The California Golden Bears finished the season 6-6, earning bowl eligibility for the 2nd consecutive season and the 4th time under coach Justin Wilcox. As such, they will head to Los Angeles to play the UNLV Rebels in the LA Bowl. The Rebels ended the season an impressive 10-3, falling just short of a College Football Playoff berth with a 21-7 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Championship.
The LA Bowl will kick off at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday night, and UNLV is currently a short 3-point favorite with the total hovering around 48. As the marquee matchup of the night, I combined my favorite plays into one Cal vs UNLV Same Game Parlay. Let’s break it down, and don’t forget to check Pickswise daily for college football picks and CFB predictions on ALL of the bowl and playoff games over the coming weeks.
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There are a bunch of moving pieces in this game, particularly on Cal’s sideline. Starting left tackle Nick Morrow is injured while starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza and leading receiver Nyziah Hunter hit the transfer portal and will not play in this game. Backup quarterback Chandler Rogers is also battling an injury, so Cal’s offense will be led by its 3rd or 4th-string quarterback.
The Bears will not have their offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch either, as he was relieved of his duties and replaced with Bryan Harsin. Without Mendonza and Hunter, I expect Cal to rely much more on the run than it did down the stretch of the regular season – when it was top 5 in pass rate outside of garbage time. At this moment in time, UNLV is expected to have most of their defensive starters on the field, so the Rebels should be able to suppress Cal’s scoring given the current makeup of the Bears offense.
Read our full California vs UNLV prediction for the LA Bowl
Like Cal, UNLV had a postseason shakeup of its own. Head coach Barry Odom took the Purdue job and will not be on the sideline in this game. Neither will offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who is rumored to be named the head coach of Sacramento State in the coming days. However, the Rebels should look pretty familiar on the field, as the few players who announced their entry into the portal also stated they will play in this game. They may be at a coaching disadvantage against Wilcox, but the Rebels will certainly be at an advantage at the quarterback position with Hajj-Malik Williams. I suspect UNLV will also have the slight motivational edge given their lack of missing pieces compared to Cal and the fact that the program has not won a bowl game since December 21, 2000. I like the Rebels to win in a sloppy one.
See our college football best bets for today’s bowl games, including WKU vs JMU and Cal vs UNLV
Williams is a dual-threat quarterback who excelled both through the air and with his legs. He gained 824 yards and scored 9 touchdowns on 151 carries this season, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt. Furthermore, Williams rushed for a touchdown in all but 3 of the games he started. He failed to reach pay dirt in the Mountain West Championship against Boise State but I expect him to find the end zone in the LA Bowl against a Cal defense that was lit up for at least 33 points in 3 of its last 4 games – allowing 3 quarterback rushing touchdowns along the way.
