LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jackson Arnold passed and ran for 287 yards and five touchdowns to lead UNLV to a 39-31 victory over short-handed California on Saturday.
The Rebels (3-2) led 24-7 at halftime before Cal (2-3) rallied to go in front 25-24 early in the fourth quarter. Then Arnold completed a 10-yard pass to Keyan Burnett with 9:31 left and ran it in himself from 2 yards with 3:24 remaining.
“Coaches and people just telling me and the offense to step up," Arnold said. "We got rolling after that and started executing and started putting plays together.”
Arnold passed for 177 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Cal entered the game without leading rusher Adam Mohammed because of an injured knee, and then lost safety Kingston Lopa — whose five interceptions led the nation — to an upper-body injury less than three minutes into the first quarter. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele went out late in the first half, appearing to be wobbly, and didn't return.
Jackson Brousseau replaced Sagapolutele and completed 19 of 32 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
“Jaron was medically cleared,” Cal coach Tosh Lupoi said. “Personally, I was not comfortable with the way he came off the field. So I made that decision to start out with Jackson and not jeopardize Jaron's health."
Sagapolutele threw 27 passes in the first two quarters as the Golden Bears went pass heavy. He completed 19 of them for 195 yards, including a 91-yarder to tight end Taimane Purcell. That touchdown — three-and-a-half minutes in — gave Cal a 7-0 lead before UNLV answered with a series of big plays of its own.
Arnold connected with Kayden McGee for a 70-yard touchdown, he then kept it himself for a 55-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and later tossed a 36-yard score to Taz Reddicks for a 24-7 halftime lead.
“I knew we would have some one-on-one matchups, and we wanted to try to create some explosives early in the game,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said.
Cal wasn't done, however, coming all the way back to go in front by a point early in the fourth, forcing the Rebels to provide their own answer.
The takeaway
Cal: The Bears often failed to take advantage of opportunities. An interception return put them well into UNLV territory in the first quarter, but Sagapolutele gave it right back with a pick of his own. The Bears tried a surprise onside kick to open the second half, but failed to score. And then there was a fumbled kickoff recovery late in the third quarter that turned into three points rather than seven.
UNLV: The Rebels showed a mental fortitude after blowing a 17-point halftime lead and immediately scored twice after Cal went in front.
Up next
Cal: Hosts Virginia Tech next Saturday in its third ACC game.
UNLV: Returns to Mountain West play next Saturday by hosting conference newcomer North Dakota State.
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