Cal got off to an early 14-0 lead by the end of the 1st Qtr and with a couple of added field goals in the 2nd and 3rd held on at home to defeat UNLV 20-14. Afer holding the Bears to a three-and-out with less than three minutes to play in the 4th and a chance to go ahead Cal came up big with back-to-back sacks against the Rebels and an interception on a 3rd and 27 with no time remaining to seal the win. Senior QB Jake Plummer connected on over 70% of his passes for 278 yards, 1 TD to Freshman RB Jayden Ott, and 1 pick. Ott also rushed three times for 16 of the team’s 92 yards on the ground and the only other TD Cal had on the evening. On the other sde of the ball the Bears recorded 62 tackles, 3 sacks, and 6 tackles for loss. Cal outpaced the Rebels in first downs, 25-17; total yards, 370-309; and time-of-possession by over ten minutes.
UNLV hurt themselves with 8 penalties for 105 yards, one an illegal block on Cal’s first drive that cost the Rebels 15 yards and an automatic first down—extending a drive that led to one of the Bear’s two TD’s on the night. The other a pass interference call on a 3rd and 10 which extended a drive that eventually led to Cal’s last score in the 3rd Qtr. The Bears should have won by more but as the AP writes in their recap for ESPN; “Three times Cal drove to UNLV’s 10-yard line or deeper and didn’t get touchdowns. The Bears settled for two field goals and Plummer was intercepted on the third drive.” Head Coach Justin Wilcox had this to say after the game; “The goal, No. 1, is to win the game, and it carries more weight than any other goal [but] we also recognize where we need to be better.”
Considering that Cal didn’t have a single positive yard against UC Davis in the 1st Qtr of Week-1 and they were denied TD’s deep in the Red Zone three times by UNLV,
their next game on the road in front of 77,622 against a Notre Dame team embarassed by Marshall at home last week could well be the end of their perfect 2-0 start to the season. It seems that Brian Kelly left Notre Dame just in time, although he’s already under a microscope after his LSU team lost 24-23, a game in which they had multiple chances to take over. Some are saying that, “the Brian Kelly at LSU hype has disappeared quicker than a pot of gumbo at Coach Orgeron’s house”, which leads me to my favorite quote of the week which came from former LSU Coach Orgeron himself when explaining to the media how he was informed about being fired. After sitting down and being told that things weren’t going well, Orgeron repllied; “No shit, Ray Charles could see that brother.” They continued, “Coach, you’ve got $17.1 million on your contract. We’re gonna give it to you,” to which Orgeron replied; “What time do you want me to leave and what door do you want me out of, brother?”