UNLV Rebels punter Marshall Nichols executed the fake punt to perfection. Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Watch: UNLV executes perfect fake punt against Cal in the LA Bowl

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Dec 18, 2024 10:37 PM ET

Some college football fans may be so focused on the first round of the College Football Playoff beginning on Friday that they've forgotten bowl season has already started.

If so, fans missed Wednesday night when California and No. 24 UNLV faced off in the Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk. The Rebels pulled off one of the best trick plays of the season early in the second quarter.

On 4th-and-7, UNLV lined up like it was going to punt away to the Golden Bears until the ball was snapped and one of the gunners sprinted across the line of scrimmage while the rest sprinted forward.

Punter Marshall Nichols then bailed out his punting motion at the last moment, making a two-handed toss over the punt blockers to his gunner that broke off and proceeded to nearly run the ball to the end zone.

UNLV hit the fake punt #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/HuuDVV8LJ5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 19, 2024

The 52-yard fake punt set up UNLV to score and retake the lead 14-10 over Cal and steal momentum away.

The Rebels (10-3) were on the bubble for the College Football Playoff but fell to eventual Mountain West champion Boise State in the conference title game. The Broncos then clinched the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the inaugural 12-team bracket.

Cal (6-6) qualified for a bowl game in its first year as a member of the ACC after departing the Pac-12 in 2023.

Because its former home still had agreements with bowl games such as the LA bowl, Cal accepted the invitation as a legacy Pac-12 team and not a representative of the ACC.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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