Home at last

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 10:46 a.m.

At first glance it appears only the Wyoming Cowboys (5-3, 2-2) have something to play for when they face UNLV (2-6, 1-3) on Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.

A victory would guarantee Joe Glenn's Cowboys their first winning season since 1999 and more than likely secure them their first bowl bid since the 1993 Copper Bowl. It would also snap a five-year, 17-game conference road losing streak.

But the contest also will be the final home game for 19 UNLV senior players, including local stars like All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer of Durango High School and Mountain West Conference career tackles leader Adam Seward of Bonanza High School. It will also mark the final time retiring head coach John Robinson will pace the sidelines in Sam Boyd Stadium.

So even though their bowl hopes were dashed with a loss at seventh-ranked Utah two weeks ago, the Rebels say they have something to play for.

"All the incentives are definitely there," Brimmer, the 2002 Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year, said. "All we have got to do now is win the game. That will make it all worthwhile."

All 19 seniors will be introduced before the game and escorted onto the field by parents and/or family members.

"It will be emotional," Seward, who needs just 10 more tackles to crack the 400-mark for his career, said. "But it's got to end sometime. Nothing lasts forever no matter how good something is."

"It will be fun to have my parents out there," Brimmer said. "I'd like to show my parents what they've meant to me through this whole four-year process. It will be real fun to walk on the field with them and then to have them see me play my last home game."

Seward said he has cousins flying in from the tiny town of Jacksonville, Ill., just to see him play his final home game.

"They've never even been on an airplane before," he said. "But they're coming to visit for this game and I'm excited about that. It's the first time they've ever been to Las Vegas."

But the main motivation for the Rebels will be to send the senior class out with a win in their last home contest.

"The seniors, we put a lot of hard work into this program," Seward said. "From the days of going 0-11, we've made some strides. And this being coach Robinson's last game, we need to go out with a win. There's no other way to do it."

"I'm sure before the game we'll get together and say, 'Let's put one together for us,' " linebacker Ryan Claridge said. "And also, 'Let's put one together for Coach Rob.' It's going to be tough. You become accustomed to playing there. It's kind of like your house. You play there and have fun and it's exciting. But this is the last time for us seniors to experience that, so you want to make it memorable."