Notebook: UNLV must brace for No. 4 TCU, Payne likely to return

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

There's really no way to sugarcoat UNLV's welcome-back game off the bye week against No. 4 TCU.

The Horned Frogs (8-0 overall, 4-0 Mountain West) are, despite what the current bowl system will ultimately say, legitimately a national championship-caliber team. They rank second out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in total defense, 11th in total offense and in four games in the month of October, they've allowed only one touchdown to an opponent.

To boot, UNLV (1-6 overall, 1-2 MWC) is 1-7 all-time against TCU and has lost the last three meetings by a combined score of 119-24.

"They're awfully good, I think deserving of their ranking," UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said at his Monday press conference. "When you look at them statistically on both sides of the ball, especially with special teams, they're a handful. They've really gone through a lot of folks."

Las Vegas oddsmakers made TCU a five-touchdown favorite, and it's with good reason. When they come in Saturday night for the 8 p.m. contest, they'll be the highest-ranked foe UNLV has ever faced at Sam Boyd Stadium.

UNLV allowed 43 points its last time out to a struggling Colorado State ball club, while TCU this month is simply storming through the meat of its Mountain West schedule. In their four games this month, the Horned Frogs have outscored opponents 141-10. That included a 38-7 thrashing last weekend against a strong Air Force team.

Leading the show is senior quarterback Andy Dalton. A four-year starter, he's completing 65.5 percent of his passes this season, with 1,635 yards, 14 TDs and only five interceptions. Dalton has also run for 374 yards and four more scores, running the complex TCU offense in efficient fashion.

At the skill positions, as always, Gary Patterson's team has plenty of speed to burn, headlined by running back Ed Wesley (874 yards, 9 TDs) and receiver/returnman Jeremy Kerley (282 rec., 6 TDs).

In other words, preparing for TCU is a completely different beast compared to anything UNLV has seen this year.

"They've got depth with athletes," senior safety Alex De Giacomo said. "I remember last year playing them. Everybody was pretty much a good athlete on the field. They're a well-coached team, good all-around team. Their record kind of says it. They're doing good things, they always do good things, especially in conference (play)."

During the bye week, Hauck said the team ran some heavy practices that reflected spring and fall sessions, including putting the No. 1 units head-to-head more often. The players then had a long weekend, while the coaching staff got some work done on the recruiting trail.

This week, things pick back up quickly, as the Rebels went harder on Monday than they normally do.

Payne appears to be back

UNLV standout junior receiver Phillip Payne appears to be back in good graces with Hauck and the staff, as he's listed along with Michael Johnson as a starting receiver on this week's depth chart.

Payne was left home from the Rebels' last two games after making disparaging remarks about the program on his Twitter feed the week of the loss at West Virginia.

Though he appears to be back for good, Payne will be unavailable to the media for the foreseeable future. Despite missing two games, he's the team's second-leading pass-catcher with 23 grabs for a team-high 389 yards and two touchdowns.

He'll still need to complete a solid week of practice before securing a starting job Saturday night.

"Hope so," Hauck said. "I hope he has a great week and he gets out there and plays well this weekend. That would be great for our football team."

Health again a hot topic

It was no secret how banged up UNLV was heading into its bye week.

Coming out of it, Tuesday's weekly injury report will show just how much the extra time off healed some guys up. From the sound of Hauck, a little bit of healing is better than nothing.

"I don't know how many guys we'll get back, but we should be, in general, healthier," he said. "Some of the bumps and bruises will be cleared up."

The concern now, it seems, is maintaining the current level of health through this weekend with five games still left after the Horned Frogs leave town.

In the past two meetings, TCU has done considerable damage to UNLV on that front, including ending quarterback Omar Clayton's sophomore season with a knee injury in the 2008 romp at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"We've lost a lot of guys," Hauck added. "This will be a real physical game. That's their style. Certainly, we don't have a lot of back-down to us. We like to get after it, ourselves, and any time you're banged up, it's hard to lose more guys."

Playoffs?

Hauck has gone on record in recent months to share his preference of the current bowl system rather than the college football playoffs that it appears the majority of the public desires in order to crown a true national champion.

Obviously, a playoff system would benefit TCU, who even if it goes undefeated this season wouldn't necessarily be guaranteed a shot at the BCS title without some outside help.

Instead of delving into the topic, Hauck on Monday said he'd rather keep the focus on this week's game.

"I really don't have an opinion on that," he said with a grin. "I'm focused on the Rebs. You're not going to sucker me into that one."