Cal will look to find some fixes for an offense that failed to produce a touchdown last week when it heads to Las Vegas for its final nonconference game against UNLV on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Bears (2-2) come in off a 24-10 home loss to Clemson on Sept. 25. Kamar Mothudi scored Cal’s only touchdown midway through the first quarter with a 35-yard scoop-and-score fumble return, and Chase Meyer added a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter that tied it 10-10. Bryant Wesco Jr. put Clemson in front with a 65-yard punt-return touchdown late in the third quarter.
Cal finished the game with just 231 yards in total offense and 13 first downs. Sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 16 of 29 passes for only 119 yards and was intercepted twice.
With key Atlantic Coast Conference home games against undefeated Virginia Tech and Wake Forest next on the schedule, Bears coach Tosh Lupoi is confident he can fix his team’s offense.
“I have full faith that we will,” Lupoi said. “We’ve got the players to do it, and we’ve got a great staff. Really searching for where we can put our players in the best possible position for success.”
UNLV (2-2) might be the right opponent to get things turned around. The Rebels rank 83rd in FBS in total defense, allowing an average of 364.3 yards per game, and are 90th in rush defense, allowing 150.8 yards per game.
Rebels coach Dan Mullen said his team must find a way to contain Sagapolutele.
“They have a quarterback that everyone’s talking about as being a possible number one overall pick in the (NFL) draft,” Mullen said. “So great challenge for us with a very, very talented team coming to town.”
This will be just the second home game for UNLV, which opened the season with a 27-21 home loss to Memphis. The Rebels, who bounced back with a 21-6 win at Hawaii before getting blown out 44-6 at North Texas, come in off a 38-10 victory at Akron last week.
Running back Jai’Den Thomas led the way in the Akron win with 167 total yards, including 113 rushing on 15 carries, and three touchdowns. Quarterback Jackson Arnold threw for 290 yards and three TDs.
