Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
At 4-1 heading into its Mountain West Conference debut at Air Force Saturday, the UNLV football team needs just two more wins to qualify for a bowl game, which suddenly seems like Sergei Bubka setting the pole vault bar at 16 feet.
Maybe just qualifying for any bowl game is too modest a goal. Maybe the Rebels should just aim for the whole enchilada -- or in this case, at least some small tacos at the Liberty Bowl.
Hmmm ... maybe if the Rebels do go on to win the conference, they can trade for what Jay has in the box. Has anybody ever declined the bid to meet the Conference USA champ in Memphis to play whoever's left from the Big East in the San Francisco Bowl instead?
Nothing against the ribs and the blues and Graceland, but watching UNLV and Southern Miss in 40-degree weather in December doesn't sound like much of a reward for a job well done.
But then we're getting way ahead of ourselves, aren't we? The Rebels' impressive first half notwithstanding, it still might take Christopher Lloyd and that DeLorean with the retro rockets to predict where UNLV will wind up in the conference race.
This is no ordinary season around the Mountain West, and not just because the Rebels are 4-1 heading into conference play. Ordinarily, that might make UNLV the favorite. But given this year's parity, other than that they now warrant a few votes in the polls and are addressed as "Sir" at the Wisconsin Dells, the Rebels' MWC fate is every bit as uncertain in October as it was in August.
Of course, UNLV fans will be disappointed if the Rebels don't continue abusing their league foes as they have the non-league ones (with the exception of Kansas), and it's entirely possible they will just keep on winning on the Road to Memphis.
For Rebels fans planning prematurely, that would be Interstate 40. Hang a left at Kingman and just keep on going.
At least that's what Rand and McNally say. John Robinson, on the other hand, knows that the Road to Memphis still runs through Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Provo, Albuquerque, San Diego, Fort Collins and yes, even Laramie.
The past couple of years, you've been able to skip the Wyoming exit, or at least treat it as a rest stop. Not anymore, as even the Cowboys are playing competitive football under first-year coach Joe Glenn.
Wyoming is probably a little better than I thought it would be. Ditto for Utah, which would be tied for first in the Pac-10 (having beaten both Cal and Oregon), and San Diego State, which should have won at Ohio State. BYU and New Mexico are probably a little worse than first thought. Air Force is Air Force -- you've still got to stop the option, which is the Rebels' task on Saturday. And don't forget about Colorado State, which BYU made the mistake of doing Thursday night. The Rams are back, and in a hurry.
In other words, there's not a team remaining on the schedule that can't beat the Rebels. But this is the first time since leather helmets where the reverse also would appear to be true: There's not a team that they can't beat.
Monday was the first time in many weeks that Robinson didn't speak those very words to his Quarterback Club audience. Normally, when a coach says something rhetorical like that, it's Lou Holtz before South Carolina plays Vanderbilt.
While it's nice not to be looking forward to the start of basketball practice this far into the season, this is one year where it still might be wise to take Robinson at his word. But this is the first time since leather helmets where the reverse also would appear to be true: There's not a team that they can't beat.
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