11th Heaven: Rebels Reach 11 With LA Bowl Win Over Cal

Wednesday, December 18

Los Angeles, CA

6 PM PT

University of Nevada Las Vegas

11-3 , 6-1

Cal

6-7 , 2-6

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
California	10	3	0	0	13
UNLV	7	7	7	3	24

Jacob De Jesus, Art Of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk

12/18/2024 11:09:00 PM | Football

Box Score

LOS ANGELES (UNLVRebels.com) – No. 24 UNLV (11-3) football won its first bowl game since 2000 and reached 11 wins in a season for the first time in 40 years, 24-13 over California (6-7) Wednesday night in the Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted By Gronk before 24,420 fans at SoFi Stadium.

The Rebels, who were led by interim head coach and Los Angeles native Del Alexander, held a 14-13 lead at halftime and shut out the Golden Bears in the second half to improve to 8-1 this season when ahead at the break.

UNLV used a 49-yard passing touchdown, the first ever caught by true freshman Kayden "Big Play" McGee, to take a 7-3 lead. A thrilling fake punt, which turned into a 52-yard pass from punter Marshall Nichols to cornerback Cameron Oliver, then set up Jacob De Jesus taking it in from nine yards out to make it 14-10 Rebels. Cal kicked its second field goal of the first half and that marked its final points of the night. Kylin James rushed in from 23 yards in the third and Caden Chittenden tied the UNLV record with his 26th field goal of the season, from 48 yards out, to close the scoring.

De Jesus was named the game's Offensive MVP with 142 all-purpose yards while All-American linebacker Jackson Woodard closed out his remarkable Rebel career with Defensive MVP honors after posting 11 total tackles and three pass breakups. The 2024 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year finished his season with 135 total tackles, which ranks third in UNLV single-season history.

STAT OF THE GAME:
The Rebels converted the only turnover in the game, a recovered fumble, into a touchdown. That gave UNLV a stunning 98 points off turnovers this season compared to just 28 by its opponents.

QUOTABLE:
"How's that for a substitute teacher? Fortunately, it was a big reward for us and our players. They're outstanding young men. They're full of character and integrity, and they work their tails off and to stand in front of them and look in their eyes, they gave me every piece of the motivation that I needed to work tirelessly as a first-year interim head coach and to give them everything that I got.

"I was there at (the 2000 win over) Arkansas. It's a big deal. And it's a big deal for these guys right now. It's an experience that will last their entire lives. I've lived it. For them to feel it and to get the reward from the work, and establish a legacy, hats off to them."
-UNLV Interim Head Coach Del Alexander

NOTABLE:
-The Rebels finished with an overall record of 11-3, which marked just the third time in history and first time in 40 years that UNLV reached double-digits in wins
-UNLV snapped a two-game losing streak in bowls to improve to 4-2 all-time in bowl games. The most-recent postseason win for the Rebels before Wednesday came vs. Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl
-UNLV evened its all-time series vs. Cal at 1-1. The teams are scheduled to face each other again in Las Vegas in 2026
-UNLV expanded its conference-record streak of not having more than one turnover in a game. The number is now at 14.
-The Rebels forced at least one turnover in 25 of 28 games under defensive coordinator Michael Scherer
-Senior QB Hajj-Malik Williams' two touchdown passes gave him 19 on the year, which ranked fifth in school single-season history and were the most since Caleb Herring tossed 24 in 2013
-UNLV WR Ricky White III, the 2024 Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year, was on the sidelines with his team but did not play as he prepares for the NFL Draft
-This marked the second time in history that UNLV played on a Wednesday, following the 2014 New Year's Day Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. North Texas