Hoke, Aztecs turn corner

When Brady Hoke arrived at San Diego State nearly two years ago, he saw a football team that wasn't physically or mentally strong.

So he put the players to work in the weight room and went about changing the mindset of the only Mountain West team that hadn't appeared in a bowl game since the conference began play in 1999.

That dry spell ends this season for the bowl-eligible Aztecs (7-4, 4-3 MWC), who can post their best record since 1996 with a win over visiting UNLV (2-9, 2-5) in Saturday's 5 p.m. game.

Not that Hoke is ready to celebrate.

"Believe me, we aren't even close to where we need to be," he said. "We are not a championship football team, and that is the goal, so we've got a lot of work that we have to do."

Hoke set the bar high early on at San Diego State. He was disappointed in the Aztecs' play even after some September victories that helped create momentum for the Mountain West's most-improved team.

"I think if you get to a point where you think you've arrived, you're going to go backwards in a hurry," Hoke said.

Expectations remain considerably low for UNLV, which hasn't had a winning season or a bowl berth since 2000. But coach Bobby Hauck never had a chance in his first season, playing a schedule that included Wisconsin and West Virginia in addition to rival UNR and a difficult conference slate.

San Diego State, by contrast, played the likes of Nicholls State, New Mexico State and Utah State.

Hauck thinks "there's no such thing as a good loss," and the Rebels are starting to look for lower-profile opponents, adding Southern Utah next season and probably Western Illinois in 2013.

Gauging Hauck's performance against the league's toughest-rated schedule this season isn't easy, especially given UNLV's spate of injuries and the fact that the team is trying to switch to a run-based offense.

But UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood said he has seen enough positives to feel hopeful for the future.

"The head coach is the key," Livengood said. "He hasn't lost a bit of confidence. He's handled (adversity) well. He isn't making excuses."

Livengood knows something about football turnarounds, having hired Mike Stoops at Arizona.

After four seasons with the Wildcats, Stoops still hadn't posted a winning record. But Livengood resisted the call for a coaching change from upset Arizona fans. He was rewarded when the Wildcats posted back-to-back 8-5 records. They're 7-3 and ranked 20th this season.

Livengood's patience with Stoops shows he will back a coach if he sees reasons for optimism.

"When we discussed the opening a year ago, part of it was let's do it the right way," Hauck said. "Jim's on board with that, for sure."

Hauck and Livengood have spoken publicly several times about not taking shortcuts to success, though UNLV is expected to sign up to 10 junior college players in its next recruiting class to make up for a lack of veterans next season.

No matter whether Hauck goes heavy on high school or junior college recruits, UNLV fans expect results at some point.

Livengood said circumstances dictate how quickly a turnaround can occur, but he is optimistic that it won't take long.

"Watching the kids and Bobby, I think we'll be much better in 2011," Livengood said. "I think in 2012, there's an awful good chance of us seeing that the program can be pretty special."

Hauck is hesitant to put a timeline on improvement but said, "Sooner rather than later. I'm not a patient type."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.