UNLV staring down another ranked opponent on the road

By Ryan Greene

Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 | 10:20 p.m.

Some teams trying to bounce back from a string of two-win seasons might dread a 14-day schedule like the one the UNLV football team will complete Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.

For the second straight week, the Rebels are preparing for an uphill climb on the road against a nationally ranked opponent with legitimate BCS aspirations. Kickoff between UNLV and No. 15 Arizona State is set for 7 p.m., with the game being televised on Fox Sports Net.

"I just think it gives that chance for national exposure," Rebels senior wideout Casey Flair said. "You can go through a whole season and not play anybody nationally ranked, and I don't find that a very exciting season or anything to look forward to. You have a Top 15 team two weeks in a row, arguably. It's just a great atmosphere for us to play in. You get a chance to go in there and play against a big school who a lot of people are expecting a lot out of."

For UNLV to find success against ASU, Mike Sanford's squad will have to correct the mistakes made last weekend in Salt Lake City, where the Rebels fell to Utah, 42-21, after taking a 14-14 tie into the halftime locker room.

A costly personal foul call extended a late first-half Utah drive and gave the Utes the momentum at the break. Plus, the losses of linebackers Starr Fuimaono (ACL, out for season) and Ronnie Paulo (leg, back this week) had some affect on the team.

"You don't ever expect anything like that to happen," linebacker Jimmy Miller said of the injuries. "But when it does happen and you're not ready, you get exposed."

Miller and freshman Nate Carter will see more reps this week in the middle of the Rebels defense, and both said the reality of what can happen on any given play served as a wake-up call this week for the team's reserves.

But talk about a game to get thrust into the rotation for.

ASU enters play as one of the nation's premier offensive teams, with the attack spearheaded by senior quarterback Rudy Carpenter. At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Carpenter is both a strapping and experienced leader whose numbers have improved steadily in his four seasons in Tempe. Through two games this year, he's completed 76.6 percent of his passes for 733 yards, four touchdowns and just one pick.

"He's got a strong arm, and he's got good pocket presence," Miller said. "Rudy Carpenter's a very smart quarterback. I've known him since he was young. He knows where the ball's going, and you've got to find out where it's going as fast as you can with a guy like that.

"He's your average Southern California quarterback right there -- a lot of technique drilling, he's very sound with his feet and his drops. You've got to do the same."

Carpenter could have more than the usual order on his plate Saturday night, with the status of senior running back Keegan Herring (hamstring) still in question, and starting tight end Andrew Pettes (groin) a potential game time scratch.

But the cupboard is far from bare. Carpenter works with as deadly a one-two combo in terms of wide receivers as you'll find in the Pac-10 with Michael Jones and Kerry Taylor.

"I think the biggest thing is just that they're a good combination of a power run team and they do a really nice job with the play action pass," Sanford said.

Defensively for the Sun Devils, Sanford said what stands out in his mind is ASU's ability to rush the passer off the edge, and the threat of maybe the Pac-10's top cornerback, Omar Bolden, waiting on the perimeter.

Safe to say, it'll be quite the challenge for Omar Clayton and the Rebels offense to work against.

Through two games, Clayton has shown repeatedly why he was named the team's starting quarterback on the first day of fall camp. He's completed 61 percent of his passes, and has thrown four touchdown passes to zero interceptions. In fact, the Rebels offense has yet to turn the ball over this season.

But there's still more that can be done.

"I'd just like to be more productive," Sanford said. "I think we've been good -- OK. I'd like to be more productive. More points, more yards, more big plays. And continue to protect the football."

Escaping Tempe with a still-clean offensive slate could be huge for the Rebels. Another positive would be heading back up north with no more significant injuries.

Schedule-wise, things lighten up a bit for the Rebels in the coming weeks. True, Iowa State and Nevada-Reno the next two weeks at home are no slouches, but the key word there is "home."

ASU, on the other hand, has a big home date of its own on the horizon, and that presents another underlying theme in this weekend's contest.

While Dennis Erickson's team will still have to get the best of the likes of USC in conference play to potentially reach the BCS waters, the Sun Devils have an equally tough non-conference game just a week away, when No. 2 Georgia comes to the desert.

A popular opinion around the college football world a week ago was that the reason Ohio University was able to hang so close with Ohio State in Columbus, before losing by a slim margin, was that the Buckeyes might have had their sights set on this weekend's road game at Southern Cal as opposed to the task at hand.

"I think that's there," Flair said. "But as far as we're concerned, it's another game. We've got to come out prepared like we would any other game, not put them on any kind of a pedestal."