The Rebels will be laying this one without their head coach and their offensive coordinator, who are both moving on to bigger and better things. At the same time, the Bears will be without their OC who won’t be coaching after it was announced he would not be retained for 2025. But the biggest holes to fill are on the offensive side of the football where Cal will be without their top quarterback and wideout, both of whom have entered the transfer portal. It also appears they will also be without their 2nd-string signal caller due to injury. That means CJ Harris, a fifth-year sophomore (yes, you read that right) and transfer from Ohio will get the nod. We’ve talked before about how good UNLV is against the run and I expect tough sledding for the Golden Bears offense.
The Rebels have a real-deal dual-threat quarterback in Hajj-Malik Williams who has thrown 17 touchdown passes on the season against just six picks. And, if you take away his sack yards lost, he rushed for just under 1,000 yards on the year, averaging 6.9 ypc. They also have a legitimate NFL prospect at wide receiver in Ricky White III and a home run threat in Jacob DeJesus.
Too many weapons for the Rebels and not nearly enough for the Bears means a big win and cover for UNLV.