LA Bowl Summary: Cal Loses to UNLV

Cal lost to UNLV 24-13 in the LA Bowl Wednesday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California

Cal was down to its fourth-string quarterback, true freshman EJ Caminong, for most of the second half. CJ Harris, Cal's third-string quarterback who started Wednesday's game, left the game midway through the third quarter with an injury and did not return.

This was UNLV's first bowl victory since 2000, when John Robinson was the Rebels' head coach.

The Summary:

UNLV 24, CAL 13

RECORDS: CAL (6-7), UNLV (11-3)

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  UNLV's Jacob De Jesus. He had 142 all-purpose yards, scored a touchdown and had a 38-yard punt return.

STAT OF THE GAME:  Cal had more first downs thn UNLV (21-12), more total yards than UNLV (358-291) and more time of possession than UNLV (36 minutes to 24 minutes), but lost the game by two scores.

STAT OF THE GAME II: Cal committed one turnover and did not force any UNLV turnovers.

TURNING POINT:  With Cal leading 10-7 early in the second quarter, UNLV pulled a fake punt play on a fourth-and-7 play from the UNLV 39-yard line. Punter Marshall Nichols threw a 52-yard pass to Cameron Oliver, putting the ball at the Cal 9-yard line. UNLV scored on the next play to give the Rebels a 14-10 lead.

TURNING POINT II: With Cal trailing 14-13 late in the third quarter, Cal quarterback EJ Caminong threw a pass backward that was not caught, resulting in a fumble recovered by UNLV a the Cal 23-yard line. UNLV scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 21-13 lead with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Quarterback CJ Harris, who started Wednesday's game, was injured midway through the third quarter, left the game and did not return. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza and wide receiver Nyziah Hunter entered the transfer portal last week and were not available for the bowl game. Starting offensive tackle Nick Morrow did not play because of an injury. Quarterback Chandler Rogers sat out Wednesday’s game as a result of a leg injury suffered in the final regular-season game against SMU. Wide receiver Trond Grizzell sat out the game with an illness. Inside linebacker Cade Uluave was in the starting lineup Wednesday after missing the past three games with an injury.

UNLV PLAYER AVAILABILTY: Two-time first-team all-Mountain West wide receiver Ricky White III was not available for Wednesday’s game.

KEY PLAY 1:  On a first-down play from the Cal 23-yard line, Cal’s Jaydn Ott ran 48 yards to the UNLV 29-yard line. That led to Derek Morris’ 42-yard field goal that was good after it bounced off the right upright and through to give the Bears a 3-0 lead with 7:45 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: On a third-and-10 play from the Cal 49-yard line, UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to freshman Kayden McGee to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter.