Mondays with Mike: A new day, a new week

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Each Monday, UNLV football coach Mike Sanford meets with the media to discuss last weekend's action and next weekend's matchup. That said, each Monday the Sun will bring you notes and quotes discussing both.

The big theme around the Rebel football offices Monday afternoon was the fact that it is now a new week.

While last week had plenty of build-up, the 49-27 loss to Nevada-Reno made it one worth quickly forgetting.

Though there were some loose ends to be tied up on Sunday.

One of the obvious areas of concern when breaking down the film was the abundance of missed tackles, as the Wolf Pack piled up 444 yards on the ground - 240 by quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

"I don't know what (the number of misses in) an average game is," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "Any time you're in double figures, that's bad. We had 24.

"We've got to practice tackling more, and we've got to grab cloth better than we did."

Believe it or not, there was a bright spot on the defensive side of the ball in the aftermath of everything. Junior linebacker Jason Beauchamp was honored by the Mountain West Conference as its Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded 21 tackles (one shy of tying a school single-game record), 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery.

"I think our defensive line is reliable and dependable," Sanford said. "As far as the second-level players - linebackers and secondary - Jason Beauchamp is the most dependable (right now)."

Beauchamp is averaging 10.6 tackles per game, which ranks 13th in the nation.

More on Summers ...

One eye-opener on the final stat sheet Saturday was the limited workload of senior tailback Frank Summers, who was held to just 20 yards on nine carries. This came after he'd averaged 23.25 touches in each of the Rebels' first four games of the season.

"I think he was a little banged up, but not to the point where we didn't want to use him," Sanford said. "I think a lot of that was what they were doing defensively, as far as our use of him."

As for the health, including a sore knee ...

"I think he is better, and I think he'll be even better and better as the week goes on," Sanford added.

This weekend's trip to Colorado State offers a solid bounce-back opportunity for Summers, if history has anything to say about it. A year ago, Summers picked up 143 total yards and two scores in a loss to CSU at home.

Plus, the Rams play a slower, grind-it-out style than UNR did. That pace allows Summers to do more, as opposed to the shootout the Rebels were drawn into with the Wolf Pack.

"It's frustrating," Sanford said of not being able to involve Summers more against Reno. "That's the thing about having some flexibility in your offense. You've got to be able to take advantage of what they're giving you. We didn't do that enough. We had some three-and-outs, and we had some turnovers and bad things on offense where we needed to answer on scores. That was one of those games where you needed to answer on scores."

Some final thoughts on Reno ...

While some may have forgotten about the Pack, given their 1-2 start, blowout loss at Missouri and bye week before taking on UNLV, Sanford believes they're now going to be more widely perceived as a serious threat in the WAC. Before last week, the league was thought by many to be a two-horse race between Boise State and Fresno State.

"I knew they were going to be a better team than what they showed against Missouri," Sanford said. "I think they're going to cause a lot of problems, they're going to have a big factor in the WAC conference race."

Though, as Sanford said, Reno is now in the rear-view mirror.

"I think it was hard for me to put this one past me, but you've got to do it," he said. "I was able to do it last night, and when I got up this morning, it was a new day, new week."

As for his players ...

"I think it's especially hard on the seniors, because they won't have another chance (at UNR), but I think one of the things about us educating this team and helping this team grow up and mature is that's one of the things we've got to be able to do, is put something behind you," Sanford added. "It's called selective amnesia, which is what a corner has to have when he gets beat deep, what a quarterback has to have when he throws an interception. You've got to be able to forget about stuff and move on."

Marchal's status improving

Sanford pointed out that starting right guard Evan Marchal, who has battled a twice-sprained ankle in recent weeks, struggled a bit against the speed of Nevada-Reno's defensive ends. But there was one big positive to come out of the loss for Marchal.

"The good news is he came out of the game without having re-injured the ankle," Sanford reported. "It was better yesterday than it was a week ago Sunday, so that's encouraging."

Some more silver lining

Sanford and his staff aren't big on giving out individual awards following losses. But one which was distributed on Sunday was the Hard Hat award, given to reward blue collar play - something the UNLV staff preaches.

It went to junior receiver Ryan Wolfe, who had eight catches for 167 yards and a score Saturday. He made several key, gutsy grabs, including a diving 26-yard catch in the second half over the middle on a third-and-20 throw from Omar Clayton.

"He was fully extended - I can't remember if it was thumbs-in or thumbs-out," Sanford said with a smile. "I think he's dependable, and he works hard. Those catches you see him make in games, he makes in practice all the time.

"He's a classic example, when we talk about recruiting guys who love the game of football, that guy loves the game of football. And he plays like it."

Wolfe now has 37 catches (tied for fourth in the nation) on the season for 474 yards (seventh in the nation).

On to Colorado State ... and beyond ...

One thing is for sure - UNLV won't have to prepare for a quarterback this weekend that can pick up yards on the ground like Kaepernick did.

CSU coach Steve Fairchild told the Denver Post on Monday that fifth-year senior Billy Farris will remain the team's starter. He was 12-of-25 for just 96 yards and two picks in last Saturday's 42-7 loss at Cal.

The question of who would start arose when redshirt freshman Klay Kubiak - son of Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak - made his collegiate debut late in the game, going 6-of-9 for 130 yards.

Kubiak also ran the ball three times for 18 yards, while Farris has -49 yards rushing on the season.

Though the Rams have a pretty good pair of legs carrying the ground game with senior Gartrell Johnson. The big back - in the mold of Summers - is fifth in the league in rushing with 300 yards on 66 yards this season.

"The fact is this is a different style we're playing (against) this week compared to what we played last week," Sanford said. "That's not to say it's going to be easy. I've been watching tape on them today, they're a very good offensive football team, and a very solid defensive, attacking team."

A good offense is expected, as Fairchild came from a couple of successful stops in the NFL, working as an offensive coordinator under Mike Martz with the St. Louis Rams and then with the Buffalo Bills.

Of course, that's not to say the Rams won't try to experiment with some of the things opponents have done against UNLV which have found success so far - namely the option.

"They may put it in, we have to be ready for it, no question about it," Sanford said. "Both (quarterbacks) are pretty athletic, I think. Kubiak's probably a little better athlete than the starter, but they're both athletic guys. I don't think you're going to find many more athletic guys than the quarterbacks we've faced the last two weeks."

Sanford said that, off the top of his head, the closest thing UNLV could see to what they have the past few weeks will probably be against Air Force (Oct. 18) and TCU (Nov. 1).

Thinking that far ahead, though, is forbidden right now, though, to Sanford. Especially with a bye week on the horizon after the upcoming trip to Colorado.

"We are taking this as a specific game, but also there are implications of this game to the whole season," he continued. "I look at it like this is the playoffs.

"The good thing is we have a bye after this. We've had some very emotional, physical games. Probably the last four games were very emotional, physical games. We've got to rise up for one more, and then we've got two weeks off."

The the 2-2 Rams are a bit more of an enigma right now than the Rebels. This season has already seen plenty of ups and downs. CSU opened with a 38-17 lopsided defeat against in-state rival Colorado - usually a pretty close matchup. Then came a closer-than-expected 23-20 home win against FCS foe Sacramento State. The Rams went to 2-1 with a somewhat surprising 28-25 home win against Houston, but took a bit of a step back against Cal.

"You don't know exactly who they are," Sanford said. "That's the simplest way of saying it."

One final CSU-related note ...

It's a bit ironic for Sanford that this week's game against CSU takes place on Sonny Lubick Field at Huges Stadium.

That's because Lubick, the field's namesake and former Rams coach, was one of the people to call delivering his congratulations to Sanford after the Rebels defeated Arizona State, 23-20 in overtime on Sept. 13.

Want even more of a twist? Lubick's son, Matt, is an assistant on the ASU staff.

"He said 'I know my son coaches at ASU, and this is a little bit awkward, but man was that a great win,'" Sanford recalled with a grin. "Sonny's great."

Be sure to stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com the rest of this week (and the season, for that matter) for all of your UNLV football coverage, including stories, blogs, photos, videos and live in-game coverage.