2010 UNLV Rebels football team

Schedule

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Preseason

At the 2010 Mountain West Conference Media Day, UNLV was picked to finish eighth in the conference, due to their schedule which consisted of nine teams that went to bowl games in the previous season and included games with Wisconsin, at West Virginia, at Idaho, at Hawaii and Nevada. 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.

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. 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.

Coaching changes

On November 15, 2009, the Las Vegas Sun announced that Mike Sanford Sr. would be let go as head coach following the completion of the season on November 28, 2009. In five years as UNLV's head coach, Sanford posted a 16—43 overall record, a 8–32 record in the Mountain West and a 0–5 record against UNLV's arch rival, Nevada. 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. Jerry Koloskie, UNLV's interim athletic director, stated that Sanford's dismissal was a "performance-based issue" In Sanford's five seasons as head coach at UNLV, the team did not have a single winning season, with their best records under Sanford's tenure being back-to-back 5–7 marks in 2008 and 2009. On December 22, 2009, Sanford was hired by new Louisville head coach, Charlie Strong, to be Louisville's offensive coordinator.

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. Hauck and former head coach Dennis Franchione were interviewed for the vacant position, Hauck on December 20, 2009 and Franchione on December 21, 2009. Hauck had a second interview on December 22, 2009 to iron out contract negotiations. Hauck's contract was for three years with a $350,000 annual salary and $150,000 in completion bonuses. Other coaches that were rumored as candidates for the head coaching position were Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, Idaho's head coach Robb Akey and former Washington head coach Tyrone Willingham.

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 has the same positions with UNLV. Ty Gregorak was named recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach, Chad Germer was named offensive line coach, Dominic Daste was named tight ends coach, and Cedric Cormier was named wide receivers coach. Utah defensive backs coach J. D. Williams was hired by Hauck to be his assistant head coach, pass defense coordinator, and defensive backs coach.

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. 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 Nevada.

References

References

1. "Wisconsin Badgers vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
2. "UNLV Rebels vs. Utah Utes Box Score". ESPN.com.
3. "UNLV Rebels vs. Idaho Vandals Box Score". ESPN.com.
4. "New Mexico Lobos vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
5. "Nevada Wolf Pack vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
6. "UNLV Rebels vs. West Virginia Mountaineers Box Score". ESPN.com.
7. "UNLV Rebels vs. Colorado State Rams Box Score". ESPN.com.
8. "TCU Horned Frogs vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
9. "UNLV Rebels vs. BYU Cougars Box Score". ESPN.com.
10. "Wyoming Cowboys vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
11. "Air Force Falcons vs. UNLV Rebels Box Score". ESPN.com.
12. "UNLV Rebels vs. San Diego State Aztecs Box Score". ESPN.com.
13. "UNLV Rebels vs. Hawaii Warriors Box Score". ESPN.com.
14. . ["UNLV Rebels Schedule 2010"](https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/2439/season/2010). *[[ESPN]]*.
15. . ["2010 UNLV Rebels Schedule and Results"](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/nevada-las-vegas/2010-schedule.html). *[[Sports Reference]]*.
16. . ["2010 Football Schedule"](https://unlvrebels.com/sports/football/schedule/2010). *[[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]]*.
17. Keefer, Case. (July 28, 2010). "Glance Around the MWC: No One Disputes TCU as Favorite". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
18. Greene, Ryan. (July 27, 2010). "Rebels Picked 8th in MWC Preseason Poll, Payne Honored". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
19. Brewer, Ray. (August 30, 2010). "Paulo Named One of Four Captains for UNLV Football Team". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
20. Brewer, Ray. (August 30, 2010). "Junior Mike Clausen Named as UNLV's Starting Quarterback". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
21. Greene, Ryan. (November 15, 2009). "Sanford Won't Return as UNLV Coach in 2010". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
22. Brown, C.L.. (December 22, 2009). "Strong Hires Former UNLV Coach Sanford as Louisville's Offensive Coordinator". [[The Courier-Journal]].
23. Greene, Ryan. (December 22, 2009). "Montana's Bobby Hauck to Be Named New UNLV Football Coach". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
24. Greene, Ryan. (December 18, 2009). "Hauck, Franchione Set to Interview for UNLV Football Coaching Post". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
25. Anderson, Mark. (December 23, 2009). "REBEL FOOTBALL: UNLV Turns to Montana Man". [[Las Vegas Review-Journal]].
26. Greene, Ryan. (November 19, 2009). "Franchione Emerges as Potential Early Candidate for UNLV Football Post". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
27. "UNLV's Next Coach?". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
28. (January 4, 2010). "Hauck Announces Coaching Staff". [[Las Vegas Sun]].
29. Keefer, Case. (December 23, 2009). "Players react positively to Hauck's hiring". Las Vegas Sun.
30. Brewer, Ray. (January 10, 2010). "UNLV Lands Verbal Commitments From Five Locals". [[Las Vegas Sun]].