Rebels fight until the end, but contending remains a distant goal

BOISE, Idaho — In the expected eulogy that buried any bowl hopes for UNLV’s football team this season, the Rebels on Friday night again showed how vast the difference can be between steady improvement and massive leaps to contention.

They’re still a ways from the latter, but fighting until the end just the same.

Boise State players chose this game to exhibit their toughness by going shirtless in 47-degree weather for their pregame stretching routine, a bit surprising given the Broncos were a four-touchdown favorite at Albertsons Stadium and few believed UNLV had either the talent or depth to compete for four quarters.

But the story goes that Boise State offers this display of skin on the final regular-season home game annually because it’s usually the coldest.

That was a reach Friday, when you could aptly describe the weather as somewhat crisp.

The Rebels hung in for a half before Boise State flexed its muscles for a 42-25 victory before a Senior Night gathering of 32,989, officially ending any postseason hopes for UNLV in the second year of the Tony Sanchez head coaching regime.

But there remains more hints than not that things are moving, slowly but surely, in the right direction.

“We’ll be fine,” Sanchez said. “You see our guys. They have a fighting spirit about them. Nobody is down. Nobody has their head between their legs. That’s not us. That’s not the way the Rebels are. We’re excited about our (final game next week). It’s my job to make sure our morale stays up and it is. Our guys are getting better and there are high expectations now, which is a good thing.

“We’re disappointed to just now in Week 11 come out of bowl eligibility, but we’re going to go fight our tails off to get that fifth win.”

No matter what happens against UNR on Nov. 26 at Sam Boyd Stadium, whether the Rebels win to finish 5-7 and keep the Fremont Cannon red or lose and see it painted a dark shade of blue upon arriving in Reno next season, much can be diagnosed from winning more games this year than last.

Mostly, UNLV was special at one phase and not so in several others.

If they’re to make yet another jump in the Mountain West standings and reach their first bowl under Sanchez in 2017, the Rebels need to get a whole lot better in many of them.

Specifically, defending the pass and being a ton more special on special teams.

UNLV has run the ball well all season, accumulating a deep group of backs behind a line that will return four of five starters. There are far worse things to build off offensively than one of the league’s best ground games.

But that also again speaks to UNLV’s dire need for consistent quarterback play to emerge, meaning the hope that freshman Armani Rogers, sitting out a redshirt year, is as good as many within the program believe remains a significant point to watch when spring practice arrives.

Let’s hope he has someone at which to throw.

You can’t even make up the number of injuries UNLV has suffered at wide receiver this season.

Think about it: The four scholarship receivers missing Friday have combined for career numbers of 248 catches for nearly 3,700 yards and 25 touchdowns, and they were replaced by ones with career numbers of 22 catches for 277 yards and four scores.

That’s no small difference.

But more than anything else, Sanchez must immediately address needs at defensive back and special teams. The Rebels rank 100th nationally in pass defense and, if you can believe it, seem a lot worse most weeks. They need to be longer and more athletic in the secondary. They need to be more of everything good back there.

I’m not sure how this is possible, but UNLV also entered Friday ranking dead last among conference teams in punt returns with a total of minus-1 yards this season. A lack of depth across one’s roster often shows most on special teams — it definitely has with the Rebels — but UNLV is still staggeringly inept in this area.

It seems as though every first step from a returner is backwards, like a Little League outfielder learning his position.

UNLV is also the league’s worst side in covering kickoff returns, meaning the Rebels can’t gain positive yardage when taking back kicks or defend others from doing so. That’s a really bad combo.

“We have to work on that,” Sanchez said. “We have to figure that part out and get better at it. We can’t keep doing the same thing on (special teams).”

This is when having a rivalry game such as the one against UNR in a season’s final week makes all the sense in the world, when it offers both teams something to play for as hopes for a bowl game have been eliminated.

In the big picture of things, UNLV just wasn’t good or deep enough to reach that stage this season. But the team that scored with under two minutes remaining Friday night in a game long since decided, the one that kept playing and fighting, definitely has made strides for the better.

The road to contention alongside teams like Boise State remains far in the distance, but assuming some glaring weaknesses are addressed and improved before next year, a massive leap in 2017 isn’t out of the question.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.