This will be a night of goodbyes, and not just for UNLV football coach Mike Sanford and possibly his entire staff.
Sixteen seniors, many who came in shortly after Sanford arrived five years ago, will suit up tonight for the final time as Rebels.
"You get to know their families; you get to know them," said Sanford, who was fired Nov. 15 but will coach this game. "You go through a lot with them."
The Rebels play San Diego State at 6 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium. Both teams are 4-7, including 2-5 in the Mountain West Conference.
When they met last season, San Diego State won 42-21 in Chuck Long's final game as Aztecs coach. His players, though, did not know beforehand.
"Our deal is completely different because our president (Neal Smatresk) fired me a week ago Sunday," said Sanford, who is 15-43 at UNLV.
San Diego State enters with a passing game that is statistically second best in the conference. Led by quarterback Ryan Lindley, the Aztecs average 256.5 yards passing per game.
But they are one-dimensional, averaging 76 yards rushing, lowest in the league and fifth from the bottom nationally.
San Diego State is in the middle of the conference defensively, allowing a 380.6-yard average.
UNLV is favored by 6 points, double where the betting line opened. But the Rebels will be without all-time leading receiver Ryan Wolfe, who broke a foot last week in practice.
Wolfe is among the seniors who will be honored in the pregame festivities. He is one of 10 on the team at least four years but just one of five who signed scholarships in that first recruiting class in 2005.
Safety Marquel Martin is one senior who did not immediately receive a scholarship but later earned one.
"Coach Sanford always believed in me," Martin said. "I came in as a walk-on, and he gave me the opportunity to come out on the team and two years later put me on scholarship. I'm very grateful for that."
Guard Joe Hawley wasn't in the first recruiting class but signed in 2006 and made a quick impact. He has 32 starts.
"This game's probably going to be real emotional toward the end of it because this is the last time playing with these guys," Hawley said. "It went by fast, and I had a good time while I was here."
It went fast, too, for wide receiver Jerriman Robinson, who began his college career at Texas Southern.
"It's kind of overwhelming, all of it coming to an end," Robinson said. "You get flashbacks to when you were little playing in Pop Warner with the big helmet and big shoulder pads. It's a little emotional, but it's all the more (reason) to play extra hard knowing it's your last game."
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest UNLV football updates at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.
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