INGLEWOOD — Despite losing its starting quarterback after three games and head coach 10 days ago, UNLV had its best season in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The 24th-ranked Rebels picked up their 11th win and first bowl victory in 24 years Wednesday night when they pulled away in the second half and beat California 24-13 in the LA Bowl.

“This is exactly how we wanted to finish it. I mean, not many people can say they got 11 wins in a season,” said linebacker Jackson Woodard, who the Defensive MVP of the game.

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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.

Williams Leads UNLV Offense

Hajj-Malik Williams passed for two touchdowns and Kylin James ran for another for the 11-3 Rebels, who won for the first time in a bowl game since beating Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl. It also gave the Rebels 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 Purdue on Dec. 8.

“It means a lot. I’ve done this so many times that it is a big deal for the players to experience. For them to feel it and get the reward and establish the legacy, it’s important for them,” Alexander said.

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.

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UNLV Takes Early Lead

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.

“My head was in the clouds and (special teams) coach (James) Shilbest said, `Hey, you want to run it?’ I mean, I didn’t figure out where the ball was and I said, go. I’ve seen it every day in practice for a year or two years,” Alexander said. “I think I was facing the wrong way, but I saw it go and said ‘OK, good.'”

De Jesus, the game’s Offensive MVP, also had a 38-yard punt return during the fourth quarter to set up a field goal by Caden Chittenden.

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UNLV Pulls Away in Second Half

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.

Williams took over as UNLV’s starting QB when Matthew Sluka left the program after three games because of a name, image and likeness dispute.

CJ Harris got his first start at Cal and completed 13 of 20 passes for 109 yards in 2 1/2 quarters of action before being injured. 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.

Cal had a chance to take the lead before halftime. It had second-and-goal at the UNLV 1 before Martin lost 2 yards on a run and Harris was sacked for a 9-yard loss, leaving them to settle for Ryan Coe’s second field goal.

“The game came down to the fake punt they got a score off of, we had the ball at the 2-yard line and couldn’t quite get it in the end zone,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “We, unfortunately, had a turnover that turned into a touchdown. Missed field goal. … But, obviously, the fake punt was a tough one, so really unfortunate that we couldn’t quite get that done.”

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.