After a season of ups and downs, hit by departures that tested a program still adjusting to success, the UNLV Rebels rallied together with the goal of earning their 11th win.
It took nearly 40 years, but No. 24 UNLV (11-3) clinched an 11-win season — tying the program’s single-season Football Bowl Subdivision record — with a 24-13 win over California (6-7) Wednesday during the LA Bowl played at SoFi Stadium.
UNLV closed one of the best seasons in school history on a high note, with L.A. native Del Alexander earning the win as interim coach before new head coach Dan Mullen takes over the program.
“How’s that for a substitute teacher?” Alexander said with a smirk during the postgame news conference.
Read more: Four things to watch in the LA Bowl between Cal and UNLV, two teams in flux
The win evoked memories of the late John Robinson, who coached Alexander at USC and was UNLV’s head coach during the program’s last bowl victory. Alexander wore a “JR” sticker on his chest to honor Robinson.
The bowl victory left an indelible mark on the UNLV program, and Alexander said he was overjoyed to celebrate it with them.
“I’ve done this so many times that it’s a big deal for them to experience it,” Alexander said. “For them to feel it and to get this reward from the work, and establish a legacy. Hats off to them.”
Throughout the season, the Rebels faced adversity, losing a starting quarterback early in the year, losing a head coach just before the bowl game and losing a key player just hours before the L.A. Bowl.
Star wide receiver Ricky White III was ruled out after deciding to sit out the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, a decision his teammates fully supported.
In stepped Jacob De Jesus, who delivered a standout performance on offense and special teams. He was named the L.A. Bowl offensive MVP, finishing as the team’s leading receiver with two receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown while contributing 102 return yards.
Battling adversity on the field was the norm for UNLV, but Jacob De Jesus also faced personal challenges off the field.
In October, De Jesus lost his father, who had coached him as a child, to cancer. Amid his grief, he balanced his role as a father to his daughter, relying on the support of his teammates and coaches to help him through.
“It’s a very special win, man, something that I really can’t quite comprehend,” De Jesus said. “It’s been one heck of a season and one heck of a bumpy ride. But I wouldn’t have rather done it with anybody else… It just means so much to me to do it in front of my family. I saw my mom crying after the game, and it touched me.”
De Jesus was a crucial outlet for quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, catching one of his two touchdown passes to give the Rebels a 14-13 lead.
The score came after a fake punt that Alexander and Cal coach Justin Wilcox recognized as the game’s key moment. The 52-yard shot put pass from Marshall Nichols to Cameron Oliver on fourth-and-seven in the second quarter shifted momentum.
Wilcox said the fake punt was one of many missed opportunities, calling the game-changing play “a tough one.”
The bold, Las Vegas-style gamble put the Rebels near the goal line, setting up a quick strike from Williams to De Jesus for a nine-yard touchdown.
“When it comes to the fake punt, my head was in the clouds, and Coach [James] Shibest said, ‘Hey, you want to run it?’” Alexander said. “I said, ‘Go.’ I’d seen it every day in practice for a year or two years. … I was facing the wrong way, but I saw it go. And I said, ‘OK, good. That worked.’”
The Rebels were led by a dual-threat quarterback, Hajj-Malik Williams, in the bowl game just as they were decades ago during their previous best season when Randall Cunningham directed the UNLV offense.
Described by teammates and coaches as a winner, Williams — a Football Championship Subdivision transfer in his first and only season at UNLV — took over as the starting quarterback three games into the season and guided the Rebels to their first bowl win in 24 years.
Although his performance wasn’t as dominant as expected, Williams did enough to secure the win for the Rebels. He ignited the offense, completing five of 18 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns while adding 27 yards in 10 carries.
Read more: UCLA and USC football transfer portal tracker: Who’s in and who’s out?
While UNLV entered the game with clarity at quarterback, Cal weighed two options: veteran CJ Harris and true freshman EJ Caminong.
Wilcox opted to start Harris, but he had to switch signal callers in the third quarter after Harris was injured. The move proved costly when a backward pass by Caminong later in the quarter led to a turnover, setting up a rushing touchdown by UNLV’s Kylin James that extended the Rebels lead to 21-13.
UNLV added a 48-yard field goal by Caden Chittenden in the fourth quarter and continued to play stout defense to secure the win.
Harris completed 13 of 20 passes for 109 yards, adding 23 yards in 12 carries before he was benched. Caminong was six of 19 passing for 57 yards and had a costly fumble.
UNLV worked to establish the run, carrying the ball 18 times in the first half, to open up the passing game for Williams.
Cal struggled to keep up with the Rebels’ pace. Morris missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt wide left in the second quarter. He was replaced by Ryan Coe, who connected on a 30-yard field goal just before halftime. They were the Golden Bears’ final points of the game.
UNLV added a 48-yard field goal by Caden Chittenden in the fourth quarter and continued to play stout defense to secure the win.
The Rebels’ defense shut out the Golden Bears in the second half, allowing just 119 yards. UNLV also forced two fumbles, recovering one, and registered two sacks.
Leading the charge was Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and L.A. Bowl Defensive MVP Jack Woodard, a senior who may have played his final game with the Rebels. Woodard recorded 11 tackles and three pass breakups.
“It was some tough sledding on offense,” Wilcox said. “We had a couple of opportunities to score some more points. We had a field goal opportunity earlier in the game that we missed, and then we had the ball on the half-yard line … then went backward. That one hurt us.”
After a hot start to the season, Cal closed with a losing record during its debut ACC season. The program has now lost 13 consecutive games against opponents ranked in the top 25.
“I’m very grateful,” Wilcox said of Cal’s season. “Being honest, there were some frustrating moments in there, but certainly never hopeless. … There’s a lot to be done before we come back.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
