The Cal Golden Bears and UNLV Rebels do battle Saturday in week 2 college football action at California Memorial Stadium. The UNLV Rebels look for another win after beating Idaho State in their opener. The Cal Golden Bears look for another win after beating UC Davis in their opener.
The UNLV Rebels have lost 5 of their last 6 road games. Doug Brumfield is completing 84 percent of his passes for 356 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Ricky White and Jeff Weimer have combined for 253 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Kyle Williams has 4 receptions. The UNLV Rebels ground game is averaging 149 yards per contest, and Courtney Reese leads the way with 73 yards on 7 carries. Defensively, UNLV is allowing 21 points and 241 yards per game. Fred Thompkins leads the UNLV Rebels with 10 tackles, Adam Plant Jr. has 1 sack and Austin Ajiake has 1 interception.
The Cal Golden Bears have won their last 4 home games. Jack Plummer is completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 268 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Jeremiah Hunter and J. Michael Sturdivant have combined for 133 receiving yards and 1 touchdown, while Monroe Young has 2 receptions. The Cal Golden Bears ground game is averaging 148 yards per contest, and Jaydn Ott leads the way with 104 yards on 17 carries. Defensively, Cal is allowing 13 points and 387 yards per game. Jackson Sirmon leads the Cal Golden Bears with 8 tackles, Xavier Carlton has 1.5 sacks and Craig Woodson has 1 interception.
The Rebels are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Golden Bears are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The over is 6-1 in Rebels last 7 games overall. The under is 11-5 in Golden Bears last 16 home games.
The UNLV Rebels did their thing in their season opener and even covered a big number, which is progress for a program where there’s usually little expectations. Now we’ll get a better feel for UNLV on the road against better competition. The Cal Golden Bears have questions that still need answers, especially defensively, but there’s no doubt they’re the more talented team here, and Plummer looked sharp in his first game at quarterback. While UNLV will have scoring chances, I’m not confident it has the horses to hang for 60 minutes. It may get hairy at times, but Cal does just enough to hang on and cover the two touchdowns.