Rebels won’t take solace in close losses

Quarterback Blake Decker and safety Peni Vea walked into the postgame interview room last Saturday looking as angry as Kanye West at an awards ceremony.

They so badly wanted to beat Northern Illinois that they found little solace in coming close in a 38-30 loss.

They nor their UNLV teammates probably will be happy tonight, either, even if UNLV again puts up another brave fight as an massive underdog.

Doesn't matter that the Rebels are facing a UCLA football team that not only is ranked 13th but also is favored by 30½ points. First-year UNLV coach Tony Sanchez is trying to raise the standard of the long-woeful program, and Rule No. 1 is there is no such thing as a good loss.

"I think a lot of people were really quick to say, 'Hey, you guys played great. Way to battle against a tough team,'" Decker said this week. "But we consider ourselves to be a tough team. We went into that game to win the game. We didn't go into the game to lose by eight points and be happy with that.

"So, obviously, we were disappointed, and we still are a little disappointed, but it's time to shift that focus over to UCLA."

The 7:30 p.m. game at Sam Boyd Stadium, which will be televised on CBS Sports Network, is the toughest one of the Rebels' schedule. No. 20 Boise State on Oct. 31 is the only other ranked opponent.

This game not only is the home opener for the Rebels (0-1), but it's also the first one at Sam Boyd under Sanchez. He put his stamp on the field with the Las Vegas "welcome" signs in the end zones and the yard markers in the shape of diamonds.

Now the goal for Sanchez is to put the kind of team on the field that matches that flash.

"The biggest growth you're ever going to have is from Week 1 to Week 2," Sanchez said. "We have to continue to play with the same passion and toughness we did last week."

Rebels defensive end Sonny Sanitoa was confident that would happen.

"The culture has changed around here," Sanitoa said. "When adversity hits us, we've learned to overcome it. That's something we've worked on these past eight months.

"(Adversity is) going to happen throughout the game, and it all depends on the way we react to it."

The Rebels figure to get tested often by UCLA (1-0), which has big dreams this season. With a veteran team surrounding superstar-in-the-making freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, the Bruins are contenders for the Pac-12 Conference championship as well as a spot in the four-team playoff field.

Rosen by himself is worth watching, and a crowd of about 30,000 could turn out tonight as the Rebels debut their black uniforms. Just one season removed from high school, Rosen began his college career by passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns last weekend in a 34-16 victory over Virginia.

He also has a set of athletic, play-making receivers, and Rosen tossed passes to 11 players in that win.

That will present a challenge to UNLV's inexperienced secondary, particularly the cornerbacks. The Rebels will need to find a way to disrupt Rosen's rhythm, and they probably can't do it by settling into the 4-3 defense and playing safe.

Should UNLV sent blitzers, the Rebels are asking for trouble because of the single-coverage matchups it creates. But the Rebels also increase their own chances of making big plays rather than let Rosen and his receivers bleed them to death.

On the other side of the ball, UNLV will need to establish a strong run game to control the clock and keep UCLA's offense on the sideline. The Rebels dominated the time of possession at Northern Illinois, keeping the ball for more than 35 minutes.

Decker will need to build on that performance against the Huskies in which he threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, and he can't afford to make mistakes.

UCLA's defense is improved from last season, in which it gave up about four touchdowns per game, but the Bruins will need to overcome the loss of defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes, who is out for the season with a knee injury. He was a critical part of their front.

So the opportunity could be there for UNLV to move the ball and even put some points on the scoreboard.

But the chances of pulling a stunning upset? It would be just that, stunning.

At least it would be to those who aren't inside the Rebels' locker room.

"We've got a lot of belief in that locker room," Decker said. "We're not going into this game looking for any moral victories. We're going in to win a football game and stay competitive and stay in it.

"Against any team, you can view it as an opportunity, or you can view it as a threat. I think for us right now, we're viewing every single one of the games in front of us as an opportunity."

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.