INGLEWOOD, Calif. — If Cal's performance in the LA Bowl felt familiar, that's because it was. Much of what has gone wrong this season for the Bears showed itself again Wednesday night at SoFi Stadium in what ended as a 24-13 loss to UNLV.

The Bears (6-7) had plenty of opportunities to take hold in the game, but miscues and a few key plays ultimately doomed Justin Wilcox's squad to seal his fifth consecutive losing season and the sixth of his tenure leading the program in Berkeley.

Cal went into the matchup with the Rebels (11-3) knowing that it had the potential to be an uphill climb. Wilcox has made several changes to his offensive staff since the end of the regular season, including removing offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch from his role, leading to a patchwork offensive staff Wednesday night.

Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Sterlin Gilbert ultimately served as the primary play caller but he was dealt an unfortunate hand with the Bears down to just to available quarterbacks Wednesday night.

Chandler Rogers was dinged up in the game against SMU to end the regular season leaving Ohio transfer CJ Harris to make his first start at Cal. The redshirt sophomore moved the offense and helped the Bears pull within one point, 14-13, at halftime but eventually left the game in the third quarter after suffering an injury.

The third quarter ultimately played a pivotal role in changing the complexion of the game as the Bears had to turn to freshman EJ Caminong at quarterback while also needing to overcome a few miscues in other areas.

On his second drive, Caminong attempted a pass in the direction of running back Jaydn Ott that didn't hit its mark and was ruled a lateral. The ball was recovered by UNLV and one play later the Rebels to 21-13 on a 23-yard rush with 2:13 to play in the quarter.

It would be that play that sealed the game for UNLV as the Bears struggled to generate much offense behind Caminong and ended up with just 119 yards in the second half.

"Obviously, it was tough sledding on offense," Wilcox said. "We had a couple opportunities to score some more points. We had a field goal opportunity earlier in the game that we missed, and then we had the ball on the 1/2-yard line on a second down, I believe, and then went backwards. That one hurt us.

"The plan at quarterback, CJ was going to start. CJ had an injury during the game. E.J. was ready. So he went in there and competed like crazy. ... I thought E.J. competed really hard, and I'm really proud of him. Not the easiest situation to step into, but he sure competed really hard."

There will be plenty of changes for the Bears now that the offseason is getting underway with plenty of attention on what will happen with running back Jaydn Ott. The Cal star did not have the junior season that he expected, but he was able to end the year with a strong showing. He broke off a 48-yard run at the 9:58 mark of the first quarter but the Bears weren't able to get into the end zone on the drive and settled for a 43-yard field goal from Derek Morris to take an early 3-0 lead.

It felt like a microcosm of the season for Cal's offense, which finished with 348 yards compared to 291 yards for the Rebels.

Ott, who also had a 17-yard run in the second quarter but finished with just four carries in the second half, wrapped up the final game of his junior season with 84 yards on 11 rushes.

"He's had some big moments in his career here," Wilcox said. "Going back to his true freshman year, you probably remember the Arizona game. He's had some really big moments. Unfortunately, he had some injuries this year that slowed him down a little bit, but really pleased that he was able to go out there and compete today.

"He had the big run, like almost a 50-yarder, I think, early in the game, and gave us some juice. I wish we could have capitalized on some more of those runs, but it just wasn't in the cards today. Appreciate what he did."

Like it has so many times this season, the Cal defense found ways to make up for explosive plays but it was a bit too late Wednesday. A beautifully executed fake punt that netted 52 yards on a fourth-and-7 play with 13:57 to play in the second quarter set up go-ahead touchdown for the Rebels.

Hajj-Malik Williams LA Bowl offensive MVP Jacob de Jesus for a 9-yard touchdown play to put UNLV up 14-10 and the Bears would never be able to get back out in front.

The defense did it's part to keep Cal in the game in the second half by holding UNLV to 115 yards and 10 points over the final 30 minutes. The lone score came after Caminong's error on the pass attempt to Ott gave UNLV a short field.

"The defense being on a short field a couple times and gave up some points, and the offense, when we got down there low, we didn't quite put it in the end zone," Wilcox said. "Obviously the fake punt was a tough one. Yeah, really unfortunate that we couldn't quite get that done."

Wilcox and the staff decided to utilize a number of younger players in the second half, but the eighth-year Cal head coach said it was part of the plan heading into the matchup with the Rebels.

"Regardless of the score, like a lot of guys were going to play," he said. "We're going to get great evals, and some of those guys really helped themselves, and it helps shape recruiting decisions, because those guys get reps. We want to see, can he play winning football? Can that guy play winning football? What is it that's going to show up on tape? Because practice is one thing. We try and create those environments in practice, but there's nothing like the game. So we want to watch them.

"Physically, what can they do? Mentally, how are they handling the speed and the checks and whatever might happen? The love of the game, competitiveness, the behavior, all of that. We got a ton of great evaluations today. Obviously we wish we won the game, but we knew going in that on both sides of the ball were going to have a lot of that."

One player who ended the season on a high note was freshman receiver Josiah Martin, who has flashed his talent at different points throughout the year. A spring ball standout, Martin scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard run with 19 seconds left in the first quarter to help the Bears go on top 10-7.

The Bears will now fully transition into the offseason with more transfer departures expected and likely some more staff decisions being made following the 6-7 campaign as Wilcox heads into his ninth season at the helm.

"Everybody has to do a little bit better," he said. "The coaches, we have to recruit. There's got to be more competition. The players, the support from everybody that touches football has got to be this much better because that's what it takes to win.

"That's why I'm saying it's not hopeless, but we've got to be this much better. I know we can do it. I know we have the support to do it, and we've got to go do it."