UNLV hopes a new routine will lead to a new result

UNLV football player Brandon Willis expects to have a good day — and not just because he is spending it in paradise.

"Every day is a blessing," said Willis, a defensive tackle whose Rebels play Hawaii on Saturday at Aloha Stadium. "You don’t take (playing football) for granted. Whether you’re 2-8, 2-9, oh-and-whatever, it’s a good opportunity. Sometimes you have to wake up when it’s bad in the morning and realize you’re blessed to be out here, to be healthy, to be walking, and to be able to play the game you love."

After three consecutive two-victory seasons, the Rebels appeared to turn it around when they went 7-6 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West last year, Bobby Hauck’s fourth as head coach. But the Rebels are 2-9 and 1-5 this season. The Warriors are 3-8 and 2-4.

"If anybody has watched this team, we fight hard," Willis said. "There’s a lot of effort. There’s a lot of talent here. But sometimes in those key situations, we don’t come through."

Wideout Devante Davis, who caught 14 scoring passes last year, opted to return for his senior season.

"I wanted to graduate and set an example for the younger guys here and my younger siblings," Davis said. "The brotherhood we have as a team, I didn’t want to leave them. The coaches took a chance on me coming out of high school when nobody else would. Staying wasn’t a hard decision."

Davis missed five games this season because of a torn ligament in his right wrist that required surgery. He had to learn to use his left hand to write and open bottles. "Tying a shoe was almost impossible," he said.

Patience, it seemed, was a theme the Rebels embraced.

"It was tough," said Davis, who returned two games ago. "Now we’re going to play a good Hawaii team."

In the past three trips to Hawaii, the Rebels are 0-3, losing by a combined average score of 46.7 to 14.7. The closest outcome was 42-13 in 2006. For this trip, the Rebels changed the routine. Instead of arriving on a Thursday, they arrived on Friday. Instead of traveling by commercial flight, they used a charter. (As per a league agreement, UH pays visiting MWC teams $150,000 in travel subsidies.). The Rebels also are staying in Waikiki instead of the North Shore.

For the Warriors, this will be the first time in the program’s 98-season history they will not end the regular season at home. This is senior night for 23 Warriors. The Warriors close the regular season on the road against Fresno State on Nov. 29.