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It seemed to all be coming together in Las Vegas.

The popular preview magazines took notice - Sports Illustrated even came to town in preparation of including UNLV in its top 25 for the first time. The experts seemed interested - junior quarterback Jason Thomas made multiple Heisman Trophy lists and was proclaimed the fourth best player in college football by pigskin pundit Mel Kiper Jr.

The networks were sure enthralled - in fact, head coach John Robinson's bunch was slated to open the season with three consecutive national television broadcasts.

Indeed, coming off an 8-5 record in 2000 that included a spectacular bowl-game effort, the biggest buildup in Rebel football history was making noise nationally as the program found itself getting votes in the preseason AP poll for the first time and a full-blown awards campaign for its field leader was effectively cruising along.

Then the season happened. And happened to the tune of a 0-4 start en route to a 4-7 overall mark and fifth-place conference finish.

"We got off to a tough start and we never found a way to make the key plays," says Robinson. "The team worked hard and wanted to be successful but I think it got caught in a trap. (Former NFL coach) John Madden once warned me that the biggest mistake his Oakland Raiders made was, after winning the Super Bowl, they assumed everything positive would just carry over to the next year. That's one danger of success and I think that happened to us. We got caught in an automatic way of thinking - of just assuming that the positives from the year before would be there again. We ultimately didn't have that leadership and devotion that some seniors on the 2000 team brought to the field."

In reflection, disappointment about not hitting a higher level is expected. But a complete dismissal of the development of the program would be a mistake. Even Robinson believes the victory total was deceiving from a season that saw his team suffer five of its seven losses by an average of five points each.

"It was not like we were suddenly an awful team," the former national champion at USC says. "If we had played the last minute of games better, we would have had a successful season. We didn't do the little things well and didn't finish. That was the exact opposite of the team before it, so that is obviously something hard to predict."

Anticipation for the season was at a fever pitch for GAME ONE as UNLV played the same team consecutively for only the second time ever in what was the earliest opener in school history. A first trip to Arkansas, which was organized a half-decade earlier, created an immediate rematch of the final game of 2000. Both teams expected big things, which was demonstrated when the game was moved to Thursday to accommodate a national ESPN broadcast with the A-crew in the booth.

Before a packed house at War Memorial in Little Rock, the schools engaged in a sloppy defensive battle. With Jason Thomas visibly out of sync, the Rebels took a 10-0 lead into halftime. Knowing the Razorbacks could not move the ball, Robinson told his players they would play it safe and go home with an ugly but impressive victory. The second half became a coming out party for Joe Haro, who had missed most of the previous year as a defensive back with a broken leg. "Jersey Joe" finished with 131 yards vs. a defense that would end up challenging Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Haro almost iced the game with a 68-yard breakaway sprint through the Hog defense but was brought down at the 7. Two missed short field goal attempts by Dillon Pieffer allowed Arkansas - which had only five first downs and went 0-15 on third down - to hang around. An interception return for a touchdown and a bobbled punt snap would eventually lead to the Razorbacks' last-minute, game winning touchdown drive in the improbable 14-10 final.

Thanks to ESPN's new, controversial scheduling, GAME TWO saw the first Friday date since 1979 as Big Ten Conference member Northwestern came to Las Vegas for the first time to return a game from back in 1998. UNLV fell to 22-12 in home openers as it faced the highest-ranked team (No. 16) to come to Sam Boyd since 1994. Wildcat quarterback Zak Kustok dominated the game by rushing for three touchdowns and throwing two more. UNLV trailed only 9-7 at halftime but multiple Rebel fumbles allowed NU to build a big enough lead to fend off two Jason Thomas to Michael Johnson scoring bombs. The game did offer the debut of running back Dominique Dorsey, the 5-foot-6 spitfire who returned his first kickoff 87 yards and took his first two career carries for 20 yards total. Dorsey would go on to set a school single-season record with a 34.6-yard average on returns and would have ranked second in the nation with two more attempts.

The Rebels were slated for a second consecutive ESPN Friday affair, this time vs. MWC defending champ Colorado State, before the terrorist attacks of September 11 led to the cancellation of all I-A games, which resulted in an unplanned and somber weekend off. UNLV instead had to next head to Tucson for GAME THREE to play Arizona, marking the first time the geographical neighbors faced each other on the gridiron. The Rebels perhaps played their most uninspired football of the year and were dispatched by the Wildcats, 38-21, as the Pac-10 program improved to 3-0 under new head coach John Mackovic.

Back home for an ABC regional broadcast, UNLV opened Mountain West Conference play by welcoming the second-biggest home crowd ever during GAME FOUR vs. No. 20 BYU. Playing through game-time temperatures of more than 100 degrees, a wild first quarter started with UNLV's Derek Olsen returning a fumbled kickoff return 22 yards for a touchdown. The Cougars managed to go ahead 10-7 before UNLV stormed to its largest lead of the season at 21-10. BYU fought back and the Rebels led 31-28 with just over two minutes remaining. In a thrilling finish, the Y converted a game-deciding fourth-down conversion for 42 yards and scored the winner on the next play to make it a 35-31 heartbreaker.

Skidding to a stunning 0-4 start, UNLV woke up to the sound of a cannon blast in GAME FIVE as it headed north to take on arch-rival Nevada, Reno in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. After being shut out in the first half, the Rebels were led by Dorsey's 56-yard scamper, which helped the rookie set the MWC freshman rushing record with 180 yards on just 18 carries. UNLV eventually broke open a close game behind two Kevin Thomas interceptions and pulled away for its first win in Reno since 1979. In fact, the 27-12 final marked the first back-to-back wins in the passionate series since 1983. Punter Gary Cook used a career day (45.3-yard average) to earn the title of MWC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Back on ABC-TV, UNLV welcomed San Diego State to town for GAME SIX and proceeded to play one of the most dominant halves of football in program history to celebrate Homecoming. The game was essentially over by the end of the second quarter. Haro had a third consecutive 100-yard day in his pocket in the second quarter while Aztec rusher Larry Ned, who came in as the nation's third-leading rusher, was held to just 46 yards. On special teams, UNLV blocked a punt, which led to a score, and returned another in the play of the year as Troy Mason fielded a punt and, with no time on the clock, returned it 52 yards for a touchdown and a shocking 31-3 halftime lead. That score, which helped Mason earn MWC weekly honors, eventually turned into the final as the Rebels literally ran out the clock while emptying the bench in quarters three and four.

With CSU rescheduled for what was originally a bye week for both schools, GAME SEVEN on October 20 saw the hosts fumble away their chance at getting back in the MWC race. When punter Cook's fumble was returned for a Ram score on the first series, it marked the first of four lost balls for UNLV. The Rebel defense was stingy but was burned by a trick play that saw a halfback pass go back to the quarterback for a 56-yard score. Haro, who finished with 146 yards, used his second TD of the day to make the score 26-24 in CSU's favor with seven minutes left but the Rebels failed to get past mid-field in their two final drives.

Returning to the site of its biggest upset under Robinson, UNLV traveled to Laramie to face struggling Wyoming in GAME EIGHT. Two Jason Thomas-to-tight-end DeJhown Mandley touchdowns helped UNLV score a school-record 27 first-quarter points. However, it was Joe Haro Day for the visitors as the tailback ran wild across the Front Range to the tune of 224 yards. The seventh-best single-game performance in school history marked UNLV's first 200-yard runner in six years and won Haro a MWC offensive kudo. It was part of the Rebels' 568 yards of offense in a 47-26 final that marked the program's third straight win over the Pokes. Having won three of four, UNLV still had hopes of repeating the season-ending run in 2000 that led to bowl-game eligibility. Utah had other plans.

GAME NINE saw the Utes give up interception returns for touchdowns on consecutive drives, including a 70-yarder by Sam Brandon, and a brief 14-7 Rebel lead during a senior day that honored 20 players. That thrilling burst, however, would close the scoring for the home team. Utah, as it has during all three meetings as MWC rivals, dominated the second half en route to a 42-14 thrashing to extend its winning streak over the Rebels to six. In Albuquerque, N.M., for GAME 10, Jason Thomas' string of starts was ended by a bout with influenza, which necessitated promising freshman backup Kurt Nantkes getting his first start. The former minor league pitcher moved the offense well during the first half and Dorsey added a sensational 40-yard touchdown sprint to put the visitors up 17-14 at the break. The Rebel rushing game, however, was shut down in Half Two and the Lobos converted a Nantkes fumble into the go-ahead touchdown for a 27-17 final.

Humbled again by two consecutive losses to conference opponents, UNLV traveled to a site at which it had never won - the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs - for GAME 11. The Falcons jumped out to a 10-0 lead but the Rebels went ahead 14-10 at halftime and never looked back in scoring 34 straight points. Kevin Thomas changed the game by returning a pass interception 57 yards for a touchdown - the third such score of his senior year and sixth of his phenomenal career. The effort, which included breaking the school record for most and consecutive career starts with 46, earned him MWC defensive player of the week honors for the third consecutive season. Haro's final effort of 70 yards on just 11 carries gave the junior 1,107 yards for the fourth-best season in school history. The successful finale, which also included a Scott Parkhurst fumble return for a touchdown (the Rebels' sixth defensive score of the year) was only the second season-ending victory for UNLV in nine years and left a positive final taste in the collective mouth of a team that had endured more than its share of disappointment.

The Rebels' second straight win over the Falcons was broadcast by ESPN+Plus, which meant another milestone for the program since Robinson's arrival as every UNLV game was televised for the first time in school history.

At home without a bowl game trip, the Rebels made plenty of positive postseason news nonetheless. Dorsey was tabbed Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year while Kevin Thomas was named the league's defensive player of the year by both the media and coaches. KT, whose season included breaking multiple school and conference records, ended up leading the nation in interception return yards and defensive scoring as well as tying for third nationally with a MWC single-season record seven picks. His efforts earned him third team All-America honors from Football News and a fourth-team nod from The Sporting News, which made him only the second defensive player in UNLV history tabbed All-American (joining lineman Joe Ingersoll in 1975).

The program set a record when all five major all-star games invited a UNLV player to participate for the first time ever. Kevin Thomas was the first Rebel to go to the Senior Bowl since Ickey Woods in 1988 and also starred in the East-West Shrine Game. Also, Brandon made a bid for defensive MVP honors at the Blue-Gray Game while Floridian Ahmad Miller made a home appearance at the Rotary Gridiron Classic in Orlando and Brandon Bair dominated along the front line at the Hula Bowl Maui.

Come April, UNLV tied a 27-year-old school record when four Rebels were selected in the annual NFL Draft. Defensive end Anton Palepoi, who missed five games because of knee problems, still wowed scouts and became the highest draftee since Woods went 31st overall in 1988 when the Seahawks nabbed Palepoi in the second round. Day Two brought an even bigger bounty as Brandon went to the Broncos in the fourth round, Thomas was grabbed by Buffalo in the sixth and Miller earned the title of Mr. Irrelevant when the expansion Houston Texans selected the defensive tackle with the draft's 261st and final pick, which earned him not only a week of national media attention but also a trip to Newport Beach, Calif., as the guest of honor for Irrelevant Week festivities and gift-giving ceremonies.