Graney: Las Vegas needs to show up for UNLV vs. Boise State

It is a test of sorts, a way to gauge how popular UNLV football has really become locally over the last few years.

How much winning matters to the masses.

How much Las Vegas has taken to this team.

The Rebels on Friday night play host to No. 17 Boise State at Allegiant Stadium. It’s UNLV’s hope that a record crowd shows up.

It should. It shouldn’t be a question.

Winning helps

This team is special. And after decades of college football futility around these parts, the town finally has a product it can and should get behind.

What say you, Las Vegas?

Everyone loves a winner. Well, that’s all the Rebels have done since coach Barry Odom assumed control of the program last year. UNLV has already qualified for a bowl game this season, doing so in consecutive years for the first time in school history.

Now, the Rebels forge ahead with thoughts of returning to the Mountain West championship game and being in the conversation for a College Football playoff berth.

There’s a lot riding on Friday’s game.

A lot of reasons for fans to be in attendance.

“We need to create the type of atmosphere in a way we’ve never seen for UNLV football,” athletic director Erick Harper said. “Even when the (65,000-seat stadium) is half full, people are on top of you and it gets loud and intense. It’s powerful for our team.

“We’re Vegas born at UNLV and what these young men and coach Odom and his staff are doing is nothing short of remarkable. This team needs to be supported at a very high level.

“Our young men get excited when they hear the number of people who are going to be there, when they see people wearing UNLV branded gear, when they know they’re going to walk into a place that’s electric.”

The Rebels’ single-game home attendance record is the announced crowd of 42,075 it got against Wisconsin in 2002 at Sam Boyd Stadium. The program record for Allegiant Stadium is 35,193 against Iowa State in 2021. Harper said he hopes to eclipse the latter mark Friday.

There is also this: Large crowds and a festive atmosphere can aid other teams on campus, as recruits for them are often brought to high-profile football games such as this one. Many are expected to attend Friday.

The type of feeling a recruit gets at this kind of event can make a difference in how someone envisions the school. It’s important. It’s big.

So is the fact more and more folks are standing behind the football team.

“We’ve seen a huge influx in membership in those wanting to support the program,” said former Rebels wide receiver Casey Flair, president of the UNLV Football Foundation. “We’ve had a resurgence of people who maybe hadn’t donated or supported the program in a while come back and say, ‘Hey, we want to be part of this. We want to see the program win. We have the right person leading the team.’”

The ultimate test

UNLV is trying its best to draw more people Friday. It has opened the north and south end zone 200 levels for fans for only the third time since it started playing at Allegiant Stadium. It opened seats in the 300 level late Thursday afternoon.

The student section is filled to capacity and overflow locations have been added.

This is the ultimate test. The biggest game in school history. A lot riding on it.

“This year and what we do, a lot of it is for the city,” senior linebacker Jackson Woodard said. “For them to show up would mean everything to us. They can make it a true home-field advantage, which would be great for us. It’s going to be a lot of fun. They’re going to see our passion. We just hope we can get as many people as we can.”

What say you, Las Vegas?

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.