by a combined score of 105-14.

In order to prove or reinforce the widely held belief that the program is turning the corner, UNLV needs at least one more win. Robinson was hoping for six when the season began, yet four would be satisfactory and would exceed many observers' expectations.

Opportunity knocks with a 3-6 San Diego State team at the door. Toss out an upset victory over Colorado State a month ago and the Aztecs have not distinguished themselves, although they lost three close games -- to Southern Cal, Air Force and New Mexico -- by a combined total of seven points.

They'll arrive here either badly discouraged or anxious to make amends for those close games that got away.

While it's often erroneous or misleading for fans and those in the media to say a game will go to the team that wants it the most, this will actually seem to be the case Saturday. Although the Rebels are banged up on the offensive line and freshman quarterback Matt Ray will be making only his second career start, the teams appear fairly equal.

Robinson, undoubtedly, will stress the significance of not letting a promising season completely escape. There's a big difference between finishing 4-7 (or 5-6) and 3-8 and with five straight losses.

While potentially overlooked, these last two games are far from meaningless.

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