Rebels bracing for next step

UNLV wide receiver Casey Flair has overheard people talking about the Rebels' near-upset of Wisconsin last Saturday. Three even told him Tuesday they were inspired enough to buy season tickets.

Players have spent much of this week receiving pats on the back, and UNLV football is a new subject for many of their classmates.

The Rebels, though, can't become too influenced by the congratulations and start to lose their newly found focus if they expect to continue to improve.

"That Wisconsin game only means something if we start winning the rest of our games," UNLV linebacker Beau Bell said.

Today is the first opportunity to see if UNLV is closer to the type of team that can take a top-five program down to the end or to one that was blown off the field 42-13 at Hawaii last season. The Rebels play the No. 24 Warriors at 6:30 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Just like last week, few expect UNLV (1-1) to win. The Rebels are 171/2-point underdogs to the Warriors (2-0).

UNLV doesn't appear to match up well with Hawaii. The Warriors are a quick-strike team that can put the game out of reach before fans are too comfortable in their seats, while Wisconsin's more prodding offense makes it easier for a team to run clock and remain competitive.

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, who has thrown for 964 yards and 10 touchdown passes, is a Heisman Trophy candidate. He has a group of receivers that can break plays at just about any time, and three went over 100 yards last Saturday at Louisiana Tech.

If Hawaii's run-and-shoot offense gets rolling, the only suspense will occur before the game when the Western Athletic Conference officials decide whether to flag the Warriors for unsportsmanlike conduct because of the haka, a pregame ritual.

"I don't think you can stop them or control them," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "You've got to slow them down."

But UNLV has hope. Hawaii's defense struggled in a 45-44 overtime win over Louisiana Tech, giving up 410 yards, including 223 rushing.

UNLV also should be a fairly confident team entering this game after showing it could play with one of the nation's best teams. The Rebels still need to show they can beat one of those teams.

"I said going into the season we have something to prove," Sanford said. "I felt like we had something to prove on Saturday night against Wisconsin. I think we did a lot, but we didn't prove it because proving it means you win."

Sanford made sure his players didn't come out of that game thinking all they had to do was show up the rest of the season. The grades -- not all A's and B's -- he handed his players surprised them.

"I think it shows what the coaches expect out of us," Flair said. "We don't care what the next team is ranked, we need to perform to the level that we know. We need to build on what we did to get those grades up so they're all A's.

"You've got to evaluate what you're doing as a player, as a team, to be able to meet the coaches' standards because it's not their job to make us happy. We're supposed to make them happy."

So the players got the message. Now they want to send a different message. They want to show last weekend wasn't an aberration but an indication the program is heading the right way.

A victory over Hawaii would go a long way toward that end.

"That was a preview of what we could do against the No. 5 team in the nation," Bell said. "Now we've got to take that through the whole season."