REBELS SET FOR 5 P.M. START

Apparently the early kickoff time has fooled all the UNLV football fans.

Either that, or the team’s recent struggles have turned off the fan base.

Either way, there is a very small crowd at Sam Boyd Stadium as the game gets set to begin.

If the game gets out of hand early, a fun project may be to count the fans by hand. It would probably take less than a series to accomplish the feat.

The people that chose not to come may have made a mistake. Tonight’s game provides the rare opportunity to see a potential BCS Bowl team play in Las Vegas.

Texas Christian is the first ranked team to play at Sam Boyd Stadium since Hawaii last season.

It is also a near-perfect night for football. The game-time temperature was 84 degrees with just a slight breeze.

PAYNE FREE

UNLV freshman receiver Phillip Payne took the field for pregame warm-ups in sweat pants and no pads.

All indications are that he will not play due to lingering effects from the huge hit he took during the fourth quarter of last week’s game at Brigham Young.