Rebels using history (and last week) as motivation

By Ryan Greene

Friday, Sept. 19, 2008 | 8:42 p.m.

If time heals all wounds, some of the Rebels simply haven't had enough of it.

A handful of veteran UNLV football players couldn't help but get a little fired up this week when prompted with the subject of their last meeting with Iowa State, which comes to town Saturday for a 6 p.m. showdown at Sam Boyd Stadium.

It was then that the Cyclones (2-1 overall, 0-0 Big 12) tipped the Rebels, 16-10, up in Ames. And the game ended with a bit of panic.

Quarterback Shane Steichen fired a pass to the back of the end zone, where Aaron Straiten hauled it in as time expired -- or so the Rebels thought. Steichen was ruled out of bounds, and whether he was actually in wasn't what still bothers Sanford & Co. Instead, it's the fact that the officials seemed to have no interest in using the booth review, and rushed off the field.

Then it was just wild. UNLV (2-1 overall, 0-1 Mountain West) didn't leave the sidelines, a local TV crew followed Sanford as he ran into the athletic complex to find the officials, then back onto the field as he told his team not to go to the locker room. The video was a one-hit wonder on YouTube, and that was that.

That doesn't mean the burn is gone.

"It's one we let get away," said senior receiver Casey Flair, who had nine catches for 86 yards in the game. "You look at that game, and it's one of those games UNLV's had where we had the game and let it go a little bit. We definitely learned from it, and we've got to keep building on what we did last week.

"(Revenge) is definitely there. We know what happened and we know we're definitely a different football team."

As for that YouTube clip, which still can be found with relative ease?

"We like our scholarships, so we don't really say too much about that," Flair joked. "He's a player's coach, I'm sure he saw it and I'm sure he's had a good laugh about it."

But Flair was right about one thing for sure: The majority of the 2008 squad has decided the importance this week lies in turning last week's one big win into two wins -- rather than just exacting some revenge.

Just like a year ago, when Sanford's team improved to 2-2 with an uplifting 27-0 win at home against Utah, the Rebels are in prime position to make this a meaningful season in the win column. On the heels of a 23-20 overtime shocker against then-No. 15 Arizona State, UNLV hosts six of its final nine games and has several beatable foes dotting the slate.

But last year, UNLV failed to win. Lesson learned?

"It's excellent," right tackle Evan Marchal said of the Rebels' current position.

Marchal had plenty to do with one success from a week ago -- running the football -- which UNLV sorely needs to spill over into the Iowa State game.

The Rebels had a tough time getting Frank Summers going consistently on the ground at Utah and for much of the first half at Arizona State. After the senior picked up 8 yards on his first seven carries, he finished the game with 103 yards on 22 totes. Iowa State presents a golden opportunity in that area, as the Cyclones rank 11th in the Big 12 in run defense, giving up nearly 182 yards per game on the ground.

"Coach is always preaching move the rock, move the rock," Marchal said. "When we started moving the ball in the second half (at ASU), things started opening up for us in the pass game. Our goal is to get Frank 1,000 yards this year, and as an offensive line it means a lot to us, so we just try to pound the ball like coach said."

Added Summers of last week: "We did a couple scheme changes, brought in Chris Brogdon at fullback. The offensive line did a good job getting off the ball, and anytime you can give me an inch, I'll take a couple of feet."

On the flip side, UNLV also is emphasizing its defense, which took over at Sun Devil Stadium in the second half last Saturday. The post-intermission Rebel defense allowed just five first downs and forced three punts, including a pair of huge stops on third down late in the game, while the offense eliminated a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit.

Again, Iowa State comes in ripe for the plucking in that department, too. The Cyclones are 10th in their league in total offense and have had trouble with running the ball consistently -- especially in short-yardage situations.

They voluntarily use a two-quarterback system, shuffling back and forth between Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates, both sophomores. While Arnaud is responsible for 60 of ISU's 80 pass attempts this season, Bates is the team's leading rushing with 140 yards.

"I think it's actually harder on the defense than it is on them," Sanford said. "You've got to get used to two different styles. Even though they're both athletic quarterbacks, they're still a little different."

It's the first leg of a big two-game home stretch for the Rebels, who welcome in-state rival UNR into Las Vegas next week. The Rebels insist, though, that they don't plan to fall into the same "look ahead" trap that cursed ASU a week ago in the desert.

As much as some might talk it down, the history in this Iowa State series is a little hard to ignore -- even for those who didn't play in the last game.

"That was my redshirt year," Marchal recalled. "I remember being on the sideline and coach Sanford and everybody was all hot. Games can be won and lost by the officials, but we're not going to leave it up to them this year."

Notes -- Iowa State leads the all-time series with UNLV, 4-0. The only previous matchup at Sam Boyd Stadium was in 1999 -- a 24-0 Cyclone win ... Under Gene Chizik, Iowa State is 0-6 on the road ... Omar Clayton last week broke a school record by completing his 118th consecutive pass without throwing an interception. The Rebels sophomore quarterback is fourth among active throwers in the nation in that category, trailing only Duke's Thaddeus Lewis (206), Louisiana-Monroe's Kinsmon Lancaster (162) and Florida's Tim Tebow (118) ... Cox Channel 1 will make Saturday's game available on-demand for free to all of its cable customers starting Monday, keeping it available through Oct. 6. Cox will do so with all televised UNLV games for the rest of the season. Saturday's game is being televised by The Mtn.