INSIDE SLANT

If only UNLV’s offense was as wild and headline-making as the team’s bye week.

“Normally in college football a bye week tends to be an uneventful one for your football team,” coach Mike Sanford said. “Such was not the case for our squad last week.”

First, Sanford was informed by interim athletic director Jerry Koloskie that school president Dr. Neal Smatresk had decided to fire him after five seasons and a 15-43 record. Sanford agreed to stay on and coach the team’s season finale against San Diego State on Saturday.

Sanford’s firing was hardly a surprise.

But later in the week came the stunning news that senior wide receiver Ryan Wolfe, who had started 43 of the 47 games of his record-setting Rebel career, had broken his foot during a bye week practice.

Wolfe, who was not taking part in any contact drills that day, fielded a punt and rolled his foot, breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in the process. He had surgery Nov. 23 to have a screw placed in the bone, and he will be sidelined for about three months, limiting his preparation for the NFL Draft.

The sure-handed 6-2, 210-pound senior shattered the Mountain West Conference career receptions mark with 283, which ranks him No. 12 all-time in NCAA history.

“It’s very sad that Ryan will not be able to play in his final game,” Sanford said. “He has been an unbelievable player, an unbelievable leader and an unbelievable example for this football program. … It’s a big loss not to have him out there for our final game.”

Sanford said he wants to win his final game for his senior class.

“Our main goal and our main focus is to send our seniors out with a win,” he said. “It’s not about me. This is a great senior class. I’ve been through a lot with these guys. It’s going to be a very emotional day for me and for them.”

NOTES, QUOTES

• UNLV is 5-5 in Mountain West Conference finales, compared to just 16-55 in all other MWC games.

• Outgoing UNLV head coach Mike Sanford (15-43) will tie Jeff Horton (13-44 in 1994-98) for most losses in school history if the Rebels lose to San Diego State.

Series History:   San Diego State leads UNLV 11-7 (last meeting, 2008, 42-21 San Diego State)

Scouting The Offense:   UNLV will be without its best offensive weapon in record-setting WR Ryan Wolfe (broken foot). Sophomore Michael Johnson, who has 21 career starts, moves into Wolfe’s H-Back spot. San Diego State, like UNLV, has struggled to stop the run, allowing an average of 169.4 yards per game, so look for the Rebels to try to get things going on the ground with junior TB Channing Trotter and some quarterback draws.

Scouting The Defense:   UNLV’s Achilles’ heel has been defending the run (231.2 ypg), but that should not be much of a problem against San Diego State, which averages just 2.8 yards per carry and 76.0 yards per game on the ground. The big key will be the play of a revamped secondary that was torched for 387 yards and two touchdowns by SDSU QB Ryan Lindley a year ago. The Rebels have intercepted just three passes this season, fewest of any team in the nation, and have registered just 12 sacks.

Quote To Note:   “I don’t want to use this word, but it will be revenge. I remember the locker room after the game and how the seniors were affected by the loss.”—Senior LB Jason Beauchamp, on his final game as a Rebel against San Diego State, which dashed UNLV’s bowl hopes last year with a season-ending 42-21 win.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: San Diego State at UNLV, Nov. 28—The Mike Sanford era comes to an end against the team that caused him his greatest heartache in his five-year tenure. UNLV would likely have gone bowling in 2008 with a season-ending win at the 1-10 Aztecs a year ago. San Diego State spoiled that by cruising to an easy 42-21 victory.

Keys To The Game:   Call this a case of the resistible force meeting the moveable object. UNLV’s porous run defense, which ranks 115th nationally at 231.2 yards per game, gets a break this week against a San Diego State rush offense that ranks 116th nationally with an average of 76.0 yards per game. It’s up to the Rebel secondary then to be able to hold its own against the Aztec passing game, led by strong-armed sophomore Ryan Lindley, who torched UNLV for 387 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 win last year.

Players To Watch:  

QB Omar Clayton—Has cut down his interceptions dramatically in the last four games, when he has been picked off just once. He threw eight interceptions in the previous four games. Didn’t play in last year’s season finale against the Aztecs because of a knee injury.

LB Jason Beauchamp—The San Diego native grew up attending San Diego State football camps and games but picked UNLV after the Aztecs came in with a late scholarship offer. The preseason first-team All-Mountain West Conference pick has 319 career tackles and 13 sacks and needs just two tackles to move past Beau Bell (320) into second place on the school’s career tackles list.

PK/P Kyle Watson—The senior will try to finish his UNLV career without missing an extra point try in his two seasons as the team’s place-kicker. He’s a perfect 70-of-70 on PATs, which is the second-best streak in Mountain West Conference history behind Colorado State’s Jason Smith’s 86 straight (2006-08). Watson is also averaging 42.6 yards per punt, which ranks 33rd nationally.

Roster Report:  

• WR Ryan Wolfe, the all-time Mountain West Conference receptions leader with 283, had foot surgery for a broken fifth metatarsal bone on Nov. 23 and will miss his final game. Wolfe is expected to be sidelined for about three months before preparing for April’s NFL Draft.

• Sophomore WR Michael Johnson, who has 21 career starts, will move to Wolfe’s H-Back spot. The 5-foot-8, 170-pounder is third on the team in receptions with 37 for 443 yards and one touchdown.