Football schedule highs and lows
Fall practice for the UNLV football team doesn't officially get underway for another couple weeks, but it's never to early to look at the upcoming schedule in an attempt to figure out what will make or break the Rebels during their 2016 campaign.
UNLV will be on the road for its three toughest games of the year, which, in all likely hood, means that the Rebels will come up on the short end of the stick against UCLA, San Diego State and Boise State. I'm not certain that head coach Tony Sanchez will be able to conjure up enough bravado in order to compete in those three games.
So, with expectations growing and a hunger from the fan base for the Rebel football program to take the next step in its progression to a Bowl team, here is a look at some of the other key remaining games.
MUST WIN: Actually, three games are going to fall under this category. Home dates with Fresno State, Colorado State and Wyoming will be instrumental in pushing the Rebels' win total into Bowl territory.
UNLV has struggled for the longest time to have any sort of home field advantage. That is an area that Sanchez has to turn around in order for the Rebels to have the type of success he craves.
Maybe it's a stretch to say "must win" for these games, but when facing conference opponents with similar talent bases, it makes the games all that more meaningful.
In 2015, UNLV played all three of these teams down to the wire on the road before succumbing to them. The elevation of the program begins right here with these three home games. Most likely, they will be the difference between postseason play and not.
SLEEPER GAME: One week after playing the Rose Bowl against a ranked UCLA squad, UNLV travels across the country to tangle with a Central Michigan team that is being pegged by some as having postseason possibilities.
These are the off-the-wall match-ups that the Rebels never seem to do well with. I'm sure in both coaching staffs' minds that this is a pretty even contest that could go either way.
Let's just say that when you are used to winning two and three games a season, the ball never bounces in the Rebels' direction in these non-conference contests.
Maybe that will change this year. Remember, every game could be the difference between a winning and losing season. This one could loom large during the month of November.
GAME OF THE YEAR: Speaking of November, I love the fact that the Mountain West finally put UNR against UNLV in the season finale.
On Nov. 27, UNLV sports' fans are typically wondering which holiday tournament the basketball team is going to be playing in. Not this year.
UNLV gets the Wolf Pack at Sam Boyd Stadium in a battle for the cannon, but, hopefully, also a spot in a Bowl. There's probably no better scenario for the Rebels to finish the year with a win and accomplishing three things - keeping the cannon, locking up a Bowl spot, and keeping UNR for reaching its goal of postseason play.
One can dream, can't they?