Tweet
NEW MEXICO (-13.5) 26 UNLV 16
10:00 AM Pacific Time Monday, Sep-05 - Stats Matchup
The Lobos managed to post 7 wins in 2004 despite having just 9 returning starters and a terrible offense (4.6 yards per play against a schedule of teams that would allow 5.2 yppl to an average offense) and the Lobos looked primed for a run at the Mountain West title now that Utah is within reach. Quarterback Kole McKamey was horrible in his first year as the starter, but he has the league’s best receiver in Hank Baskett and should be considerably better in his junior season. Star runner Dontrelle Moore had an injury plagued season, but still managed to run for 1091 yards at 4.7 ypr, but he may not be 100% for this opener after suffering an injury in the Lobos’ bowl loss to Navy. Moore will play and there is decent talent behind him and I rate the New Mexico offense at only 0.3 yppl worse than average heading into this season. The Lobos defense was surprisingly good last year despite having just 4 returning starters, but they will have a tough time replacing the production of CB Brandon Payne, who led the NCAA with 23 passes defended as a senior. The run defense should be solid again, and I rate the New Mexico defense at 0.8 yppl better than average this season after registering a 1.1 yppl better than average grade last year. UNLV is starting from scratch after a horribly disappointing 2-9 campaign that included 6 games in which they were -3 in turnover margin or worse. The Rebels were actually a pretty decent team from the line of scrimmage, rating at 0.4 yppl worse than average on offense and 0.2 yppl better than average defensively, but the turnovers and poor special teams did them in. New coach Mike Sanford was the offensive coordinator at Utah last season and he’ll bring the spread offense to the desert this year. It may take awhile for the Rebels to grasp the entire offense, but they have pretty good talent at the skill positions and two quarterbacks with the athleticism to run the spread effectively. The offensive line was banged up in the spring, so continuity could be an issue early in the season and I rate UNLV’s attack at 0.4 yppl below average – the same as last year. Defensively, the Rebels return just 3 starters and are learning a new system, but there is talent on the defensive line and in the JC infused secondary, so UNLV should be decent defensively this year (I rate them at 0.1 yppl worse than average). The key for the Rebels will be limiting turnovers, but Sanford’s offense is designed to minimize interceptions so I doubt that the Rebels will be -17 in turnover margin again this season and will likely be underrated coming into the year. In fact, my ratings favor New Mexico by just 10 ½ points, so I’ll lean with UNLV to stay within the number.
The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Monday, September 5th, 1:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: University Stadium (38,634) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Away Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Neutral Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Conference Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Series Record: Series is tied, 6-6.
GAME NOTES: In an effort to reach the .500 plateau in season openers, the Rebels of UNLV begin the 2005 campaign with familiar foe and Mountain West Conference adversary New Mexico at University Stadium on Monday afternoon. The contest marks the debut of new UNLV head coach Mike Sanford who makes the jump from Utah where he was the offensive coordinator for one of the nation's top- ranked teams last season. Sanford takes over for John Robinson who decided he'd had enough with the college game even after he resurrected the football program in the desert. Last season UNLV lost four in a row to begin the year before picking up a crucial win over Nevada (48-13) as part of their heated in-state rivalry. The next week the Rebels produced a 24-20 win over BYU as well, but that was it for the victories as the squad finished with five straight setbacks, including a disappointing showing in the season finale versus San Diego State (21-3). As for the Lobos, who begin play in their 107th season on Labor Day, they struggled for the first half of the '04 campaign with a dismal 2-4 record before head coach Rocky Long got the team to turn the corner in the middle of October with a 24-20 win over this same UNLV group. That began a five-game win streak that propelled New Mexico to a 5-2 record in MWC play and an opportunity to face Navy in the Emerald Bowl, a game that the Lobos dropped 34-19. The series between these two schools is currently tied at 6-6, with New Mexico having won four of seven meetings at home. Since both schools joined the MWC, it's been the Lobos with the 4-2 edge over UNLV.
Donning their flashy new uniforms, the Rebels hope that the change in garb also means a change in attitude and performance. Last season the offense ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (20.8 ppg) and total offense (340.5 ypg). The passing attack was sixth in the MWC at 167.5 ypg, ranking them 102nd nationally, with the unit's pass efficiency (96.6) placing them 112th. Not only was the offense not productive for the most part, the team also gave the ball away far too many times with 33 turnovers in 11 games. Shane Steichen, who played behind an injured Kurt Nantkes much of last year, is lining up under center for the Rebels this time around and hopes to raise his touchdown total from seven and drop his interceptions down from 10. Junior Erick Jackson is slated as the starting running back for the Rebels, but his 5-6 frame might not be able to carry the load after gaining just 154 yards on 31 carries in '04. It'll be his job to make the Rebel faithful to forget about Dominique Dorsey and Dyante Perkins who produced 1,261 yards and seven touchdowns, respectively.
While opponents managed to pick off 17 passes from the Rebels, UNLV's defense had to scratch and claw for their meager six interceptions last season. Add to that just 10 recovered fumbles (after forcing 23), and the Rebels had one of the worst turnover ratios in all of college football. Jamaal Brimmer is no longer the player that the defense will look to in order to produce big plays, nor will Adam Seward or Ryan Claridge be getting the call either. Instead, free safety Joe Miklos, who tied for the team lead with a pair of interceptions in '04, will have to clean up the mess made by the ineffective play of the defensive line and the young linebacking group. The weak side linebacker is Beau Bell, a sophomore who has a bright future but could fall on hard times if he's called upon too much this year. Oddly enough, senior Leon Moore is listed as a backup for this game at left end even after he placed second on the team in sacks last season with four, which just goes to show how much the Rebels are willing to shake things up this time around.
For the last few years, prior to 2004, the Lobos were making waves because they were building on their win total from one year to the next. That stopped last season with a tough first half, but coach Long is ready to make up for that. Just two wins shy of becoming the school's winningest head coach, Long has his work cut out for him as he tries to improve one of the weakest offenses in the Mountain West from last season. Quarterback Kole McKamey is certainly a talented player, but he has to show as a junior this year that he was much better than his six touchdowns and nine interceptions indicated. As a team, the Lobos were 114th nationally in passing with just 119.1 ypg, but the return of wideout Hank Baskett (54 receptions, 908 yards) should swing in favor of UNM. The real question in this contest is whether or not All-America running back DonTrell Moore is ready to get back to action after tearing his left ACL in the Emerald Bowl. Moore's accomplishments will set the tone for how well the offense operates in this game and the rest of the campaign.
The Lobos may not have had an aggressive offense last season, but that didn't hurt what the defense was doing when they walked onto the field. By finishing in the top-30 in total defense again in '04, New Mexico became one of just three schools at the Division I-A level to accomplish that feat in each of the last five years under the direction of Long. The Lobos, who led the MWC in sacks last season for the fifth straight time, is prepared to bring that same sort of intensity on every play again this season, beginning with the play of All-MWC First Teamer Marcus Parker at nose tackle. Last season Parker was fifth on the team with 60 tackles, which is a huge number for a player at his position. The team switched to a 3-4 defense a year ago to take advantage of their strength at linebacker, but with only senior Mike Mohoric coming back from that group, there's a chance that Long could switch up the scheme in order to give Mohoric a break on the inside. With 37 tackles and a total of five interceptions in '04, senior corner Gabriel Fulbright is a bright spot for the Lobos and is already on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List for this year.
The slide that UNLV experienced last season was monumental and without any standout players to lift the squad up again, the Rebels could continue to drift down into the depths of the MWC. Even if Moore is not at 100 percent for this game, anything from him would be a good sign as the Lobos start off the campaign with a satisfying home win.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: New Mexico 24, UNLV 10
10:00 AM Pacific Time Monday, Sep-05 - Stats Matchup
The Lobos managed to post 7 wins in 2004 despite having just 9 returning starters and a terrible offense (4.6 yards per play against a schedule of teams that would allow 5.2 yppl to an average offense) and the Lobos looked primed for a run at the Mountain West title now that Utah is within reach. Quarterback Kole McKamey was horrible in his first year as the starter, but he has the league’s best receiver in Hank Baskett and should be considerably better in his junior season. Star runner Dontrelle Moore had an injury plagued season, but still managed to run for 1091 yards at 4.7 ypr, but he may not be 100% for this opener after suffering an injury in the Lobos’ bowl loss to Navy. Moore will play and there is decent talent behind him and I rate the New Mexico offense at only 0.3 yppl worse than average heading into this season. The Lobos defense was surprisingly good last year despite having just 4 returning starters, but they will have a tough time replacing the production of CB Brandon Payne, who led the NCAA with 23 passes defended as a senior. The run defense should be solid again, and I rate the New Mexico defense at 0.8 yppl better than average this season after registering a 1.1 yppl better than average grade last year. UNLV is starting from scratch after a horribly disappointing 2-9 campaign that included 6 games in which they were -3 in turnover margin or worse. The Rebels were actually a pretty decent team from the line of scrimmage, rating at 0.4 yppl worse than average on offense and 0.2 yppl better than average defensively, but the turnovers and poor special teams did them in. New coach Mike Sanford was the offensive coordinator at Utah last season and he’ll bring the spread offense to the desert this year. It may take awhile for the Rebels to grasp the entire offense, but they have pretty good talent at the skill positions and two quarterbacks with the athleticism to run the spread effectively. The offensive line was banged up in the spring, so continuity could be an issue early in the season and I rate UNLV’s attack at 0.4 yppl below average – the same as last year. Defensively, the Rebels return just 3 starters and are learning a new system, but there is talent on the defensive line and in the JC infused secondary, so UNLV should be decent defensively this year (I rate them at 0.1 yppl worse than average). The key for the Rebels will be limiting turnovers, but Sanford’s offense is designed to minimize interceptions so I doubt that the Rebels will be -17 in turnover margin again this season and will likely be underrated coming into the year. In fact, my ratings favor New Mexico by just 10 ½ points, so I’ll lean with UNLV to stay within the number.
The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Monday, September 5th, 1:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: University Stadium (38,634) -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Away Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Neutral Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Conference Record: UNLV 0-0, New Mexico 0-0. Series Record: Series is tied, 6-6.
GAME NOTES: In an effort to reach the .500 plateau in season openers, the Rebels of UNLV begin the 2005 campaign with familiar foe and Mountain West Conference adversary New Mexico at University Stadium on Monday afternoon. The contest marks the debut of new UNLV head coach Mike Sanford who makes the jump from Utah where he was the offensive coordinator for one of the nation's top- ranked teams last season. Sanford takes over for John Robinson who decided he'd had enough with the college game even after he resurrected the football program in the desert. Last season UNLV lost four in a row to begin the year before picking up a crucial win over Nevada (48-13) as part of their heated in-state rivalry. The next week the Rebels produced a 24-20 win over BYU as well, but that was it for the victories as the squad finished with five straight setbacks, including a disappointing showing in the season finale versus San Diego State (21-3). As for the Lobos, who begin play in their 107th season on Labor Day, they struggled for the first half of the '04 campaign with a dismal 2-4 record before head coach Rocky Long got the team to turn the corner in the middle of October with a 24-20 win over this same UNLV group. That began a five-game win streak that propelled New Mexico to a 5-2 record in MWC play and an opportunity to face Navy in the Emerald Bowl, a game that the Lobos dropped 34-19. The series between these two schools is currently tied at 6-6, with New Mexico having won four of seven meetings at home. Since both schools joined the MWC, it's been the Lobos with the 4-2 edge over UNLV.
Donning their flashy new uniforms, the Rebels hope that the change in garb also means a change in attitude and performance. Last season the offense ranked seventh in the conference in scoring (20.8 ppg) and total offense (340.5 ypg). The passing attack was sixth in the MWC at 167.5 ypg, ranking them 102nd nationally, with the unit's pass efficiency (96.6) placing them 112th. Not only was the offense not productive for the most part, the team also gave the ball away far too many times with 33 turnovers in 11 games. Shane Steichen, who played behind an injured Kurt Nantkes much of last year, is lining up under center for the Rebels this time around and hopes to raise his touchdown total from seven and drop his interceptions down from 10. Junior Erick Jackson is slated as the starting running back for the Rebels, but his 5-6 frame might not be able to carry the load after gaining just 154 yards on 31 carries in '04. It'll be his job to make the Rebel faithful to forget about Dominique Dorsey and Dyante Perkins who produced 1,261 yards and seven touchdowns, respectively.
While opponents managed to pick off 17 passes from the Rebels, UNLV's defense had to scratch and claw for their meager six interceptions last season. Add to that just 10 recovered fumbles (after forcing 23), and the Rebels had one of the worst turnover ratios in all of college football. Jamaal Brimmer is no longer the player that the defense will look to in order to produce big plays, nor will Adam Seward or Ryan Claridge be getting the call either. Instead, free safety Joe Miklos, who tied for the team lead with a pair of interceptions in '04, will have to clean up the mess made by the ineffective play of the defensive line and the young linebacking group. The weak side linebacker is Beau Bell, a sophomore who has a bright future but could fall on hard times if he's called upon too much this year. Oddly enough, senior Leon Moore is listed as a backup for this game at left end even after he placed second on the team in sacks last season with four, which just goes to show how much the Rebels are willing to shake things up this time around.
For the last few years, prior to 2004, the Lobos were making waves because they were building on their win total from one year to the next. That stopped last season with a tough first half, but coach Long is ready to make up for that. Just two wins shy of becoming the school's winningest head coach, Long has his work cut out for him as he tries to improve one of the weakest offenses in the Mountain West from last season. Quarterback Kole McKamey is certainly a talented player, but he has to show as a junior this year that he was much better than his six touchdowns and nine interceptions indicated. As a team, the Lobos were 114th nationally in passing with just 119.1 ypg, but the return of wideout Hank Baskett (54 receptions, 908 yards) should swing in favor of UNM. The real question in this contest is whether or not All-America running back DonTrell Moore is ready to get back to action after tearing his left ACL in the Emerald Bowl. Moore's accomplishments will set the tone for how well the offense operates in this game and the rest of the campaign.
The Lobos may not have had an aggressive offense last season, but that didn't hurt what the defense was doing when they walked onto the field. By finishing in the top-30 in total defense again in '04, New Mexico became one of just three schools at the Division I-A level to accomplish that feat in each of the last five years under the direction of Long. The Lobos, who led the MWC in sacks last season for the fifth straight time, is prepared to bring that same sort of intensity on every play again this season, beginning with the play of All-MWC First Teamer Marcus Parker at nose tackle. Last season Parker was fifth on the team with 60 tackles, which is a huge number for a player at his position. The team switched to a 3-4 defense a year ago to take advantage of their strength at linebacker, but with only senior Mike Mohoric coming back from that group, there's a chance that Long could switch up the scheme in order to give Mohoric a break on the inside. With 37 tackles and a total of five interceptions in '04, senior corner Gabriel Fulbright is a bright spot for the Lobos and is already on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List for this year.
The slide that UNLV experienced last season was monumental and without any standout players to lift the squad up again, the Rebels could continue to drift down into the depths of the MWC. Even if Moore is not at 100 percent for this game, anything from him would be a good sign as the Lobos start off the campaign with a satisfying home win.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: New Mexico 24, UNLV 10
Comment