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TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com
UNLV coach Sanchez creates
mystery in matchup with ‘M’
Sanchez, Harbaugh
match wits in battle
of first-year coaches
By MAX COHEN
Managing Sports Editor
On
paper,
the
Michigan
football team’s third foe of the
season is its least
daunting so far.
UNLV
enters
Saturday’s game
at
Michigan
Stadium lacking
three things: a
win,
a
Power
Five conference
affiliation
and
an
established
college football
coach.
But it is the
third of those
shortcomings
that
could
have made the
Wolverines’
preparation for Saturday’s contest
difficult. The Rebels are led by
coach Tony Sanchez who — like
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
— is in his first year at the school.
However, Sanchez’s résumé looks
very different from Harbaugh’s:
Prior to this season, he had never
held a position higher than an
undergraduate assistant at the
collegiate level. Now, Sanchez is
faced with a thorough rebuilding
job. His team won just two games
last season.
Sanchez arrived at UNLV this
offseason from Bishop Gorman
High School in Las Vegas, where
he compiled an 85-5 record in
six seasons to go along with six
straight
state
titles.
Sanchez
sent 25 players to Football Bowl
Subdivision schools during his
tenure at Bishop Gorman. Prior
to his time at Bishop Gorman,
Sanchez
had
held
various
different coaching positions at
high schools in California, New
Mexico and Texas.
Michigan was forced to get a
little creative in preparing for
the Rebels this week because of
Sanchez’s limited body of work
at the collegiate level. Harbaugh
said Monday that the Wolverines
would study film of the teams
Sanchez’s assistants have worked
with in the past. But making
judgments
and
preparations
solely based off of Sanchez’s high
school games could be difficult.
Harbaugh did not seem overly
concerned with the proposition,
confident that his staff would
get the job done and “dive in and
start attacking” the preparation.
Harbaugh, though he has never
met Sanchez in person, has been
impressed with UNLV’s coach.
“I like that he’s come from a
non-traditional way of doing it,”
Harbaugh said. “I like following
him. I like watching what his
career’s going to be like. He’s had
success. Looks good. I like the
way he coaches his team. I like
the way they’re playing. But at
the same time, we’ve got to guard
against it and make sure we play
well.”
The matchup could present
another
opportunity
for
Michigan’s run game to gel. The
Wolverines rushed for 225 yards
last weekend against Oregon
State, providing the team with
something to build off of against
UNLV’s rush defense, which has
struggled so far this year. The
Rebels allowed 273 yards on the
ground last weekend against
UCLA and 185 in their season
opener against Northern Illinois.
If Michigan can pound the run
game, it could open things up
and render some of the question
marks about UNLV’s game plan
irrelevant.
The
Rebels’
pass
defense,
though, should enter the game
with some level of confidence.
UNLV intercepted three passes
against the Bruins last weekend,
and even though two of them
came late in the game when
UCLA’s
backup
quarterback
was under center, the Rebels
did manage to pick off Bruins
freshman sensation Josh Rosen
once. Michigan fifth-year senior
quarterback Jake Rudock will
look to avoid the same fate after
starting off his Wolverine career
with four interceptions in two
games.
If he’s able to control the
turnovers, Sanchez’s first win
at
the
collegiate
level
will
be much harder to come by.
But no matter what happens
Saturday,
Harbaugh
believes
Sanchez’s
wins
will
come,
despite his unorthodox coaching
background.
“More than one way to skin a
cat,” Harbaugh said.
UNLV at
Michigan
Matchup:
UNLV 0-2;
Michigan 1-1
When:
Saturday
12 P.M.
Where:
Michigan
Stadium
TV/Radio:
Big Ten
Network
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Junior running back De’Veon Smith (bottom) and fifth-year senior Jake Rudock
(top) lead the Michigan football team’s offense Saturday against UNLV.
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