GAME INFO

LA Bowl hosted by Gronk

Who: Cal (6-6) vs. UNLV (10-3)

When: Dec. 18, 2024 | 6:00 p.m. PT

Where: SoFi Stadium | Inglewood, California

Cal will not be going far for its bowl game this year. Justin Wilcox and the Bears will be making the trek down I-5 to face UNLV on Dec. 18 in the LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk.

The LA Bowl began in 2021 and has gone through some iterations before Rob Gronkowski stepped in as a sponsor in 2023.

The bowl berth marks the second time under Wilcox that the Bears have reached a bowl game in consecutive seasons (2018-19). Cal finished the regular season at 6-6 and had marquee victories against Auburn on the road and against Stanford in the 127th Big Game.

"We appreciate the opportunity to play another game together this season and would like to thank the LA Bowl for selecting us," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said in a statement released by the program following the announcement. "Playing in a bowl game is a reward for hard work throughout the season and we are excited to play in front of our Cal Family in Southern California."

Cal dropped its final game of the regular season to SMU, which earned a spot in the College Football Playoff on Sunday.

The matchup with the Rebels will mark only the second meeting between the two programs in their respective histories. Cal and UNLV had their only previous meeting in 2022 with the Bears earning a 20-14 victory at California Memorial Stadium in Week 2 of that season.

Cal quarterback Jack Plummer passed for 278 yards and a touchdown in that game while running back Jaydn Ott rushed for 52 yards and a score.

Defensive back Craig Woodson, outside linebacker Xavier Carlton and defensive lineman Ricky Correia are Cal players who remain from that team.

Current Bears cornerback Nohl Williams also played in that game, but he was on the other sideline as a star for the Rebels. He finished that matchup against Cal with 6 tackles and a pass breakup for UNLV.

"We're looking forward to the game, and we're gonna have a lot of people down there," Wilcox said during a press conference following the selection. "We're not too far, about an hour flight, ton of alumni. So that's exciting. Our players are gonna be looking forward to this. A lot of them are from the Southern California area.

"There's been some hints that we might be headed that way, so everybody was tuned in last night very keenly and watching the teams play."

The Bears are 1-2 in bowl games under Wilcox with the lone win coming in the 2019 Red Box Bowl at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara where Cal defeated Illinois, 35-20. Cal lost in the Independence Bowl to Texas Tech last season.

UCLA defeated Boise State in last year's LA Bowl matchup. Fresno State (2022) and Utah State (2021) are the other two winners in LA Bowl history.

The LA Bowl kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.