I have never been one of those anti-bowl game guys. Never been one to care much about how many postseason college football affairs are played. But when the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl kicks off today in Tucson, the perception of Mountain West football will endure a devastating punch to the gut.
It’s skewed in a way. The total through nine games includes a 517-yard effort against awful Idaho State, which I am fairly certain the lunatic wearing a red hat and acting as lead cheerleader on UNLV’s football sideline each week could run for over 100 against.
Peni Vea wasn’t alone in his desire to get off the rock, one of many born and raised in Hawaii who covet a chance to experience another place, another sense of culture and tradition. No, really.
Tony Sanchez wouldn’t answer the question, which usually means if you give him a few minutes and attack the point in a different manner, he will have something to say.
It’s not the sort of arms race those in Power 5 conferences engage in annually. We’re not comparing a Dassault Falcon to a Gulfstream. More like a Beechcraft to a glider.
When they turn out the lights and flip on the film, when they begin to dissect a 33-27 overtime loss to a beatable San Jose State side on Saturday night, UNLV football coaches will likely come to this conclusion: They just might have gotten the most Kurt Palandech could offer.
Did you hear the one about when Tony Sanchez as football coach at Bishop Gorman High was afraid of an opposing local team? No, there isn’t a punchline.
Do you know that saying about being a symptom of something much worse? Yeah. That’s what 2-16 is. That’s what being outscored by an average of 39-18 in those football games is. That’s the reality facing Mountain West teams and all others existing within the insignificant and dismal reality of a non-Power 5 conference today.
Tony Sanchez gathered his UNLV football players at midfield Friday afternoon, their shoes covering part of the big, yellow, renowned letter. M.
UNLV plays a football game at Michigan on Saturday, and the 34-point spread gives you an idea about how those who set lines believe the Rebels will fare in one of the most iconic of college stadiums.
Here is the origin: It comes from a 1738 play by a French fellow named Leonor Jean Christine Soulas d’Allainval, which I dare you to say 10 times fast and not sound like Gilbert Gottfried ordering breakfast from a cafe in Paris.
Say this for Tony Sanchez: He has spread the word about UNLV football like a politician might his platform around Iowa cornfields.
Kent Baer would be smart to remind those UNLV football players he now coaches that you can’t begin the next chapter of your life by continuing to read the last one. One can only take so many horror stories.
The last time UNLV’s football team received as much offseason coverage as it has since December was, well, never. The Rebels were splashed across the pages of newspapers and magazines that in recent years hadn’t offered the slightest glance towards the program. All of it was terrific for the brand. And, as of Friday morning, none of it meant a thing.
Tony Sanchez delivers a lot of messages. He’s a courier with a whistle, a columnist’s dream for notebook material, a guy who talks about eating elephants one bite at a time and walking into an alley to rumble.
