A Nevada senior class that has seen its share of ups and downs, including a coaching change and the tragic death of a teammate, is hoping to make its final night at Mackay Stadium a high point.

The Wolf Pack, with its 17 seniors, will face Colorado State on Saturday night at Mackay Stadium. It’s the final home game of the season for Nevada (5-4 overall, 3-2 Mountain West), which finishes the regular season with road games at San Jose State and UNLV.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s already our seniors’ last game,” Nevada coach Jay Norvell said Monday. “We have 17 seniors playing their last game at Mackay, and we certainly want to send them out as winners. It’s very simple what we need to do – we need to have a great week of practice and prepare. We have many goals left in this season.”

Nevada has already reached a number of milestones in its second season under Norvell, including winning on the road for the first time since the end of the 2016 season and winning back-to-back games for the first time under the second-year coaching staff. A win against the Rams (3-6, 2-3) would add another, as the Wolf Pack would become bowl-eligible for the first time since playing in the 2015 Arizona Bowl (coincidentally, a 28-23 win over Colorado State).

“We have 17 seniors playing their last game at Mackay, and we certainly want to send them out as winners." -- Nevada head coach Jay Norvell

Nevada finished 3-9 last season and 5-7 in 2016, the final year of Brian Polian’s tenure.

“I was lucky enough to go to two bowl games (at Washington State), and I was telling the guys that the experience is priceless,” Nevada receiver Kaleb Fossum said. “You get to experience a week, wherever you get to go, with your teammates and do all the fun stuff, and hopefully you win it. It’s a memory you’ll have forever, and I just want to send these guys (the seniors) out on a high note.”

Among the Wolf Pack’s senior leaders this season have been quarterback Ty Gangi (2,118 yards, 16 touchdown passes) and linemen Sean Krepsz, Kalei Meyer, and Anthony Palomares on offense. Defensively, Nevada has benefited from a number of standout senior performances, including from linebackers Malik Reed (11.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles) and Lucas Weber, along with Asauni Rufus and Dameon Baber (two interceptions) in the secondary. The anchor of the defensive front, senior Korey Rush, is anticipated to miss the rest of the regular season with a broken foot.

“I feel for him; it’s tough. Being a senior and not being able to play in your last home game here at Mackay,” senior linebacker Malik Reed said. “We’re going to try and rally around him, go play for him. That’s one of my brothers, a guy I’ve been out here with since I got here. I’m just going to try and play my heart out for him.”

In addition to sending its seniors off on a high note, Nevada will also look to stop Colorado State’s overall dominance of the series. The Wolf Pack has not beaten the Rams in Reno since 2010 (a 51-6 blowout) and trails the overall series, 12-3. CSU has won the teams’ last three regular-season games.

“We’re really excited to be home; we want to invite everybody to come out and support this football team,” Norvell said. “We have 17 seniors that are playing their last game in Mackay, so we hope everybody comes out to support them.”

Wolf Pack football

Who: Colorado State (3-6, 2-3 Mountain West) at Nevada (5-4, 3-2)

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Mackay Stadium (27,000)

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 94.5 FM/630 AM (John Ramey, Mike Edwards)

Line: Nevada by 14; total of 65

Series: Colorado State leads, 12-3

Last time: Colorado State 44, Nevada 42 (2017)

Wolf Pack seniors

Nevada lists 17 seniors on its roster: