2010 UNLV Rebels football team

2010 UNLV Rebels football
Conference Mountain West Conference
2010 record 2–11 (2–6 MWC)
Head coach Bobby Hauck
Offensive coordinator Rob Phenicie
Offensive scheme Multiple
Defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson
Home stadium Sam Boyd Stadium
(Capacity: 36,800)
2010 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#2 TCU   8 0         13 0  
Utah   7 1         10 3  
Air Force   5 3         9 4  
San Diego State   5 3         9 4  
BYU   5 3         7 6  
Colorado State   2 6         3 9  
UNLV   2 6         2 11  
Wyoming   1 7         3 9  
New Mexico   1 7         1 11  
Conference champion and BCS representative as top
non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria
As of January 11, 2011; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2010 UNLV Rebels football team was the 43rd varsity football team to represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Rebels played in the Mountain West Conference, and compete each season against the remaining eight members of the conference and one permanent interstate rival: UNR. The Rebels played a 13-game schedule due to their non-conference road game at Hawaiʻi. The Rebels also had non-conference games against Wisconsin and at Idaho and West Virginia. Bobby Hauck was in first season as the head coach of the Rebels football program, having previously coached at the University of Montana. The Rebels played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium in East Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Rebels finished the season 2–11 (2–6 MWC).

Pre-season

At the 2010 Mountain West Conference Media Day, UNLV was picked to finish eighth in the conference, due to their tough schedule which consisted of nine teams that went to bowl games in the previous season and included tough games with Wisconsin, at West Virginia, at Idaho, at Hawai'i and Nevada-Reno.[1] Also at the Media Day, junior wide receiver Phillip Payne was voted to the preseason All-Mountain West Conference team, marking the fourth consecutive season that a UNLV wide receiver had been selected to the preseason All-MWC team.[2]

At the end of August 2010, linebacker Ronnie Paulo, safety Alex De Giacomo, offensive tackle Matt Murphy and center John Gianninoto were named as team captains for the 2010 season.[3] Less than a week before the start of the season, first-year head coach Bobby Hauck announced that junior Mike Clausen had beat out senior incumbent Omar Clayton for the starting quarterback position and would start in the season opener against Wisconsin.[4]

Coaching changes

On November 15, 2009, the Las Vegas Sun announced that Mike Sanford would be let go as head coach following the completion of the season on November 28, 2009.[5] In five years as UNLV's head coach, Sanford posted a 16-43 overall record, a 7-32 record in the Mountain West and a 0-5 record against UNLV's arch rival, Nevada-Reno. Sanford's overall winning percentage of .271 was the second worst in the program's history, only Jeff Horton's .228 (13-44 in five years) was worse.[5] Jerry Koloskie, at the time UNLV's interim athletic director, stated that Sanford's dismissal was a "performance-based issue"[5] In Sanford's five seasons as head coach at UNLV, the team didn't have a single winning season, with their best records under Sanford's tenure being back-to-back 5-7 records in 2008 and 2009. On December 22, 2009, Sanford was hired by new Louisville head coach, Charlie Strong, to be Louisville's offensive coordinator.[6]

On December 22, 2009, newly hired athletic director, Jim Livengood, hired Montana head coach to become the tenth head coach in the program's history.[7] Hauck and former head coach Dennis Franchione were interviewed for the vacant position, Hauck on December 20, 2009 and Franchione on December 21, 2009.[8] Hauck would receive a second interview on December 22, 2009 to iron out contract negotiations. Hauck's contract was for three years which would be a three year contract with a $350,000 annual salary and $150,000 in completion bonuses.[9] Other coaches other than Hauck and Franchione that were rumored as candidates for the head coaching position were Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Dirk Koetter,[10] Idaho's head coach Robb Akey and former Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham.[11]

On January 4, 2009, it was reported that six of Hauck's assistants from Montana would join his staff at UNLV, including former offensive coordinator Rob Phenicie and defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson who took the same positions with UNLV. Ty Gregorak was named recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach, Chad Germer (Offensive line), Dominic Daste (Tight Ends) and Cedric Cormier (Wide Receivers) were hired by Hauck as well. Utah defensive backs coach J.D. Williams was hired by Hauck to be his assistant head coach, pass defense coordinator and defensive backs coach. Currently, Hauck still has two vacant positions, but Hauck stated that filling those voids would not be an immediate priority.[12]

Recruiting

Hauck met with most of the returning Rebels players within the first few days of his introduction as the new head coach and the players stated that they had quickly become fond of their new head coach.[13] Within a month, Hauck was able to receive commitments from high school prospects in Southern Nevada, a problem that plagued Sanford during his tenure. Hauck was even able to get three star defensive end Ian Bobak who had originally committed to in-state rival UNR.[14]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 4 8:00 PM #12 Wisconsin* Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV Versus L 21–41   31,107[15]
September 11 1:00 PM at #20 Utah Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City, UT The Mtn. L 10–38   45,102[16]
September 18 7:30 PM at Idaho* Kibbie DomeMoscow, ID ESPNU L 7–30   15,390[17]
September 25 7:00 PM New Mexico Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV The Mtn. W 45–10   16,961[18]
October 2 7:00 PM #25 Nevada* Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV (Battle for Nevada) The Mtn. L 26–44   28,958[19]
October 9 12:30 PM at West Virginia* Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV BEN L 10–49   58,234[20]
October 16 11:00 AM at Colorado State Hughes StadiumFort Collins, CO The Mtn. L 10–43   30,753[21]
October 30 8:00 PM #4 TCU Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV CBSCS L 6–48   16,745[22]
November 6 11:00 AM at BYU LaVell Edwards StadiumProvo, UT The Mtn. L 7–55   61,283[23]
November 13 7:00 PM Wyoming Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV The Mtn. W 42–16   16,111[24]
November 18 7:00 PM Air Force Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NV CBSCS L 20–35   13,790[25]
November 27 5:00 PM at San Diego State Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego, CA The Mtn. L 14–48   22,091[26]
December 4 7:30 PM at #25 Hawai'i* Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI L 21–59   37,820[27]
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time.

References

  1. Keefer, Case (July 28, 2010). "Glance Around the MWC: No One Disputes TCU as Favorite". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  2. Greene, Ryan (July 27, 2010). "Rebels Picked 8th in MWC Preseason Poll, Payne Honored". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  3. Brewer, Ray (August 30, 2010). "Paulo Named One of Four Captains for UNLV Football Team". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  4. Brewer, Ray (August 30, 2010). "Junior Mike Clausen Named as UNLV's Starting Quarterback". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Greene, Ryan (November 15, 2009). "Sanford Won't Return as UNLV Coach in 2010". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  6. Brown, C.L. (December 22, 2009). "Strong Hires Former UNLV Coach Sanford as Louisville's Offensive Coordinator". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  7. Greene, Ryan (December 22, 2009). "Montana's Bobby Hauck to Be Named New UNLV Football Coach". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  8. Greene, Ryan (December 18, 2009). "Hauck, Franchione Set to Interview for UNLV Football Coaching Post". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  9. Anderson, Mark (December 23, 2009). "REBEL FOOTBALL: UNLV Turns to Montana Man". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  10. Greene, Ryan (November 19, 2009). "Franchione Emerges as Potential Early Candidate for UNLV Football Post". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  11. "UNLV's Next Coach?". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  12. "Hauck Announces Coaching Staff". Las Vegas Sun. January 4, 2010. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  13. Keefer, Case (December 23, 2009). "Players react positively to Hauck's hiring". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  14. Brewer, Ray (January 10, 2010). "UNLV Lands Verbal Commitments From Five Locals". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  15. "Wisconsin Badgers vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  16. "UNLV Rebels vs. Utah Utes Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
  17. "UNLV Rebels vs. Idaho Vandals Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  18. "New Mexico Lobos vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  19. "Nevada Wolf Pack vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  20. "UNLV Rebels vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  21. "UNLV Rebels vs. Colorado State Rams Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  22. "TCU Horned Frogs vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
  23. "UNLV Rebels vs. BYU Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  24. "Wyoming Cowboys vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  25. "Air Force Falcons vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  26. "UNLV Rebels vs. San Diego State Aztecs Box Score". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  27. "UNLV Rebels vs. Hawaii Warriors Box Score". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 5, 2010.