Head Coach John Robinson brings something to the UNLV Rebel football team that it isn’t normally familiar with. Respect. Robinson is a legend in football, as he led the University of Southern California to eight bowl games in his 13 seasons there. That includes a 4-0 record in the Rose Bowl and a national championship in 1978. He was also with the Los Angeles Rams for nine seasons, guiding them to the NFC title game twice, both of which were Ram losses. Now Robinson hopes to bring the same type of respect to Las Vegas. Last season the Rebels showed little signs of life, as they finished 3-8 and had a 1-6 record in the Mountain West Conference. “Tradition – we have none. We have to build the tradition ourself,” Robinson said. The road to improvement goes through Ames for the Rebels as they will start the season in Jack Trice Stadium. Robinson said that “opening on the road against a team that has already played a game” is not something he sees as an advantage. Iowa State will have no game tape to watch since UNLV has yet to play, but Robinson said that “teams improve most between week one to week two,” so Iowa State should be ready to go. Last season in Las Vegas, the Cyclones posted their first road shut-out in 21 years, blanking the Rebels 24-0. Robinson knows that Coach Dan McCarney and the Cyclones will come physically prepared on Saturday. “They overpowered us last year, physically, and they controlled the game,” Robinson said. “They are a good defensive team, not a great one.” Robinson will also be facing Iowa State without Darren Davis. Robinson described Davis as a “great” back and said that new starting tailback Ennis Haywood is “another good one, not a great one.” Robinson likes his backfield a lot, as tailback Jeremi Rudolph will unite with transfer Kevin Brown. “They could play for any team in the United States,” Robinson said. Brown rushed for more than 1000 yards when he played for Washington State and will give UNLV a “one-two punch at tailback,” Robinson explained. Robinson refers to all of the junior college and transfer students as a kind of “free agency” in college football. “With the limits in squad sizes, when [a player] looks and says `I’m going to be a back-up for three years,”‘ Robinson said, “it’s like what you and I would do, we look for jobs that suit us.” He also says that getting transfers is a way to “win fast” and not go through all the time of rebuilding. “We were blown out of five games last year,” Robinson said. “We got to get where we are playing even games.” The Rebels will test their new team against the Cyclones. Robinson sees Iowa State as “patient” and “balanced” but he thinks they may be “preoccupied with Iowa,” the Cyclones next opponent. “We will see balance from them, they are a very efficient and consistent football team,” he said.