American college football season
The 1975 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1975 NCAA Division I football season . In their fourth year under head coach Mike White , the Golden Bears compiled an 8–3 record (6–1 in Pac-8), finished in a tie with UCLA for the Pac-8 championship, and outscored their opponents 330 to 233. The Golden Bears gained 2,522 passing yards and 2,522 rushing yards. The average was 229 total yards per game and the team was ranked number one in total offense.[ 1]
The team did not participate in the Rose Bowl because during the season it lost to co-champion UCLA .[ 2] [ 3] In the first year that the Pac-8 allowed additional bowl games, only fifth-place USC was invited, to the Liberty Bowl .
The team's statistical leaders included Joe Roth with 1,880 passing yards, Chuck Muncie with 1,460 rushing yards, and Steve Rivera with 790 receiving yards.[ 2] Roth, a junior college transfer, became the starting quarterback in the season's fourth game, taking over from junior Fred Besana .[ 4]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 13 at Colorado * L 27–3446,211 [ 5]
September 20 No. 20 West Virginia * L 10–2823,375 [ 6]
September 27 at Washington State W 33–2124,500 [ 7]
October 4 San Jose State * California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 27–2432,788 [ 4]
October 11 at Oregon W 34–718,500 [ 8] [ 9]
October 18 Oregon State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 51–2431,758 [ 10] [ 11]
October 25 at No. 19 UCLA L 14–2836,100 [ 12]
November 1 No. 4 USC California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 28–1458,871 [ 13]
November 8 Washington No. 18 California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 27–2443,270 [ 14]
November 15 at Air Force * No. 15 W 31–1435,770 [ 15]
November 22 at Stanford No. 13 W 48–1588,000 [ 16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 17]
1975 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
[ 18] [ 19]
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
California
14
13
0 21 48
Stanford
6
0
0 9 15
at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California
Date : November 22Game attendance : 88,000
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
California
Stanford
1
California
Chuck Muncie 7-yard touchdown reception from Joe Roth, Jim Breech kick good
7
0
1
California
Chuck Muncie 14-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good
14
0
1
Stanford
Tony Hill 38-yard touchdown reception from Guy Benjamin, kick no good
14
6
2
California
48-yard field goal by Jim Breech
17
6
2
California
Chuck Muncie 1-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good
24
6
2
California
38-yard field goal by Jim Breech
27
6
4
Stanford
Safety
27
8
4
Stanford
Jenke 4-yard touchdown reception from Guy Benjamin, Langford kick good
27
15
4
California
Chuck Muncie 3-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good
34
15
4
California
Walker 46-yard touchdown reception from Chuck Muncie, Jim Breech kick good
41
15
4
California
Jones 6-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good
48
15
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
48
15
Cal needed a win and UCLA tie or loss to earn a berth in the Rose Bowl .
Chuck Muncie finished with over 3,000 yards rushing in his career along with 37 touchdowns, 230 points and 4,188 all-purpose yards. By scoring four times, Muncie also tied a single game school record and finished the year with 15 TDs for another Cal mark.
After the game, coach Mike White said "If Chuck Muncie isn't the Heisman Trophy winner, I don't know who is."
[ 20]
Two Golden Bears were selected in the 1976 NFL draft .
[ 21]
^ Jares, Joe (September 6, 1976). "SCOUTING REPORTS" . SI.com . Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016 .
^ a b "1975 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. p. 148. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF) . CalBears.com . Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
^ a b "Roth finds Walker, Cal trips San Jose" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. October 5, 1975. p. 3B.
^ "Colorado wears Cal down, 34-27" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. September 14, 1975. p. 3C.
^ "W. Va. shocks overconfident Cal, 28–10" . The San Francisco Examiner . September 21, 1975. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ '16 Cougar Football (PDF) . Washington State University Athletics. p. 81.
^ Withers, Bud (October 12, 1975). "Ducks make 'one big mess,' 34-7" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1D.
^ Oregon Football 2015 Media Guide (PDF) . University of Oregon Athletics. p. 134.
^ Kennedy, Steve (October 19, 1975). "Oregon State goes from bad to worse" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1B.
^ "Year-By-Year Results" (PDF) . 2017 Oregon State Football Media Guide Football . Oregon State Athletics. p. 170.
^ Florence, Mal (October 26, 1975). "UCLA Beats Cal, 28-14; Vermeil Cries Foul: UCLA Beats California, 28-14". Los Angeles Times . ProQuest 157797276 .
^ USC Football 2017 Media Guide (PDF) . University of Southern California Athletics. p. 70.
^ 2017 Washington Football Information (PDF) . University of Washington Athletics. p. 197.
^ "Cal cruises to easy win over AFA" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. November 16, 1975. p. 4B.
^ "Muncie bowls over Cards, and wait begins" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire service reports. November 23, 1975. p. 3B.
^ 2009 California football information guide
^ "Bears vs. Cougars" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). (probable starters, rosters). September 27, 1975. p. 12.
^ "Starting lineups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). October 11, 1975. p. 1B.
^ "Muncie bowls over Cards, and wait begins." Eugene Register-Guard. 23 Nov 1975
^ "1976 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships in bold