California had UNLV on the ropes for a stretch Saturday afternoon, but the Bears couldn’t turn their fourth-quarter surge into a win in Las Vegas.
Down 24-7 late in the third quarter, Cal ripped off 18 straight points to take a brief lead. But the Rebels answered quickly, reclaimed control and pulled away for a 39-31 victory behind quarterback Jackson Arnold.
The swing started after Cal was forced to turn to junior quarterback Jackson Brousseau, a Colorado State transfer, when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was injured late in the first half. Brousseau settled in and sparked the comeback, finding Carson Perry-Smith out of the backfield on 3rd-and-5 from the Cal 47. Perry-Smith caught it at the UNLV 40 and finished the play for a touchdown, then Brousseau hit Cooper Perry on the two-point conversion to trim the gap to 24-15.
Cal got another break on the kickoff when UNLV’s Peyton Zachary bumped into a teammate and fumbled. Niles Davis jumped on the loose ball at the UNLV 16, and the Bears cashed in with a 38-yard field goal from Towns McGough to make it 24-18.
Early in the fourth quarter, Cal finally moved in front. The Bears went 46 yards in four plays, highlighted by a 21-yard Brousseau-to-Perry connection, and Ashten Emory finished it with a 7-yard touchdown run for a 25-24 lead.
That lead didn’t last long. UNLV marched 80 yards in five plays on the next possession, with Arnold ripping off a 42-yard run before throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Keyan Burnett. The Rebels added a two-point conversion and were back on top 32-25.
Arnold kept stacking up yards, finishing with 177 passing yards and 110 rushing yards. He effectively sealed it with a 2-yard run up the middle with 3:25 left.
Cal did get one final touchdown, as Brousseau connected with Ian Strong from 10 yards out with 28 seconds remaining.
Brousseau finished 19 of 32 for 200 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“It was an inspiring performance to have our backup quarterback come in and do what he did, lead the team,” Lupoi said.
The Bears opened the scoring on a 91-yard touchdown, the second-longest pass play in Cal history. On 1st-and-10 from the Cal 9, Sagapolutele hit tight end Taimane Purcell on the right sideline near the Bears’ 25.
Purcell shook off one tackle and took it the rest of the way. With 11:30 left in the first quarter, Cal was up 7-0.
Lupoi said Sagapolutele was medically cleared to return in the second half, but he chose not to put him back in.
“I personally just was not comfortable the way he came off the field, literally wobbling,” Lupoi said. “I was not going to jeopardize him. Much more important than any game (are) his health, his life, his career.”
The 91-yard score was the second-longest pass play in program history, behind only Jared Goff’s 92-yarder to Daniel Lasco in Cal’s 59-56 double-overtime win over Colorado on Sept. 27, 2014.
Cal, now 2-3, returns home next Saturday for homecoming against Virginia Tech. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Databricks Field At California Memorial Stadium, with the game to air either on ESPN2 or the ACC Network.
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Brousseau steadied things with a sharper passing game and helped Cal find more production in the second half, whether the change came from momentum, defensive breakdowns on UNLVs side or a better fit in the play calls. The Bears now have a small but meaningful offensive mystery on their hands, and it comes at the perfect time with a conference test looming and an incumbent starter on the way back. [Read more 🡒]