It’s the last dance for some Golden Panthers on Saturday night at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium when FIU tries to hold the fort against FAU.

It’s the last home game for this group of FIU seniors, most of whom came to a program under probation and were recruited while the program still had well-documented nos — no weight room, no practice field, no stadium.

Now that group, which includes wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, quarterback Wesley Carroll and running back Darriet Perry, dominates the school record book and was part of the school’s first bowl appearance and win and can still be part of a second.

“It’s going to be kind of emotional, but I wouldn’t say happy… but kind of proud of myself for making it this far,” said Perry, a Valdosta, Ga., native who has the school record for most career rushing touchdowns. “A lot of people don’t make it to college; a lot of people don’t get a chance to play college football.”

It’s the last chance for this group of FIU seniors to beat FAU. The Panthers’ Sun Belt conference cousins from Boca Raton yearly perform the voodoo they do on FIU. This is the 10th Shula Bowl, and FAU holds an 8-1 series lead. Even last year, 4-8 FAU stuffed bowl-bound FIU 21-9 in the only game during the past two seasons in which FIU failed to score a touchdown or in double digits. Until last week’s 10-9 loss at Western Kentucky, that is.

“We got started a year earlier than they did, and we were ahead,” FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said. “Until we had our first changeover of scholarships, after the first three years, when we went to a new group of kids coming in, they had a big win over us. They scored 52 points against us.

“Since that time, we had gotten our balance of seniors to freshman, juniors to sophomores in line that we could be somewhat consistent. We ran into that this year. We’re playing with a lot of young guys this year — 16 or 17 on the traveling squad are freshmen or redshirt freshman. Obviously, on paper, they look like they should be the favorite in this game. Our kids will prepare hard for them. If we get good quarterback play and good solid defense, we’ve got a chance to eke out a win.”

And it’s the last time around in this rivalry and last game coached in Miami-Dade County for Schnellenberger, without whom FIU vs. FAU probably still would be fantasy football. He merely saved college football in South Florida.

Without Schnellenberger after taking over at the University of Miami in 1979, there would be no program there. Without UM’s success through the 1980s and 1990s, it’s doubtful there would be an FAU program for Schnellenberger to guide through its first decade. It’s even more doubtful FIU would have a football program.