INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Hajj-Malik Williams passed for two touchdowns, Kylin James ran for another and No. 24 UNLV pulled away in the second half for a 24-13 victory over California in the LA Bowl on Wednesday night.
UNLV won for the first time in a bowl game since 2000 and the first outside of the Las Vegas Bowl. It also gave the Rebels (11-3) 11 wins for the first time as an FBS program.
Del Alexander, an assistant when UNLV last won a bowl game, was the interim head coach after Barry Odom departed for the vacancy at Purdue on Dec. 8.
Dan Mullen, who will take over UNLV’s program next season after being hired last Thursday, was in attendance.
Cal (6-7), which hasn’t had a winning season since 2019, was missing quarterback Fernando Mendoza and leading wide receiver Nyziah Hunter, after both entered the transfer portal.
UNLV took a 7-3 lead during the first quarter when Williams connected with Kayden McGee for a 49-yard touchdown strike. The freshman got behind Cal’s secondary on a post pattern, caught the ball at the 13 and easily ran into the end zone for his first collegiate TD.
The Rebels went back on top 14-10 early in the second quarter as Jacob De Jesus took a shovel pass 12 yards and then did a backflip after scoring. The touchdown came a play after a successful fake punt when Marshall Nichols lobbed the ball to Cameron Oliver for a 52-yard gain to the Cal 9.
De Jesus also had a 38-yard punt return during the fourth quarter to set up a field goal by Caden Chittenden.
UNLV had a 14-13 lead at halftime but extended its lead to eight with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter when James went 23 yards up the middle. The Rebels regained possession after Jett Elad recovered the ball after Cal quarterback EJ Caminong fumbled on a lateral.
Williams was 5 of 18 for 96 yards while Jai’Den Thomas had 18 carries for 72 yards.
CJ Harris got his first start at Cal and completed 13 of 20 passes for 109 yards in 2 1/2 quarters of action. Caminong went the rest of the way and was 6 of 19 for 57 yards.
Jayden Ott rushed for 84 yards on 11 carries.
The Golden Bears’ lone touchdown came with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter when Josiah Martin went 29 yards on a reverse to give Cal a short-lived 10-7 advantage.
Takeaways
Cal: The Golden Bears got into UNLV territory only once on their eight second half drives.
UNLV: The victory should also mean the Rebels will be ranked in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time. A Mountain West team has won three of the four LA Bowls.
Up next
Both teams are slated to open the 2025 season on the road on Aug. 30. UNLV will be at Sam Houston State and Cal faces former Pac-12 foe Oregon State.
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