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‘Just feels so good’: UNLV earns 1st bowl win since 2000 — PHOTOS

By Callie Fin Las Vegas Review-Journal
UNLV players celebrate after defeating Cal in the LA Bowl NCAA college football game at SoFi St ...

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jackson Woodard and Jacob De Jesus ended their UNLV football careers hoisting golden trophies after the Rebels ended a 24-year bowl drought Wednesday at SoFi Stadium.

With a 24-13 win over Cal in the LA Bowl, the Rebels (11-3) cemented what would have already been regarded as the best season in program history.

Woodard, the Rebels’ first linebacker to be named an All-American, was named defensive MVP for his 11 total tackles, a quarterback hit and three pass breakups.

De Jesus claimed the offensive MVP after collecting 38 receiving yards and a touchdown, along with his three punt returns for 75 yards, including a 38-yarder with eight minutes to play.

It’s the school’s first bowl win since beating Arkansas in the Las Vegas Bowl in 2000.

“With everything that we’ve been through, it just feels so good for us to finish the season like this,” De Jesus said, referencing the Rebels’ loss to Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl last year.

The Rebels did it without former coach Barry Odom, offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and star wide receiver Ricky White III, all of whom were instrumental in the program’s two-year resurgence.

A week before UNLV’s first back-to-back bowl game appearance, Odom exited for Purdue. Marion’s departure was announced by interim coach Del Alexander a day before the LA Bowl, and he is heavily reported to be the next coach at Sacramento State.

History, emotions

Alexander opened his postgame remarks with a quip in reference to the coaching turbulence:

“How’s that for a substitute teacher?”

The interim coach, who spent the past season in charge of UNLV’s wide receivers, has a history with the program that goes back to 1998.

He was passing game coordinator, wide receivers and quarterbacks coach under the late John Robinson, including for the bowl win in 2000. It’s another full-circle aspect for Alexander, as his playing and coaching career began in Los Angeles.

“I was there in Arkansas. It’s a big deal for these guys right now. That was a big deal for me,” Alexander said. “It’s an experience that will last their lives.”

Alexander added that sharing the win with the De Jesus meant “the most,” since the punt returner is also part of the receivers group and persevered through the death of his father this season.

Woodard, Alexander and De Jesus sat at the podium together. Woodard praised them both.

“I gave a lot of credit to Coach Del, and I’ll keep doing it,” Woodard said. “To look at the team and see how many people stuck around to play for this bowl game, it’s unheard of nowadays.

“But it just shows you how close we are as a team. We’re all brothers. Truly, I’ll be with Jacob for the rest of my life. And I could go on and on, but it’s a special way to end it. We finally got some hardware. It’s just really special.”

With or without White

White, the Rebels’ leading receiver and the Mountain West special teams player of the year, traveled with the team to Los Angeles but was in street clothes during warmups.

Alexander previously said White had missed at least one practice last week to “give some thought to his future,” but was still expected to play. White seemingly opted out in order to protect himself from injury in the interest of his NFL hopes.

“Whatever Ricky does will be the right decision,” Woodard said last week. “We’ll go win, with or without him.”

That’s exactly what the Rebels did.

Freshman Caden Chittenden made a 48-yard field goal with 6:01 to play to give UNLV some breathing room at 24-13.

The Golden Bears (6-7) started the game down to their No. 3 quarterback, CJ Harris, who was escorted to the locker room early in the fourth quarter with an injury. He completed 13 of 20 passes for 109 yards and added 23 yards rushing.

Fourth-string true freshman EJ Caminong was 6 of 19 for 57 yards and added 18 rushing yards. Cal was also without its leading receiver, Nyziah Hunter, who exited for the transfer portal.

For De Jesus, White’s decision not to play was understandable.

“(White) is a huge part of our team, man, and we would not be in this position without him,”De Jesus said. “I believe he’s going to be a first-round, second-round (NFL draft pick), and it would be dumb for him to come play in this game and get hurt. We have nothing but love and respect for him.”

Freshman’s first TD

UNLV sixth-year senior quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, who transferred from Campbell and began the season as a backup, completed only 5 of 18 passes, but they went for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 27 yards.

After UNLV opened with a pair of three-and-outs, Cal took a 3-0 lead on a 43-yard field goal by Derek Morris.

The Rebels had an immediate answer. On the subsequent drive, which had already seen UNLV convert two third downs, Williams sent a 49-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Kayden McGee in the end zone on third-and-10.

It was McGee’s first collegiate touchdown and only his third catch this season.

“You saw a freshman catch a ball today, right? That might have been the only play he was in the game,” Alexander said. “That was one of the things that I tried to make sure that they understood — that this was about a collective effort. It wasn’t about one guy.”

Cal regained the advantage with another big run, as a fake handoff allowed wide receiver Josiah Martin to roll to a 29-yard touchdown and a 10-7 lead.

Electric fake punt

As soon as the second quarter began, it was as if UNLV made the collective decision to prove that bowl games don’t have to be boring.

Without Marion, Alexander said postgame that play-calling was delegated to offensive analyst Kenneth Merchant and done in collaboration with Williams. But special team coach James Shibest stole the show.

On fourth-and-7, punter Marshall Nichols did the unthinkable. He flawlessly faked the punt and instead tossed it to defensive back Cameron Oliver, who was wide open with most of the players running downfield but a legal receiver behind the line of scrimmage. Oliver ran 52 yards to the Cal 9.

“Coach Shibest said, ‘Hey, you want to run (the fake punt)?’ I didn’t figure out where the ball was,” Alexander said. “I’ve seen it every day in practice for a year. Two years. So I say, ‘Go.’ I think I was facing the wrong way, but I saw it go, and I said, ‘OK, good. That worked.’”

On the next play, Williams shoveled the ball off to De Jesus. After forcing his way into the end zone, he celebrated with a backflip and a Spider-Man-esque landing.

That gave Williams 19 touchdown passes for the season, the most for a UNLV player since Caleb Herring’s 24 in 2013.

With less than two minutes remaining in the period, UNLV’s defense held Cal to another field goal after it had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, and the Rebels entered halftime with a 14-13 lead.

The Rebels shut out Cal in the second half.

Running back Kylin James had a 23-yard touchdown run after a fumble recovery by Jett Elad to give the Rebels a 21-13 lead with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

“That’s kind of been a theme of ours. Shut the people out in the second half,” Woodard said. “Obviously, we wish we started a little bit quicker. But that’s just a testament to the team. We stick together.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.

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