California Golden Bears football
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Program Information | |
| Nickname: | Golden Bears |
| Conference Affiliation: | Pac-10 |
| Current Head Coach: | Jeff Tedford (5th year, 41-20) |
| Awards | |
| National Titles: | 5 |
| Conference Titles: | 13 |
| Heisman Winners: | 0 |
| Consensus All-American Selections: | 26 |
| College Football Hall of Famers (players and coaches): | 18 |
| Records | |
| All-time Record: | 590-458-51 |
| Conference Record: | 257-291-21 |
| Bowl Record: | 7-8-1 |
| BCS Record: | 0-0 |
| Pageantry | |
| Colors: | Blue and Gold |
| Outfitter: | Nike |
| Fight songs: | Fight for California Big 'C' Sons of California |
| Mascot: | Oski |
| Marching Band: | Cal Band |
| Stadium: | California Memorial Stadium (c. 73,347, Momentum Turf) |
| Rivals: | Stanford USC UCLA |
The Golden Bears football team plays its home games at picturesque California Memorial Stadium. Built to honor Berkeley alumni, students, and other Californians who died in World War I, and modeled after the Colosseum in Rome, Memorial Stadium was named one of the 40 best college football stadiums by the Sporting News.[1][2] The current head coach is Jeff Tedford, who began his tenure in 2002. Under his leadership, Cal has emerged as a national football power.
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[edit] History
Football was first played on the Berkeley campus in 1882, albeit in a form that resembled rugby. It was not until 1886 that American football began play. Football was put on hiatus in 1906 when it was decided by the administration that American football was too dangerous a sport and rugby once again took over the scene. Football returned for good in 1915 and Cal has fielded a team in every year since.
The 1920s saw the first golden age of California football, as the Golden Bears went 50 straight games without a defeat from 1920 to 1925, with a record of 46 wins and 4 ties. As of 2006, this is the 3rd longest unbeaten (not to be confused with winning) streak in NCAA history. The 1920-1924 squads were so dominant that they were nicknamed "The Wonder Teams." Cal won four Pacific Coast Conference championships and made three trips to the Rose Bowl during this decade, in 1921 (28-0 win over Ohio State), 1922 (0-0 tie with Washington and Jefferson College), and 1929 (8-7 loss to Georgia Tech). One of the most famous (or infamous) moments in college football history occurred in the 1929 Rose Bowl Game. In the second quarter, Cal's defense forced a Georgia Tech fumble on their own 30 yard line, and the loose ball was scooped up by Cal center Roy Riegels. He began to run towards the Georgia Tech end zone for a score, but then in trying to get around the Tech players he inexplicably turned around and headed in the other direction. Riegels advanced all the way to the Cal one yard line before teammate Benny Lom was able to stop him, whereupon he was immediately tackled by what seemed like the entire Georgia Tech team. Cal elected to punt on the next play; the punt was blocked for a safety, giving the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead and what turned out to be the decisive points.
California football also achieved success in the 1930s, winning the PCC championship three times and appearing in the Rose Bowl in 1938, where they beat Alabama 13-0. Because of its staunch defense, the 1937 squad that went to the Rose Bowl was coined "The Thunder Team." In 11 games, Cal limited its opponents to only 33 points and 1,126 total yards.
The early 1940s witnessed average success, but 1947 saw a dramatic turnaround as Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf became the head coach. Known as "Pappy's Boys," the Cal teams of 1947-1950 won 33 consecutive regular season games, earning three PCC championships and three Rose Bowl berths. However Cal lost all three Rose Bowls (20-14 to Northwestern in 1949, 17-14 to Ohio State in 1950, and 14-6 to Michigan in 1951). Pappy Waldorf left Cal after the 1956 season, having compiled a record of 67-32-4. Cal again earned a conference title in 1958 and subsequently played in the 1959 Rose Bowl, where it lost to Iowa 38-12.
The 1960s and 1970s was a period of mediocrity, as Cal posted mostly losing records, with a few exceptions. In 1975, behind an NCAA leading offense anchored by All Americans Chuck Muncie, Joe Roth, Wesley Walker, Steve Rivera and Ted Albrecht, the Golden Bears were co-Champions of the Pacific 8 Conference, but UCLA went to the Rose Bowl based on their head-to-head victory. In 1979, Cal played in the Garden State Bowl, losing to Temple 28-17.
The 1980s saw most of the same, with Cal posting only one winning season in the entire decade. Of note, however, was the 1982 Big Game versus Stanford, which became famous for The Play.
Cal football had some success in the early 1990s, earning three postseason bowl berths and winning all three. Cal beat Wyoming 17-15 in the Copper Bowl of 1990, Clemson 37-13 in the 1992 Citrus Bowl, and Iowa 37-3 in the 1993 Alamo Bowl. However, the late 1990s saw little success, and the down period reached its nadir in 2001 when the Bears managed only one victory the entire season. Much-maligned coach Tom Holmoe resigned near the end of this season and was replaced with Jeff Tedford, previously the offensive coordinator from the Oregon Ducks.
[edit] The Tedford Era
California began a renaissance under Tedford, who dramatically turned around the long-dormant program. Under Tedford the Golden Bears have posted five consecutive winning seasons, a feat that hadn't been accomplished since the days of Pappy Waldorf. After being ruled ineligible for a bowl game in 2002 due to academic infractions under the previous administration, Cal has also appeared in three straight bowl games.
The Jeff Tedford era began with a bang, as California defeated Baylor 70-22, and went on to finish 7-5, their first winning season since 1993. The 2002 team defeated three nationally ranked opponents on the road for the first time in school history, including Cal's first win over conference foe Washington in 26 years, and won the annual Big Game against archrival Stanford for the first time in eight years.
In 2003 the Golden Bears posted an 8-6 record, highlighted by a dramatic 34-31 triple-overtime victory over No. 3 ranked and eventual national co-champion USC. In the Insight Bowl, the Bears edged Virginia Tech 52-49 on a last-second field goal.
In 2004, the Bears posted a 10-2 record under Tedford and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, with their only regular season loss coming against the eventual national champion, USC. California finished the regular season ranked No. 4 according to polls, and appeared to have an excellent chance to receive an at-large BCS bowl berth, most likely in the Rose Bowl. However, in a controversial case, the Texas Longhorns received an increase in votes in the last Coaches Poll of the season, allowing Texas to pass the Bears into the No. 4 spot in the BCS rankings, guaranteeing Texas the BCS berth. Cal lost to Texas Tech 45-31 in the Holiday Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 9.
The next year, despite inconsistent quarterback play and an overall inexperienced roster, Cal finished 8-4 and earned a berth in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, beating BYU 35-28.
As of December 3, 2006 the Golden Bears held a 9-3 record (7-2 in Pac-10) and were ranked 18th in the BCS standings . After falling to the Tennessee Volunteers in their first game of the season in Knoxville, the team rebounded, winning eight straight games, including impressive victories over the 20th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils and the 11th ranked Oregon Ducks at home. On October 21, Cal rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to defeat the Washington Huskies 31-24 in overtime. Cal defeated November 4, the UCLA Bruins 38-24. On November 11, California was upset 24-20 by the Arizona Wildcats. California led Arizona 17-3 at the half. Cal lost the 2007 Rose Bowl bid, November 18 losing 23-9 to the USC Trojans. Cal led USC 9-6 at the half. Southern California scored two TD's in the 4th Quarter. In the final game of the regular season on December 2, Cal defeated Stanford 26-17 in the 109th Big Game[3]. Coupled with UCLA's upset of reigning conference champion USC on the same day, the victory earned Cal its first share of the Pac-10 champsionship since 1975.[4]. Cal has accepted an invitation to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego where they will face Texas A&M on December 28.
