1975 California Golden Bears football team

American college football season

1975 California Golden Bears football
Pac-8 co-champion
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 14
Record	8–3 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	Mike White (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Roger Theder
Captains	Chuck Muncie Paul Von der Mehden
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium
Seasons← 1974 1976 →

1975 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 UCLA ^ +	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
No. 14 California +	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Stanford	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Washington	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
No. 17 USC	3	–	4	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Washington State	0	–	7	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative Rankings from AP Poll

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.

The team did not participate in the Rose Bowl because during the season it lost to co-champion UCLA. 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. Roth, a junior college transfer, became the starting quarterback in the season's fourth game, taking over from junior Fred Besana.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	at Colorado*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 27–34	46,211
September 20	No. 20 West Virginia*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 10–28	23,375
September 27	at Washington State		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	W 33–21	24,500
October 4	San Jose State*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–24	32,788
October 11	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 34–7	18,500
October 18	Oregon State		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 51–24	31,758
October 25	at No. 19 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 14–28	36,100
November 1	No. 4 USC		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 28–14	58,871
November 8	Washington	No. 18	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–24	43,270
November 15	at Air Force*	No. 15	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 31–14	35,770
November 22	at Stanford	No. 13	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)	W 48–15	88,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1975 California Golden Bears football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`79`	Ted Albrecht	Jr
QB	`11`	Fred Besana	Jr
RB	`42`	Chuck Muncie	Sr
WR	`7`	Steve Rivera	Sr
QB	`12`	Joe Roth	Jr
WR	`99`	Wesley Walker	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`3`	Jim Breech	So
P	`25`	Greg Cummins	So

Head coach

Mike White (4th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Stanford

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
California	14	13	0	21	48
Stanford	6	0	0	9	15

at Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

Date: November 22
Game attendance: 88,000

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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."

NFL draft

Two Golden Bears were selected in the 1976 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Chuck Muncie	Running back	1	3	New Orleans Saints
Steve Rivera	Wide receiver	4	100	San Francisco 49ers

References

Jares, Joe (September 6, 1976). "SCOUTING REPORTS". SI.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
^ "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.
^ "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.

External links

Game program: California at Washington State – September 27, 1975

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