GAME 5: Non-Conference Finale

UNLV REBELS (2-2/1-0 Mountain West)
vs.
Cal (2-2/1-1 ACC)

DATE: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026
KICKOFF:  12:30 pm PT 
SITE:  Allegiant Stadium (61,000/Artificial), Las Vegas
TV:  CBS Sports Network (John Sadak, Randy Cross & Hailey Sutton)
RADIO:  ESPN 1100 AM & 100.9 FM (Matt Neverett, Caleb Herring & Steve Cofield)
TICKETS: UNLVTickets.com

SATURDAY'S PREVIEW...
Back home for the first time in five weeks, UNLV (2-2/1-0) closes out its non-conference slate by hosting Cal (2-2/1-1) of the ACC for the first time ever ... UNLV has already played in four different time zones during the young season and has traveled a combined 6,089 miles after trips to Hawaii, Texas and Ohio in the first month of the campaign ... The Rebels' 38-10 win at Akron on Saturday tied for the largest victory (28 points) over a non-conference opponent on the road since the program first joined a league in 1982 (downed Idaho 44-16 in 2017) ... It also marked the Rebels' second straight win in the Eastern Time Zone after dropping their first 14 such outings ... The Rebels have now won seven of their last eight true road games against non-Mountain West teams. In fact, UNLV has more overall road victories than any other team in college football since the start of the 2024 season with 13 ... UNLV is 12-4 vs. non-conference opponents since the start of the 2023 season, including a 5-2 mark vs. Power Conference teams ... The Rebels are 5-2 at home under second-year head coach Dan Mullen and have won 15 of their last 21 at Allegiant Stadium dating back to the final game of 2022.  

REBELS vs. GOLDEN BEARS NOTES..
Cal and UNLV have faced each other twice before as the Golden Bears won 20-14 in Berkeley on Sept. 10, 2022, and the Rebels downed Cal 24-13 in the 2024 LA Bowl at SoFi Stadium ... These programs were supposed to originally meet here in 2020 in what was slated to be the first game at Allegiant Stadium but the matchup was postponed because of the pandemic ... Cal did play once in the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium, downing BYU 35-28 in 2005 ... UNLV starting OL Jackson Brown signed with Cal out of San Ramon Valley HS and appeared in two games before redshirting in 2022 and transferring to Pitt and eventually coming to town this year. His former roommate in Berkeley, Fernando Mendoza, has joined him in Las Vegas as a quarterback for the NFL's Raiders ... These schools also shared two star players recently as current KC Chiefs DB Nohl Williams transferred to Cal after starting 23 games at UNLV from 2020-22 and WR/KR Jacob De Jesus tacked on a final season in Berkeley following an All-American career in Las Vegas in 2022-23 after a JC stint. De Jesus, in fact, was named LA Bowl Offensive MVP after posting 142 all-purpose yards in the Rebels' victory on Dec. 18, 2024. He went on to catch an ACC-leading 108 passes last season with the Bears ... Cal assistant Keith Heyward served as UNLV's DC in 2022 ... Cal Assoc. AD/Sr. Woman Administrator Dr. Marissa Nichols is a former All-American softball player for the Rebels and is scheduled to be inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 5.