The bowl sounds like a terrific West Coast match-up of Pac-12 and Mountain West schools. Except of course that Cal versus UNLV in the LA Bowl is now the ACC against the Mountain West.
The game on Wednesday night is of course now referred to as the LA Bowl hosted by Gronk, as former NFL player Rob Gronkowski is the name sponsor of the event.
Cal versus UNLV; The LA Bowl Preview
Bowl: LA Bowl, Hosted by Gronk
Day/Time: Wednesday, December 18th at 9 pm Eastern
TV: ESPN
Where: SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA
Both schools have gone through some transition this season. UNLV was just one win away, the conference championship game against Boise State, from being in the College Football Playoff. The Rebels are in a bowl game for just the sixth time ever. The season was an unmitigated success at 10-3. And now the guy who led them to success, head coach Barry Odom is already out the door, having taken the job at Purdue. Receivers coach Del Alexander will coach the Rebels in the bowl game. After that former Florida and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen takes over the program. UNLV comes into the game ranked 24th in the country.
Cal is Up and Down
Cal had its own transition moving from playing in the old Pac-12 conference to the ACC. Justin Wilcox’s team finished 6-6 overall but struggled in the new conference. Cal was 2-6 in the ACC. Two missed field goals cost them the conference game against Florida State. They proceeded to lose Miami by one point, Pitt by two, and NC State by one. It was a season of what else could have been.
The Bears are outstanding on third-down defense, giving up a first-down conversion just 30% of the time. The defense is also on the plus side when it comes to turnovers. Cal’s defense has forced 22 opponent turnovers, while its offense has lost the ball 17 times.
Cal’s offense has struggled, particularly with keeping defenses out of the backfield. And now quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who managed to find his way to ACC quarterback of the week a couple of times announced last week that he is going into the transfer portal.
New offensive assistant Bryan Harsin, the former Auburn head coach, joined the staff two weeks ago. He will be the one figuring out how to best utilize quarterback Chandler Rogers who will replace Mendoza. Rogers is already at his third school in four years. He spent two seasons at Louisiana Monroe and one at North Texas, prior to his arrival at Cal. He appeared in eight games this year but only attempted 25 passes.
UNLV’s Transition
While UNLV is in a state of transition, the Rebels’ defense has been a staple of the team all season long. Linebacker Jackson Woodard led the team in with 124. He also had 17 tackles for loss, including three-and-a-half sacks. Woodard also has four interceptions on the season. He was 12th in the country in the tackles for loss category this season. And this is coming off a 2023 season where he had 116 tackles.
The Rebels allowed 350 yards per game which put them in the top 50 in the country. But Cal, with its starting quarterback, was only 69th in the country in total offense. And now with the change at signal caller and the lack of a consistent run game, UNLV’s defense looks to be the storyline going into the game, provided no one jumps into the transfer portal over the next couple of days.
If UNLV can put aside all the coaching distractions they have a chance for one of the best seasons in program history with 11 wins. Cal needs the win for a winning season in what has been a true roller coaster ride. But losing to a Group of Five school would completely fit the Bears’ narrative for the year.
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