1968 California Golden Bears football team

The 1968 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 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth year under head coach Ray Willsey, the Golden Bears compiled a 7–3–1 record (2–2–1 against Pac-8 opponents), finished in fourth place in the Pac-8, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 243 to 114.[1][2]

1968 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
1968 record	7–3–1 (2–2–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	Ray Willsey (5th season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium

1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 USC $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	1
No. 15 Oregon State	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Stanford	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
California	2	–	2	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Oregon	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
UCLA	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Washington State	1	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Washington	1	–	5	–	1			3	–	5	–	2
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

This year's team came to be known as "The Bear Minimum". It was let by Ed White, an All-American and future member of College Hall of Fame. Relying on its defense, Cal went 7-3-1 and ranking as high as eighth in the AP poll. It won 21-7 at Michigan and beat No. 10 Syracuse 43-0. Earning three shutouts it held its opponents to 10.4 points a game.[3] As of 2011, The Bear Minimum still held Cal's records for opponents' average gains per play – 3.60, as well as the fewest rushing touchdowns per season – five (same as the 1937 "Thunder Team"). Its average yards per rush was 2.51 which is still second only to the "Thunder Team" with 2.50 yards per rush.[4]

The team's statistical leaders included Randy Humphries with 1,247 passing yards, Gary Fowler with 665 rushing yards, and Wayne Stewart with 679 receiving yards.[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 21	at Michigan*		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 21–7	71,386[6]
September 28	Colorado*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 10–0	37,500[7]
October 5	San Jose State*	No. 18	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 46–0	31,279[8]
October 12	at Army*	No. 16	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 7–10	32,000[9]
October 19	UCLA		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	W 39–15	43,107[10]
October 26	No. 10 Syracuse*	No. 11	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 43–0	52,172[11]
November 2	at Washington	No. 8	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	T 7–7	52,000[12]
November 9	at No. 1 USC	No. 11	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 17–35	80,787[13]
November 16	Oregon	No. 18	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 36–8	31,253[14]
November 23	Stanford	No. 18	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)	L 0–20	73,987[15]
November 30	at Hawaii*		Honolulu Stadium Honolulu, HI	W 17–12	19,042[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[17]

Roster

1968 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 84 Jim Brady So G 55 Gerald Borgia Jr G 65 Jerome Champion Jr RB 40 Gary Fowler Jr TE 85 George Harris Jr QB 13 Randy Humphries Jr C 51 Bill Laveroni Jr FB 83 John McGaffie Sr T 77 Mike Meers Jr QB 15 Dave Penhall So TE 83 John Phillips Jr T 78 Bob Richards Sr G 66 Dan Ryan Jr WR 90 Wayne Stewart Sr WR 21 Paul Williams Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 66 Irby Augustine Jr LB 50 Phil Croyle So DT 67 Mark Hultgren Jr DB 38 Gordie Johnson Jr DB 42 Eric Kastner Jr DE 89 Mike McCaffrey Sr LB 56 Dennis Pitta Sr DT 72 Larry Reis Sr DL 73 Steve Schultz Jr DB 35 Jim Sheridan Jr DL 70 Ed White Sr DB 18 Ken Wiedemann Jr LB 53 Jerry Woods Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ray Willsey Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1968 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. "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.
3. "The Golden Bears". The Bear Insider. November 12, 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-10-27.
4. "California Golden Bears 2011 Football Information Guide" (PDF). p. 171.
5. "1968 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
6. "Michigan vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
7. "California vs Colorado Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
8. "California vs San Jose State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
9. "Army vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
10. "California vs UCLA Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
11. "California vs Syracuse Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
12. "Washington vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
13. "USC vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
14. "California vs Oregon Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
15. "California vs Stanford Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
16. "Hawaii vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
17. 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF). Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.