Rebels’ Hawaii trip more formidable this year

SAN DIEGO — UNLV’s trip to Hawaii suddenly doesn’t look as appealing for the Rebels as it did last season, when the Rainbow Warriors struggled to a 3-10 record and went 0-8 in the Mountain West.

Hawaii has improved under firstyear coach Nick Rolovich, beating San Jose State 34-17 on Saturday to open conference play 2-0 and even its record at 3-3 while snapping a 10game road losing streak.

Quarterback Dru Brown completed 24 of 33 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 54 yards and a score for the Rainbow Warriors, who beat UNR 38-17 in their league opener at home.

The Rebels will play Hawaii at 9 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. UNLV beat the Rainbow Warriors 41-21 at Sam Boyd Stadium last season, but has lost the past four meetings in Hawaii, where it hasn’t won since 2000.

The Rainbow Warriors are averaging 29.1 points, and their losses are to Power Five schools California (51-31), Michigan (63-3) and Arizona (47-28).

FOX TO AIR HAWAII GAME — The Rebels’ game at Hawaii, which was originally scheduled to be streamed online and then not at all, now will be shown live on the local Fox affiliate. KVVU-TV paid the rights fee to pick up the Hawaii TV broadcast of Saturday’s game and will air it locally in Southern Nevada.

RICKS OUT FOR SEASON — San Diego State senior middle linebacker Randy Ricks, a Legacy High School graduate, had surgery Thursday for turf toe and will miss the rest of the season. Ricks had 11 tackles and a sack this season.

STREAKING AZTECS — San Diego State had its 13-game win streak snapped by South Alabama on Oct. 1, but the Aztecs took an 11-game Mountain West win streak into Saturday’s game against the Rebels. The streak was the longest active one in the nation entering Saturday after Western Kentucky saw its 13game Conference USA win streak end in Thursday’s 55-52 loss to Louisiana Tech.

San Diego State also entered play riding an 11-game home conference win streak and had won its past five without trailing, a streak of 323 minutes, 13 seconds.

REBELS REUNION — Three former UNLV football head coaches attended Saturday’s game at Qualcomm Stadium: Jeff Horton, the Aztecs’ offensive coordinator; Bobby Hauck, the Aztecs’ special teams coordinator; and Wayne Nunnely, who is retired.

New York Jets (1-3) at Pittsburgh (31), 10 a.m., KLAS-8 — One of the worst matchups possible for the reeling Jets: New York trails the overall series 19-5 and is 1-9 in Pittsburgh.

If the Jets don’t tidy up, they could get rocked at Heinz Field. Their 13 turnovers are the most in the NFL and Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 10 interceptions lead the league. He’s also 0-4 against the Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger’s 11 TD passes are tied for the NFL high with Atlanta’s Ryan, and he is 31-10 in October. His top target, 2015 All-Pro Antonio Brown, has four TD receptions, also tied for the league lead. Running back Le’Veon Bell rolled up 178 yards of total offense in his 2016 debut last Sunday night after serving a three-game suspension.

Cincinnati (2-2) at Dallas (3-1), 1:25 p.m., KLAS-8 Finally, Cowboys rookie QB Dak Prescott faces a solid defense. If he passes this test, Dallas might be on to something at quarterback while Tony Romo heals. Prescott has thrown a rookie-record 131 passes without an interception to start his career, tied with Hall of Famer Warren Moon for second overall behind Brady (162).

This one could be decided on the ground. Cincinnati hasn’t allowed a rushing TD this season, while the Cowboys have NFL-leading eight. Dallas rookie Ezekiel Elliott leads the league in rushing with 412 yards.

New York Giants (2-2) at Green Bay (2-1), 5:20 p.m., KSNV-3 — The Pack is back — from a bye.

Seeing the Giants would seem to be a good way to return considering how inept New York’s injury-depleted secondary has been. Aaron Rodgers must be eager as all get out to get on the field, but he should remember that the Giants have won two huge games there in the playoffs in 2008 and 2012.