Rebels get no favors from MWC with their football schedule

One of these years the Mountain West Conference might give UNLV’s football program a break and actually give the team a bye week before its annual Fremont Cannon showdown with Nevada, a.k.a. “The Team Up North.”

The MWC finally got around to releasing the 2009 schedule on Thursday just five months before the season kicks off. And the Rebels, who were hoping for an extra week to prepare for the Oct. 3 game with the Wolf Pack in Reno after playing three straight weekends against Sacramento State, Oregon State and Hawaii, instead find themselves headed to lovely Laramie, Wyoming for their conference opener on Sept. 26.

Back-to-back road trips to Laramie and Reno. Doesn’t get better than that, does it?

I’m guessing Chris Ault will be able to convince the head honchos at the WAC to give his squad Sept. 26 off and a full two weeks to once again get ready for their in-state rival.

Wait, it gets better. The Rebels do get a bye week during the conference season to help heal their bumps and bruises … on Nov. 21st … before concluding the MWC season against San Diego State on Thanksgiving weekend at Sam Boyd Stadium.

I guess it could be worse. TCU, perhaps the league’s best bet to make a run at a BCS bowl, got stuck with its bye in Week No. 1 and will then play 12 straight weeks.

In a perfect world, the MWC would find a way to give all of its teams a bye somewhere between Week 4 and Week 9 when it would do the most good for their student-athletes.

A bye before the season-finale? Thanks for nothing.

Here’s the 2009 UNLV football schedule:

DATE             OPPONENT                    SITE                     TV               TIME (PT)
Sept. 5        SACRAMENTO STATE        LAS VEGAS        None        7:00 pm
Sept. 12        OREGON STATE        LAS VEGAS        CBS C HD        8:00 pm
Sept. 19        HAWAII        LAS VEGAS        The Mtn.        6:00 pm
Sept. 26        at Wyoming*        Laramie, WY        None        12:00 pm
Oct. 3        at Nevada, Reno        Reno, NV        TBA        TBA
Oct. 10        BYU*        LAS VEGAS        The Mtn.        7:00 pm
Oct. 17        UTAH*        LAS VEGAS        The Mtn.        7:00 pm
Oct. 24        at New Mexico*        Albuquerque, NM        The Mtn.        5:00 pm
Oct. 31        at TCU*        Fort Worth, TX        VERSUS HD        1:00 pm
Nov. 7        COLORADO STATE*        LAS VEGAS        The Mtn.        7:00 pm
Nov. 14        at Air Force*        Colorado Springs        The Mtn.        3:00 pm
Nov. 21        BYE WEEK
Nov. 28        SAN DIEGO STATE*        LAS VEGAS        The Mtn.         6:00 pm
*Mountain West Conference Game