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.
This is a Christmas story that has nothing to do with the one that will be shown on TBS on a continuous loop Friday. This one is about UNLV coaches with soft spots in their hearts, and a Rebels basketball player who is much better beyond the 3-point stripe than he is with a Mexican yo-yo, and sick kids in the hospital, and the local sports radio host who brings them all together each year.
In the vacuum that was 12 college football games, Tony Sanchez saw progress.
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.
The tweet was sent Sunday evening from the account of UNLV football, a picture of players under dark skies and bright lights executing practice drills. The attached message was simple.
They were lining up the NASCAR trucks for Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when a guy wearing a Route 66 shirt in the media center noticed one of the TVs had been switched. Instead of the race broadcast, it was showing the Arizona State-UCLA football game.
