UNLV faces its measuring stick in Boise State

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.

But whatever the aircraft in question, Boise State's football program remains sleeker and faster than its Mountain West peers. It is defined by a community and university and the type of resources both can provide when motivated.

College football matters in the state capital of Idaho, and it shows when the time comes for wallets to open.

Heck, even the Mountain West fell over itself like a love-sick teenager when Boise State decided to shun the then-seemingly more attractive Big East Conference, handing the Broncos a one-sided television deal that financially benefits them to a far greater level than league's other 11 football programs.

Boise State, as flawed as it has appeared at times this season, remains the league's favored son, a status earned on the field over the years and one perpetuated by the league it calls home.

"(Boise State) set the standard for a long time and continues to be the leader of the Mountain West," UNLV football coach Tony Sanchez said. "Obviously, they do a great job. They're the engine we're all chasing in conference. They're really well coached. They have a lot of history, a lot of tradition, a ton of resources. And they use it all to their advantage.

"What's the timeline to get to where Boise State is? How long did it take them? Twenty years? We don't want it to take 20 years. It can be faster."

I'm not sure it will begin Saturday, when a Halloween kickoff of 12:30 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium will match Boise State as a near-three touchdown favorite to dispose of the Rebels in a manner far more clinical than frightening. Those children in attendance might be handed some treats, but bookmakers obviously don't believe the Broncos will need any tricks to win and move on.

"Boise State is a great team," UNLV quarterback Blake Decker said. "But we have seen the giants fall every once in a while. We're hoping that happens for us."

UNLV is 2-5 under Sanchez in his first season, a record that owns just one result (a 31-28 defeat at Fresno State) where he and his staff were outcoached and lost a game they shouldn't have. In four other losses, the opponent just had better players.

But for UNLV, this is about a big picture, much like 10 other conference programs, that begins and ends with catching and perhaps one day overtaking the Mountain West machine that is Boise State.

Such a pursuit is defined by the elephant in UNLV's aging football offices, and the only way to remove such a massive mammal will be to finalize plans for a facility that will be on par with, say, the one at Boise State.

The Bleymaier Football Center cost $22 million and opened in 2013, a sparkling structure of 70,000 square feet that includes a locker room, player lounge, weight room and athletic training area on the first level, and coaches' offices, position meeting rooms, an academic center, computer lab and recruiting lounge on the second.

There is also a multistory theater and team room, complete with the latest in digital sound and video.

We are talking some serious bells and whistles.

"If you look at teams that have had a lot of success, none of them have done it without resources," Sanchez said. "Nobody does it without facilities that allow you to recruit at a higher level. The better you recruit, the more success you have. Any of these schools are beatable on a given week, but when you talk about making (UNLV) a school not only with a great basketball program, but also a great football program, we have to continue to grow.

"How do you get great players? How do you create that depth? It takes quality. You do that through recruiting and you recruit through facilities. It's a big deal to kids. It gets you in the living room to talk with mom and dad about why their son should come to UNLV. It takes resources, and they have to know (football) matters here at UNLV."

It remains in the whisper stage publicly, plans to erect such a facility on UNLV's campus that would allow Sanchez to recruit against the likes of Boise State on a far more even level. Everyone believes an announcement is imminent, that UNLV officials understand if they don't ultimately change the culture of football through such commitment, it will never own an opportunity to discover a state of relevancy.

It will never really matter, and never really win.

Sanchez remembers his first season as a coach in 1996, when he was an assistant at New Mexico State and Pokey Allen was at the end of his tenure as Boise State's head coach, the cancer that would eventually take his life later that year having returned and he having helped direct the Broncos into Division I-A status.

The two sat and talked, and Allen spoke about what hoped the Broncos would one day become.

"This is his dream come true, absolutely," Sanchez said. "We respect them for that, but we also can't wait to get out there and fight them. None of our guys are concerned with their history and tradition. I'm not concerned about their history and tradition. I will be on the recruiting trail, but right now I'm just worried about the guys they have. We're going to fight our tails off."

The journey is a long one and goes well beyond a Halloween kickoff.

Facts are facts. It's not easy for a glider to catch a Beechcraft.

Ed Graney can be reached 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. On Twitter: @edgraney