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Star-Bulletin Sports


Saturday, November 11, 2000


U H _ F O O T B A L L



UH Football


Little fanfare
for lowly Nevada

It wasn't long ago that Hawaii's
opponent turned heads in
former conferences


By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

The University of Nevada's arrival to the island chain from Reno just after dinner Thursday night prompted little more than idle curiosity from those exiting the plane.

Hardly any local media greeted the Wolf Pack at the gate. The television lights were absent. The radio and on-line personnel missing from the scene as well.

Perhaps that's understandable considering tonight's two teams are a combined 2-15 entering the final Western Athletic Conference football game to be played at Aloha Stadium this season.


GAME DAY

Bullet What: Western Athletic Conference football.
Bullet Who: Nevada vs. Hawaii.
Bullet When: Today, 6:05 p.m.
Bullet Where: Aloha Stadium.
Bullet TV: KFVE (Channel 5), 10 p.m. (delayed)
Bullet RealAudio: 'Net broadcast Click Here
Bullet Radio: AM-1420/ FM-107.9, 6 p.m.


And yet, to underestimate Nevada would be to overlook its history as a viable football program. Not so long ago, the Wolf Pack thrived in the shadow of Donner Pass. From 1990 to 1997, Nevada either won or shared seven Big Sky and Big West Conference championships. The Wolf Pack whipped up so regularly on in-state rival Nevada-Las Vegas, it was front-page news when the Rebels won.

But those days went south for the winter to Laughlin and haven't been seen or heard from in these parts since. Before first-year head coach Chris Tormey arrived on the scene, Nevada won only nine games in two seasons prompting a change.

The fact it coincided with Nevada joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2000 gave everything a fresh, clean start. The problem with that, however, is a young football team learning a new system while facing three nationally ranked teams in September isn't a winning combination.

You can talk all you want to about payoffs down the road, but it takes a positive coaching staff and a patient community to sit through a steady stream of lopsided losses. But according to Tormey, folks in northern Nevada have been more than understanding.

"I think they knew we were going to have to go through some hard times to get to the good ones," Tormey said. "Here we are, a new team with a new coaching staff in a more difficult league. We opened with Oregon, Texas Christian, Wyoming and Colorado State. And we came through it together as a football team.

"Every week these guys come out here ready to win. We couldn't ask for a more positive attitude and a willingness to do it right. Sooner or later, that's going to pay big dividends. I'm going to have two-dozen players in three years who have seen a lot of playing time. That gets me pumped up just thinking about it.''

Tormey has reasons to be positive. While head coach at Idaho for five years, the former defensive coordinator at Washington managed a 33-23 mark, including a 1998 Humanitarian Bowl win over Southern Mississippi. This is a coach whose background is in winning.

He also has one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Junior David Neill is fighting through some injuries, but the 6-foot-5 signal-caller may have a future in the NFL.

"We can recruit players like him to our program because we have a lot to offer," Tormey said. "We're located halfway between Phoenix and Seattle.

"We're only two hours from Sacramento and four from the Bay Area.

"The facilities are already in place. We've moved up to a more difficult conference that offers us more TV exposure and postseason opportunities. The quality of teams in the WAC hasn't surprised us. We knew what to expect and I feel like we'll be very competitive in the future.''

One big step in the right direction would be a good showing in the last three games, starting tonight with Hawaii. Granted, Nevada is a woeful 0-5 in league play, but in Tormey's mind, he already has played the tougher league squads. A victory against Hawaii, Rice or Tulsa looks easy by comparison.

"But even more important, is finishing the season in a way that gives our guys confidence going into the spring," Tormey said. "We've played nearly two dozen first-year guys this season. They get better every game.

"What we have to learn to do is play well for four quarters. A lot of games this year, even against some of the better teams, we were right in it going into the fourth quarter. If we can just sustain it for four quarters, I believe we have a good chance to play well in our last three games.''




UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii



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