LA Bowl Recap: UNLV Defeats Cal, 24-13

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Dec 18, 2024; Inglewood, CA, USA; UNLV Rebels wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (21) carries the ball past California Golden Bears defensive back Cam Sidney (20) in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The UNLV Rebels and California Golden Bears met in this year's LA Bowl. The two teams traded big offensive punches in the first half before slowing down considerably after halftime. The Rebels led 14-13 at the half, courtesy of two touchdowns from starting QB Hajj-Malik Williams. After a quiet second half, UNLV secured the victory, 24-13.

With Cal playing a backup QB and UNLV’s most explosive player, Ricky White III, sitting out to prepare for the NFL, most thought this would be a defensive battle. With a fake punt for 52 yards and a 49-yard touchdown pass, UNLV showed plenty of big-play ability. Cal answered with three solid scoring drives but had to settle for field goals twice. They trailed 14-13 at halftime.

FAKE PUNT ALERTTTTT

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/OFkticWO8j
— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) December 19, 2024

Following halftime, the expected strong defense kicked in, as the two teams forced seven consecutive punts. UNLV finally broke the streak when Kylin James took a handoff 23 yards to extend the lead to 21-13 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

The game remained relatively quiet and scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter when Jacob De Jesus (who had already scored a touchdown) returned a punt to the California 25-yard line. Despite the absence of superstar Ricky White III, UNLV’s Special Teams was spectacular tonight. Following the big punt return, the Rebels were able to nail a 48-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-13. That score held the rest of the way as UNLV won the 2024 LA Bowl.

UNLV Team Leaders

QB Hajj-Malik Willliams completed just 5-of-18 passes for 96 yards but two of those completions were for touchdowns. He additionally tallied 27 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

WR Jacob De Jesus accumulated 142 all-purpose yards from scrimmage and scored the go-ahead touchdown.

RB Jai’Den Thomas tallied 72 rushing yards on 18 carries.

UNLV Team Leaders

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