Cal Sports Report

LA Bowl Summary: Cal Loses to UNLV

Cal finishes the game with fourth-string quarterback EJ Caminong, a true freshman making his college debut

Jake Curtis

Cal quarterback CJ Harris
Cal quarterback CJ Harris / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In this story:

Cal lost to 24th-ranked 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 than 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. It was the fourth consecutive game that Cal failed to force a turnover.

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 at 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.

KEY PLAY 3: Cal true freshman wide receiver Josiah Martin ran 29 yards for a touchdown to put Cal ahead 10-7 with 19 seconds left in the first quarter. On the previous play, CJ Harris had completed a 22-yard pass to Jack Endries on a third-and-3 play.

KEY PLAY 4:  On a fourth-and-7 play from the UNLV 39-yard line, UNLV pulled a fake punt play with punter Marshall Nichols throwing a short pass to Cameron Oliver, who turned it into a 52-yard pass play to the Cal 9-yard line.  On the next play, UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus to give UNLV a 14-10 lead with 13:17 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 5:  Cal’s Derek Morris missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt, keeping the UNLV lead at 14-10 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 6: Cal’s Ryan Coe kicked a 30-yard field goal to cut the UNLV lead to 14-13 with 1:50 left in the first half. But Cal failed to score a touchdown on that possession despite having a second down inside the UNLV 1-yard line. Cal's Jack Endries tried to reach across the goal-line on the first-and-goal play on that possession. From the camera looking along the goal-line, it appeared he did reach the ball across the line. But a camera that viewed the play from above indicated that Endries reached the ball around the pylon and no inside it, suggesting that the referee's call that put the ball at the half-yard line was probably accurate.

KEY PLAY 7: On a third-and-7 play from the Cal 33-yard line, Cal freshman quarterback EJ Caminong threw a pass backward that was not caught, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by UNLV's Jett Elad at the Cal 23-yard line. On the next play, UNLV's Kylin James ran 23 yards for a touchdown that gave the Rebels a 21-13 lead with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 8:  UNLV's Jacob De Jesus returned a punt 38 yards to the Cal 26-yard line., That led to Caden Chittenden's 48-yard field goal with 6:01 left in the fourth quarter to give UNLV a 24-13 lead.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME:  Jaydn Ott rushed for 81 yards in the first half, but just 3 yards in the second half.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Cal’s CJ Harris was 13-for-20 for 109 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Cal’s EJ Caminong was 6-for-19 for 57 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions . UNLV’s Hajj-Malik Williams was 5-for-18 for 96 yards, and he rushed for 27 yards.

WHAT IT MEANS:  Cal finishes with a losing record for the fifth straight season. Cal wound up with a losing conference record for the 15th consecutive season. The Bears lost in a bowl game for the second straight season and are 1-3 in bowl games under Justin Wilcox.

NEXT GAME: Cal (6-7) will face Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon, on Saturday, August 30, 2025, in both team’s season opener next year. Oregon State finished this season with a 5-7 record, including a 44-7 loss to Cal in Berkeley.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

.

.

.

.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Published |Modified
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football