1975 California Golden Bears football team

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 against Pac-8 opponents), finished in a tie with UCLA for the Pac-8 championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 330 to 233. At the end of the season 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 that season's Rose Bowl because during the season it lost to co-champion UCLA.[2][3]

1975 California Golden Bears football
Pac-8 co-champion
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 15
AP	No. 14
1975 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

1975 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
	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 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]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	at Colorado*		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 34–27	46,211
September 20	No. 20 West Virginia*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 28–10	23,375
September 27	at Washington State		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	W 33–21	24,500[4]
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[5]
October 18	Oregon State		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 51–24	31,758[6]
October 25	at No. 19 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 28–14	36,100[7]
November 1	No. 4 USC		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 28–14	58,871[8]
November 8	Washington	No. 18	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 27–24	43,270[9]
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

[10]

Roster

• Jim Breech, k
• Chuck Muncie, tb
• Joe Roth, qb
• Paul Von der Mehden
• Wesley Walker, wr
• Steve Rivera, wr
• John Dixon, tb, fb
• Phil Heck, lb
• Jeff Barnes, de
• George Freitas, te
• Tom Newton, fb
• Greg Peters, dt
• Burl Toler, lb

Game summaries

Stanford

	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 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."

[11]

Draft picks

The following players were claimed 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

[12]

References

1. Jares, Joe (September 6, 1976). "SCOUTING REPORTS". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
2. "1975 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. p. 148. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. "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.
4. '16 Cougar Football (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. p. 81.
5. Oregon Football 2015 Media Guide (PDF). University of Oregon Athletics. p. 134.
6. "Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). 2017 Oregon State Football Media Guide Football. Oregon State Athletics. p. 170.
7. Florence, Mal (26 October 1975). "UCLA Beats Cal, 28-14; Vermeil Cries Foul: UCLA Beats California, 28-14". Los Angeles Times.
8. USC Football 2017 Media Guide (PDF). University of Southern California Athletics. p. 70.
9. 2017 Washington Football Information (PDF). University of Washington Athletics. p. 197.
10. 2009 California football information guide
11. "Muncie bowls over Cards, and wait begins." Eugene Register-Guard. 23 Nov 1975
12. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1976.htm