The 2024 LA Bowl, officially named the Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk, will take place on Wednesday and it will pit the No. 24 UNLV Revels against the Cal Golden Bears. UNLV lost to Boise State, 21-7, in the Mountain West Championship Game on December 6 as the Rebels enter at 10-3 overall and winners of four of their last five games. California (6-6) is 3-2 over its last five games and the Golden Bears are coming off a 38-6 loss against SMU on November 30. UNLV is playing in its second straight bowl games after going nine years without playing in one. Cal is playing in its second straight bowl and fourth bowl game over the last seven years.
Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday at SoFi Stadium, just outside of Los Angeles. After opening as a slight underdog, UNLV is now a 3.5-point favorite in the latest Cal vs. UNLV odds via SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 45.5. Before locking in any any UNLV vs. California picks or LA Bowl bets, you'll want to see the college football predictions and betting advice from the proven computer simulation model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and it went a profitable 43-34 on all top-rated picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen impressive returns.
The model has set its sights on UNLV vs. Cal in the LA Bowl 2024. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the Cal vs. UNLV game:
- UNLV vs. Cal spread: UNLV -3.5
- UNLV vs. Cal over/under: 45.5 points
- UNLV vs. Cal money line: UNLV -163, Cal +137
- UNLV vs. Cal picks: See picks at SportsLine
- UNLV vs. Cal streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Cal can cover
Although Cal is missing some key players to the transfer portal, including starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Golden Bears have their head coach, which is something UNLV can't claim. Barry Odom left UNLV to become the head coach of Purdue after going 19-8 over two seasons and Del Alexander, the team's wide receivers coach, will serve as interim head coach on Wednesday. Justin Wilcox will coach his fourth bowl game over his eight years at Cal.
Jaivian Thomas, the team's leading rusher at 598 yards and 6.6 yards per carry with seven touchdowns, is expected to play despite missing the final game of the regular season. Thomas had a rushing touchdown in five straight games before only having five carries against Stanford on Nov. 23. Senior linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who had 112 tackles and five sacks, leads the Cal defense. See which team to pick here.
Why UNLV can cover
Cal may be moving rather low in its depth chart to find its starting quarterback for the LA Bowl. Mendoza, the team's QB1 who threw for 3,004 yards this season, entered the transfer portal and backup quarterback Chandler Rogers suffered an injury in the final game of the season and may not be able to play on Wednesday. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Golden Bears will also be without the team's leading receiver as Nyziah Hunter, who led the offense with 578 receiving yards and five touchdowns, also entered the transfer portal.
Hajj-Malik Williams, a sixth-year senior quarterback, was thrown into the starting quarterback position early this season after a high-profile NIL dispute between starting quarterback Matthew Sluka and the Rebels. Williams, a dual-threat quarterback, completed 62% of his passes for 1,845 yards and 17 touchdowns compared to five interceptions while rushing for 824 yards and nine touchdowns. UNLV allowed just 17.8 ppg over its final four games. With two of its three losses coming to a Boise State team playing in the College Football Playoff and a tough overtime loss against Syracuse, UNLV has the talent to close the season with a victory despite a head coaching departure. See which team to pick here.
How to make UNLV vs. Cal picks
The model has simulated Cal vs. UNLV 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over on the point total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 50% of simulations. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins UNLV vs. California in the 2024 LA Bowl, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up well over $2,000 on top-rated spread picks since its inception, and find out.
