Rebels to host Rams 
November 5, 2009 by James Kaikis
The Rebels aim to get a line in the win column this weekend
click image to enlarge
The same task as one year ago now faces the Rebels: win three games straight and go to a bowl.
Last year the Rebels were coming off a loss to TCU, facing three games they needed to win to become bowl-eligible. This year the Rebels are in the same boat.
The Rebels will host a Colorado State team this Saturday that sports an identical 3-6 record.
Both teams have not been as successful as they had hoped this season and UNLV and Colorado State are both 2-3 at home and 1-3 on the road. But the Rams have yet to win a conference game this season.
This game is big for both teams, as they need to win to stay bowl eligible. If the Rebels do not continue to win after this game, they can only hope to match last season’s 5-7 record.
The Rebels are looking for their first home conference win of the season while Colorado State is hoping to end a six-game slide after starting the season 3-0. UNLV has never defeated Colorado State in Las Vegas during their seven meetings since 1979.
Colorado State leads the overall series 12-4-1 and they have also won six straight and 12 of the last 13.
One of UNLV’s only bright spots is All-American candidate Ryan Wolfe. He is the nation’s leading active career receiver with 275 grabs, which ranks 13th in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history. Wolfe also leads all active players with 3,417 receiving yards and is on his way to the MWC all-time receiving yards record. Wolfe needs only 218 yards to overtake Colorado State standout David Anderson’s total of 3,634, compiled from 2002-05.
The Rebels can only hope to make up for what was a poor offensive showing last week against TCU. The Rebel offense has been one of the only reasons why they have played competitively in some games.
The Rebels remain near the bottom 12 percent in the college football rushing ranks and their total offense ranks have dipped recently also.
After watching UNLV get taken on defense by TCU’s offense, the Rebels look for a better game from the defense. They must improve on their 116th-ranked third down defense, which has been an Achilles’ heel all season.
After Colorado State the Rebels will travel to Air Force and then host the team that knocked them out of a bowl last season, San Diego State.
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment.
Comments must show respect for the writers and editors of The Rebel Yell as well as other comment posters. Do not post personal information or maliciously attack anybody using the comment system. Offending comments will be deleted. The Rebel Yell is not responsible for the content of links to external Web sites. Comments will not be considered for Letters to the Editor unless submitted here.