Sports fodder for a Friday morning . . .There was a definite 2009 feeling out at the Nevada Wolf Pack football practices this week. What does 2009 feel like? You know that clueless, that-wasn't-me-buddy look your dog makes when he makes that tooting sound that resembles air being let out of a balloon? Yeah, that look. That was kind of the look the Pack had this week after its 69-20 loss at Oregon last Saturday. Actually, it was more of a look that said "Yo, Dude, it was Oregon. What did you expect?" But you get the idea. Why do we associate that look with 2009? Well, the Pack had that same look in Week 2 of 2009 after a 35-0 loss at Notre Dame. There was no panic. There was no real concern. There was just a look of, "Yo, Dude. It was Notre Dame. What did you expect?" And then they went out and played one of the most sloppiest and careless games in Chris Ault's head coaching career in a 35-20 loss at Colorado State. This week felt eerily similar to 2009 with a very winnable game at San Jose State coming up. Big-time loss to a big-time program on the road followed by a winnable game on the road. Was that a tooting sound we just heard?
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The San Jose State game is a very dangerous game for the Pack. First of all, the Spartans are a better football team than the one the Pack has blitzed the last three years by a combined score of 138-37. They nearly beat UCLA last week, falling just 27-17. And, second, the Pack has two games coming up at Texas Tech and Boise State that simply had to be in the back of their minds this week. This is an ambush game. The Wolf Pack still should win by three touchdowns but don't be surprised if it is a whole lot closer.
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It might be time for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas to begin a conversation about whether or not to drop the sport of football. The Rebels have been outscored 110-24 in two games this year. They lost 59-7 to Washington State last week, arguably the most truly horrible program in a BCS conference in the entire country. The Rebels are 20-65 overall and 4-39 on the road since 2003 with just three winning seasons since 1986. They haven't been to a bowl game since 2000 and have only been to three in the program's history. The last six head coaches (Bobby Hauck, Mike Sanford, John Robinson, Jeff Horton, Jim Strong and Wayne Nunnely) have a combined record of 95-194 since 1986. Maybe you simply cannot build a winning football program down south. Maybe the Rebels should simply put all of their resources into basketball. Maybe there is no maybe about it.
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UNLV football started so promising. The first four head coaches (Bill Ireland, Ron Meyer, Tony Knap and Harvey Hyde) were a combined 126-70-4 over the first 18 seasons (1968-85). Meyer had a hotshot young assistant on his staff from 1973-75 by the name of Chris Ault. But all of the good times ended three decades ago, probably about the time they fully sold their soul to men's basketball. And it's a shame. A solid, respectable, winning UNLV football program is good for everyone in the state.
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Boise State got off easy. The Broncos were cited for dozens of violations involving 75 athletes (60-plus of them were football players) over five sports and the only penalty the football program suffered was the loss of nine scholarships over three years and nine contact practices in the spring over those same (2012-2014) three years. Big deal. The entire Boise athletic program is on a three-year probation. Ooh. Charlie Sheen was treated rougher than that by The Two and a Half Men producers. This is why the Broncos dumped athletic director Gene Bleymaier? Probation and nine scholarships over three years? That wasn't even a slap on the wrist. It was merely a firm handshake and an unhappy glare. It looks like Boise simply sacrificed Bleymaier to the NCAA Gods so the NCAA would go easy on them.
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The Wolf Pack football team's supposed romp through the Western Athletic Conference might be a bit bumpier than everyone expects this fall. Utah State nearly beat Auburn, Fresno State played Cal and Nebraska tough, New Mexico State beat Minnesota, San Jose gave UCLA all it could handle and Hawaii beat Colorado and put a scare into Washington. It's too bad Boise is already gone and the Pack, Fresno and Hawaii will leave after this year. The WAC became the Biggest Little Football Conference in the world in recent years and a year from now it will be as relevant as 8-track players and VCRs.
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As long as Ted Ginn returns a pair of kicks for touchdowns in every game and Sebastian Janikowski nails 63-yard field goals the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders will be just fine. But here's the deal. The Niners won't win many games the rest of the year with Frank Gore getting 59 yards on 22 carries and the Raiders won't win many with Jason Campbell throwing for 105 yards. Just be thankful for the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, Raider and Niner fans. That was the NFL's version of scheduling a I-AA team in the opening week.
