UNLV Prepares for San Jose State
Nov. 19, 1997
SAN JOSE STATE vs. UNLV GAME PREVIEW: After enjoying its first and only
open week of the season, UNLV (3-7, 2-5) finishes off the 1997 campaign by
hosting long-time rival San Jose State (3-7, 3-4) Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ...
The Rebels look to complete their 30th year of football by breaking a
four-game losing streak while at the same time tying the Spartans for 6th
place in the final WAC standings ... SJSU comes to Las Vegas following a
38-14 win over Hawai'i, the Spartans' third win in the last five games ...
Senior Day 1997, featuring a pre-game ceremony, will feature 12 Rebels
playing in their final collegiate game ... A UNLV win would give it four
this fall -- more than the 1995-96 seasons combined ... UNLV has a career
record of 13-14 after a bye week but 3-1 under Jeff Horton ... The Rebels
defeated highly favored San Diego State, 44-42, after last year's only open
week ... The Rebels are 11-16-2 in regular-season finales and have closed
with a victory just once in the last eight years ... This week's game holds
extra significance for two Rebels chasing records. Junior WR Damon Williams
needs five receptions to become the school's all-time leader while senior
LB Scott Patton needs just one tackle to set the single-season record in
that category ... With Patton at 137 total tackles, if fellow LB Greg Gales
earns six more take downs it will mark the first time the Rebels have had
two 100-tackle players in the same season since 1994 and only the second
time in the 1990s.
SERIES NOTES: San Jose State leads the all-time series between the schools
10-5-1 and has won two straight ... The UNLV-SJSU game -- being played for
the 17th-straight year -- is the longest consecutive rivalry in Rebel
football history ... The Rebels have played more games against only one
other team: UNR, 23 times ... The 16-16 game in 1985 was the last tie in
UNLV history ... Meeting as WAC rivals for the second time, UNLV also
played SJSU as an independent (1981) and as a fellow-member of the Big West
Conference (1982-95) ... Because of the conference change last year, the
series was played in the same city -- San Jose -- for two consecutive years
for the first time ... UNLV's Jeff Horton has faced SJSU more than any
other team, with the Rebel coach holding a 2-2 career record vs. the
Spartans ... UNLV won three straight in the series (1992-94) after SJSU
rolled to six consecutive victories (1986-91) ... Former UNLV offensive
coordinator Steve Hagen, who served under Horton in Las Vegas in 1994-95,
is now the Spartans' quarterbacks coach.
