By james art 
The UNLV football team wants another revenge.
Coach Barry Odom said the Rebels, after losing to Boise State 29-24 on Oct. 25, entered their second bye week feeling battered and deflated.
But Odom was cheerful Monday, saying he felt “a lot of urgency” from his players during practice. The coach has shortened the team’s practices during the bye, but said he has seen increased energy and effort even when the group is off the field. Odom said he’s noticed players putting in extra work in the weight room and watching film together even when they weren’t scheduled to.
“Body language is the most powerful language in the world, and you see the bounce in our step,” Odom said.
UNLV (6-2) has just four more games to earn another shot at the Broncos in this year’s Mountain West title game.
This would be an opportunity for the Rebels to make amends from their recent loss as well as avenge their loss to Boise State in the conference championship game last season.
Odom still believes his team can do it.
“Everything we want to try to accomplish is within our control and it starts with getting to the Mountain West championship game,” Odom said. “That’s still there. We need a little help … but if we win the next four and go 10-2 in the regular season, I believe we’ll be in the championship game.”
The Rebels next play in Hawaii on Saturday. They will then face San Diego State at home on November 16th, face San Jose State on November 22nd and host UNR on November 30th.
The Spartans were also off for the weekend, but UNLV was paying attention to how the other three opponents fared.
“We talked a little bit as a team today after practice — when you’re in a bye week and you get to watch other schools and teams play, you can see when teams are hungry or when they’re not,” Odom said. “And it’s very, very clear to see.”
Odom said it’s human nature to relax as the team goes through the highs and lows of the football season. But rebels don’t have that luxury. At least that’s how senior offensive lineman Jack Haas feels. That’s why he paid close attention to this weekend’s games.
“Looking at the big picture of who wins what game, we don’t necessarily think in the moment. It’s more if we want to see these guys in the future, get a little bit of a head start on them,” Haas said. “At the end of the day, conference play is also kind of a copycat world. So if something works against one team, you’ll likely see it everywhere.
Hasz was one of several UNLV linemen to address reporters Monday, along with junior offensive lineman Anton Ambuel, senior defensive lineman Alexander Whitmore and senior defensive end Antonio Doyle Jr.
They all gave similar answers when asked how badly the Rebels want another shot at Boise State:
“That’s all.”
“That’s all we think about.”
“We need this.”
But when the group was asked a follow-up question about how far the team was looking ahead, Doyle steered the conversation back to Hawaii.
“We’re just focusing on one week at a time,” Doyle said. “I’m really getting better at being dominant one game at a time because we can’t get ahead.”
Contact Callie Fin at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.