Cal didn’t face USC or UCLA this season in its first year away from the Pac-12, but the Bears will play in Southern California, after all.
The Bears (6-6, 2-6 ACC) were selected Sunday to play in the LA Bowl against UNLV (10-3, 6-1 Mountain West) on Dec. 18. Kickoff at SoFi Stadium is set for 6 p.m. and the bowl will air on ESPN.
In Justin Wilcox’s eighth year leading the program, Cal finished tied for 14th in the 17-team ACC after going 4-0 in non-conference play. The former Pac-12 teams kept the ties to the conference’s bowl games rather than taking on new affiliations in their new conferences, and Cal ended up with the shortest commute possible.
The Bears will travel further than the Rebels, though, for a game that could help both teams recruit the Los Angeles area. Cal has never played in the LA Bowl, which only began in 2019.
Cal will be the more rested team as UNLV played Friday night in the Mountain West championship game, losing 21-7 on the road to College Football Playoff-bound Boise State.
The Golden Bears will look to bounce back from a regular-season finale in which they were blown out 38-6 by Southern Methodist, another team headed to the playoff. Sophomore quarterback Fernando Mendoza missed that game with an illness and should be available for the bowl game.
Related Articles
Winners and losers from CFP, bowl selections: The Big Ten’s smooth ride, SEC angst, cold-weather dreams, letdowns for UW, USC and more
Stanford, Maxime Raynaud too much for Cal as Cardinal win on road
Arizona State, Boise State clinch CFP bids as clarity emerges in Pac-12 bowl selection process
Recruiting winners and losers: Oregon, Colorado, UW thrive in early-signing period while Cal and Stanford struggle
Mailbag: Travel impact on Big Ten football, CFP outrage candidates
Dual threat quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams will pose questions for the Bears defense through the air and on the ground after accounting for 26 total touchdowns in 10 games following the departure of starter Matthew Sluka in an NIL dispute. Mendoza may have a chance to pile up yardage as the Rebels are No. 105 nationally allowing 241.2 passing yards per game, but UNLV only allows 109.8 rush yards per game, good for 17th in the FBS, one spot behind the Bears.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Bears have only played the Rebels once in the teams’ history, winning 20-14 in Berkeley in 2022.
Cal played in the Independence Bowl last year, losing 34-14 to Texas Tech. The last time the Bears made consecutive bowl appearances was 2018 and 2019 in Wilcox’s second and third seasons in Berkeley.
