Cal’s trip to Las Vegas turned into a self-inflicted mess, and the Golden Bears walked out of Allegiant Stadium with a 39-31 loss to UNLV after a game packed with penalties, turnovers and injuries.
The Bears actually struck first. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele connected with Taimane Purcell on a 91-yard touchdown, and Chase Meyer’s extra point put Cal up 7-0 early.
But the good start didn’t last long, and the problems began piling up almost immediately. Cal opened with a delay of game penalty before its first snap, then watched safety Kingston Lopa leave injured.
On the next kick, Cam Sidney was flagged for targeting, giving UNLV 15 yards and costing Cal another defensive back.
UNLV answered with its own explosive play when Jackson Arnold hit Kayden McGee for a 70-yard gain to tie the game 7-7 late in the first quarter. Cal then got a gift when a Rebels punt went wrong, but the Bears couldn’t cash it in. Two plays later, Sagapolutele threw an interception to Quandarius Keyes.
The second quarter kept swinging hard in UNLV’s favor. Cal picked off a trick play attempt through Aiden Manutai, but the Bears’ offense couldn’t turn that into points, and the Rebels soon broke loose again.
Arnold escaped on a third-down keeper and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown to put UNLV ahead 14-7. UNLV kept extending drives too, converting a fake punt on fourth down before settling for a field goal, then getting another boost from an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty on Cal.
Arnold finished the half by finding Taz Reddicks for a 36-yard touchdown, pushing the Rebels to a 24-7 halftime lead.
Cal’s quarterback situation got worse before the break. Sagapolutele took a hit to the head late in the half and left for evaluation. He did not return.
The Bears did show some life after halftime. Backup quarterback Jackson Brousseau hit Carson Perry-Smith for a 53-yard touchdown after Cal recovered an attempted onside kick, and Cooper Perry hauled in the two-point conversion.
Cal then recovered another UNLV mistake when the Rebels’ returner lost the ball, setting the Bears up in the red zone. They settled for a 38-yard field goal from Townes McGough, trimming the deficit to 24-18 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.
Cal finally grabbed the lead early in the fourth. A pass interference call moved the Bears to first and goal, and Ashten Emory punched it in on the next snap. Meyer’s extra point made it 25-24 with 11:38 remaining.
UNLV answered fast and with plenty of damage. Cal cornerback Daniel Harris was called for targeting and exited, then Arnold ripped off a 41-yard run to the Cal 12.
Two plays later, he found Keyan Burnett in the end zone. A roughing the passer penalty on Cal helped set up a two-point try, and the Rebels converted on a quarterback keeper to go back in front 32-25.
From there, the Bears kept digging. Niles Davis appeared to break one on the kickoff return, but the play was brought back to midfield.
Cal then turned it over on downs, giving UNLV another short field. The Rebels took advantage of a key DPI call, and Arnold eventually found the end zone again to make it 39-25 after the extra point.
Cal still had one last push left. With about four minutes to go, the Bears used their final timeout, and Ian Strong caught a touchdown pass with 28 seconds left for his first score of the season.
But the two-point conversion failed, was moved half the distance to the goal line, and failed again. Cal’s second onside kick attempt also came up short, and that was that.
The final numbers told the story. Cal was flagged 16 times for 147 yards.
UNLV has not lost a game it led at halftime since August 29, when it fell to Memphis. Cal, meanwhile, has not come back from a 17-point deficit to win since beating Arizona State 48-46 in 2015.
The Bears return home next Saturday, October 10th, to host Virginia Tech.
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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 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 🡒]
Cal May Have Found Something On Offense At The Perfect Time
Cals offense looked far more settled after Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele left the UNLV game, and thats created an interesting moment heading into Virginia Tech. Sagapolutele is expected to start if he clears recovery from the head injury he suffered in that game, but Jackson Brousseaus relief work gave the Bears something they cant ignore as they sort through what actually sparked the better rhythm.
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 🡒]