Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 | 2 a.m.
We are taught in sports to always look ahead. That bothers me.
Instead of focusing on the UNLV football team’s Wednesday game against Cal in the LA Bowl, the primary concern is trying to determine how the roster will look and feel next season. Same with the coaching staff.
Shamefully, there’s little talk about the matchup with Cal, where the 10-win Rebels are playing for the first time in school history in consecutive bowl games. That should be celebrated, not pushed under the rug with concerns about future seasons.
Student-athletes are constantly told by their adult leaders the value of finishing what they started. Be great in the classroom and get a degree; be better on the football field — even when circumstances aren’t going your way.
For years, finishing what they started was the program closing the books on a losing season with no bowl appearance.
These Rebels are different, playing in meaningful game after meaningful game over the past two seasons and receiving tremendous support from a fan base that was previously dormant.
But instead of finishing what UNLV started, you get the sense that some — fans, players, coaches — are more concerned about the future with new coach Dan Mullen.
Who will be the new quarterback? How will the new offense look? How many players and coaches will follow Barry Odom to Purdue? Who will be Mullen’s offensive and defensive coordinators?
This week, that shouldn’t matter. There, after all, is a championship to fight for and the Rebels haven’t won a postseason game since the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.
It’s a disservice to the players, who not so long ago dreamed of getting to experience all that comes with a postseason bowl. This is their team. This is their opportunity to put the final touches on one of the most historic seasons in the history of the program.
Remember, they were ranked for the first time. They also were one game away from reaching the College Football Playoff.
The program’s newfound relevancy brought more than 40,000 fans to two home games. The relevancy has also teased you into worrying about what’s next, partially in fear that the recent winning ways were mostly a product of Odom and at risk of not continuing.
Yes, Mullen — the former Mississippi State and Florida head coach — will have his hands full enticing notables to stay, the likes of defensive end Fisher Camac, running back Jai’Den Thomas, and freshmen linebackers Melvin Laster and Charles Correa.
Regardless of the coaching change, all four would have been tempted to bolt for a more lucrative opportunity at a bigger university. That’s the nature of modern college football, where players are consistently jumping to other programs to capitalize on NIL opportunities.
If players are going from Alabama to Texas, or Ohio State to Syracuse, they will surely be leaving UNLV — with Mullen, Odom or anyone else as the coach.
Fortunately, the transfer portal swings both ways and players will be also coming into the program.
Let’s not worry about that until Thursday. That’s when we can start stressing about how Mullen — who coached the likes of Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott — will put his personal spin on a program he says doesn’t need a tear-down.
Rather, Mullen says the Rebels are built to win — Wednesday in the LA Bowl, and next year.
Rebel fans rarely have an opportunity to watch their team play for a championship. At 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN, you’ll have that opportunity.
Enjoy it.
And on Thursday, we’ll figure out the rest. We might also start worrying about that slow-out-of-the-gate UNLV basketball program with a 5-4 overall record.