Cal heads into Saturday’s trip to Las Vegas with a few big questions still hanging over the lineup, and the biggest one centers on junior running back Adam Mohammed.
No update has come from Cal on Mohammed’s status after he left last Friday’s game against Clemson with what looked like a left knee injury. He leads the Bears with 336 rushing yards and three touchdowns, so if he can’t go, UTEP transfer Ashten Emory is the likeliest option to step in.
That matters because Cal has already had trouble finding traction on the ground. The Bears sit last in the ACC in rushing offense at 101.5 yards per game, and they’re also last in rushing defense at 191.0. It’s been a rough area on both sides of the ball, and the trip to Allegiant Stadium won’t make it any easier.
Cal is coming off a 24-10 loss to Clemson, a game in which quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw two interceptions. That’s become a clear pattern: he has four picks in Cal’s two losses, and none in the two wins.
The Bears are 2-2 overall and 1-1 in ACC play, and they’ll get a stretch of home games after this one, with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest coming next before a run of three straight road games over four weeks at SMU, NC State and Virginia.
UNLV, meanwhile, brings a run-heavy attack led by senior back Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas. He’s piled up 2,794 career rushing yards and 38 total touchdowns, and he has 11 games with at least 100 rushing yards.
At quarterback, Jackson Arnold has given the Rebels steady production. The former Oklahoma and Auburn quarterback has thrown for 891 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
This will also be UNLV’s first home game since its 27-21 loss to Memphis on August 29. The Rebels are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain West, and they entered the season as the preseason favorite to win the conference after going 10-4 and taking the MWC title under first-year coach Dan Mullen.
UNLV’s offense has had one notable stumble already: a 44-6 loss at North Texas three weeks ago. That defeat ended a school-record streak of 36 regular-season games in which the Rebels scored at least 20 points.
The series is even at 1-1, and UNLV won the most recent meeting, 24-13 in the 2024 LA Bowl. Saturday’s game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium and will air on CBS Sports Network, with radio coverage on 810-AM.
Cal has also made a habit of turning defense into points. The Bears have two defensive touchdowns this season - a pick-six from safety Kingston Lopa and a fumble return by linebacker Kamar Mothudi - which ties them for the fourth most in the country. Only Alabama, Notre Dame and North Dakota State have more, with three each.
In Other News...
Cal Showed Fight In Tosh Lupoi Debut But A Bigger Problem Emerged
Cals first look under new coach Tosh Lupoi came with some real energy, especially after the Bears unveiled a new offense and battled back against UNLV before falling 39-31. The second-half push gave the afternoon some bite, with backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau helping spark the rally, but the early-season opener still left Cal searching for cleaner execution and a better finish as the new staff gets its footing.
The bigger concern, though, was what happened to the lineup along the way. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and safety Kingston Lopa both left with injuries, turning what had been a promising debut into a far more complicated day for a team trying to establish momentum. Lupoi now has to sort out not just what worked against UNLV, but how quickly Cal can recover if those absences linger. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Let A Winnable Night Slip Away In Frustrating Fashion
Cal had a chance to make a road night in Las Vegas count at Allegiant Stadium, but the game kept tilting back and forth in a way that never let the Bears settle in. It featured scoring plays on both sides, turnovers, penalties and injuries to key defensive players, with Cal hanging around well enough to keep the pressure on UNLV deep into the second half.
The Bears even pulled in front briefly in the fourth quarter before the Rebels answered and regained control, turning a winnable game into a frustrating one for Cal. By the time UNLV was protecting a 39-31 lead late, the Bears were left trying to recover from too many self-inflicted swings and too few stops when they needed them most. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Heads Home With A Bigger Question Than The UNLV Loss
California left Las Vegas with a loss, but the bigger immediate concern was what happened under center. After starter Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele went down, the Bears turned to backup Jackson Brousseau and suddenly had enough offense to make things interesting late in a 39-31 defeat to UNLV, a game in which the Rebels got a strong dual-threat effort from quarterback Jackson Arnold.
Brousseau helped fuel the rally and gave Cal something to build on as it heads home to face Virginia Tech, but the quarterback situation is still the story hanging over the Bears. Sagapoluteles injury changed the feel of the night, and how Cal handles that spot going forward will loom larger than the result itself if the starters status becomes a concern again. [Read more 🡒]