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Has UNLV established itself as a permanent also-ran in the Mountain West? Year after year John Robinson and his staff have put together athletic teams that can run with anyone in the league, but injuries, inconsistencies, and occasional befuddling play has kept the Rebels from being more of a factor.
But before Robinson and the program keep getting drilled for being underachievers, let's see how things go in a year without any real injuries. While every team has to overcome nicks and bruises, UNLV seems worse at adjusting and always has issues with a few key players every year.
For example, QB Kurt Nantkes suffered through a pubic bone injury limiting him for most of last year. Several projected starters tore up knees, and there were various turf toes and other lingering problems that caused just enough of a problem for the once promising season to go south.
Once again though, every team has to go through injuries. UNLV has to become a mentally tougher team and has to be stronger in the face of adversity. After all, the Rebels were good enough to dominate Wisconsin in Madison, beat a good Toledo team and beat bowl bound New Mexico. Last year could've been a huge season losing to San Diego State by seven, by one to Colorado State by one and to BYU in overtime. With a veteran team and more depth than they've ever had to help counteract any upcoming injuries, there's no excuse for the Rebels not to make a difference this year.
The Schedule: While the Rebels were able to beat Wisconsin in Madison last year, it'll be asking a lot for a repeat performance coming off the Tennessee game. Closing out the year with road games at Utah, Colorado State and San Diego State in three of the final four game might be too much to hope for a title season.
Best Offensive Player: Senior WR Earvin Johnson. Johnson has all the talent in the world but hasn't been able to showcase it much since the quarterbacks haven't been healthy enough or good enough to consistently get him the ball. Don't let the lack of splashy stats fool you; he's a star to count on.
Best Defensive Player: Senior SS Jamaal Brimmer. The best strong safety in the country, Brimmer is always around the ball and always making plays whether it's against the run, as the team's leading pickoff artist, or forcing the key turnover. Head coach John Robinson keeps comparing Brimmer to another great defensive back he coached, Ronnie Lott.
Key player to a successful season: QB Kurt Nantkes started off last year on fire with a brilliant performance against Toledo, and he closed things off by rallying the Rebels to a win over Wyoming. He struggled in between mostly due to an injury, but he has to stay healthy and make more plays this year for the offense to be better.
The season will be a success if ... UNLV wins seven games and goes to a bowl. It won't be easy with opening road games at Tennessee and Wisconsin and closing road dates with Colorado State and San Diego State, but this is a good enough team to play with any team in the league and make a sleeper run at the title.
Key game: Nov. 20 at San Diego State. In all likelihood this will be for a bowl bid for the Rebels. The Aztecs will have one of the league's better teams and will be a tough roadblock to the post-season.
2003 Fun Stats:
- Penalties: UNLV 98 for 802 yards - Opponents 66 for 632
- Sacks: UNLV 29 for 254 yards - Opponents 19 for 146
- First quarter scoring: Opponents 92 - UNLV 63
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