2017 California Golden Bears football team
The 2017 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were led by first-year head coach Justin Wilcox and played their home games at California Memorial Stadium. The Bears went 5–7, with wins over North Carolina, Ole Miss, and No. 8 Washington State, and three losses by three points or fewer.[1] The season highlight was the Bears 37–3 defeat of Washington State, the first time Cal beat a top ten opponent since its defeat of No. 3 USC in 2003.[2]
2017 California Golden Bears football | |
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Conference | Pac-12 Conference |
North Division | |
2017 record | 5–7 (2–7 Pac-12) |
Head coach | Justin Wilcox (1st season) |
Offensive coordinator | Beau Baldwin (1st season) |
Offensive scheme | Multiple |
Defensive coordinator | Tim DeRuyter (1st season) |
Base defense | 3–4 |
Captain | (14)
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Home stadium | California Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 62,467) |
2017 Pac-12 Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Stanford xy | 7 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 16 Washington x | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington State | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon | 4 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
California | 2 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oregon State | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 12 USC xy$ | 8 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arizona State | 6 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arizona | 5 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UCLA | 4 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Utah | 3 | – | 6 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Colorado | 2 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship: USC 31, Stanford 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
Fourth-year head coach Sonny Dykes led the Golden Bears to a record of 5–7 (3–6 Pac-12) in 2016 to finish in a tie for fourth place in the North Division. On January 8, 2017, Dykes was fired.[3] He finished at Cal with a four-year record of 19–30.
On January 14, 2017, Justin Wilcox was hired as the new head coach for the Golden Bears, following the dismissal of Dykes.[4]
Recruiting
Position key
Back | B | Center | C | Cornerback | CB | Defensive back | DB | |||
Defensive end | DE | Defensive lineman | DL | Defensive tackle | DT | End | E | |||
Fullback | FB | Guard | G | Halfback | HB | Kicker | K | |||
Kickoff returner | KR | Offensive tackle | OT | Offensive lineman | OL | Linebacker | LB | |||
Long snapper | LS | Punter | P | Punt returner | PR | Quarterback | QB | |||
Running back | RB | Safety | S | Tight end | TE | Wide receiver | WR |
Recruits
The Golden Bears signed a total of 14 recruits.
US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits | ||||||
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Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
Gabriel Cherry DE |
Bakersfield, California | Centennial HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Feb 13, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Taariq Johnson WR |
Buena Park, California | Buena Park HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 213 lb (97 kg) | Apr 3, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Jeremiah Hawkins WR |
Buena Park, California | Buena Park HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 6, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Chase Garbers QB |
Newport Beach, California | Corona del Mar HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jun 26, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Alex Funches DE |
Denton, Texas | Trinity Valley Community College | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jul 6, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Biaggo Ali Walsh RB |
Las Vegas, Nevada | Bishop Gorman HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Aug 14, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Michael Saffell C |
Huntington Beach, California | Edison HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 293 lb (133 kg) | Oct 5, 2016 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Elijah Hicks CB |
La Mirada, California | La Mirada HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 10, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Poutasi Poutasi OG |
Las Vegas, Nevada | Desert Pines HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Jan 28, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Daniel Scott S |
La Cañada Flintridge, California | St. Francis HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Kyle Harmon LB |
Oakley, California | Freedom HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Gavin Reinwald WR |
Elk Grove, California | Elk Grove HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jan 29, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Branden Smith CB |
Lancaster, California | Paraclete HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Ben Moos TE |
Pullman, Washington | Pullman HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Feb 1, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Personnel
Coaching staff
Name | Position | Seasons at Cal | Before Cal |
---|---|---|---|
Justin Wilcox | Head Coach | 1st as Head Coach (LB Coach, 2003–2005) | Wisconsin — Defensive Coordinator (2016) |
Beau Baldwin | Assistant Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Running Backs Coach | 1st year | Eastern Washington — Head Coach (2008–16) |
Tim DeRuyter | Defensive Coordinator / Inside Linebackers Coach | 1st year | Fresno State — Head Coach (2012–16) |
Gerald Alexander | Defensive Backs Coach | 1st year | Montana State — Defensive Backs Coach (2016) |
Jerry Azzinaro | Defensive Line Coach | 1st year | San Francisco 49ers — Defensive Line Coach (2016) |
Steve Greatwood | Offensive Line Coach | 1st year | Oregon — Offensive Line / Defensive Line Coach (2000–16) |
Marques Tuiasosopo | Quarterbacks Coach / Passing Game Coordinator / Recruiting Coordinator | 1st year | UCLA — Quarterbacks Coach / Passing Game Coordinator (2016) |
Nicholas Edwards | Wide Receivers Coach | 1st year | Eastern Washington — Wide Receivers Coach (2014–16) |
Charlie Ragle | Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends Coach | 1st year | Arizona — Special Teams Coordinator (2013–17) |
Tony Tuioti | Outside Linebackers Coach | 1st year | Cleveland Browns — Quality Control, Defense (2014–15) |
Desmond Bishop | Quality Control, Defense | 1st as Asst. Coach (LB, 2005–2006) | Washington Redskins — Linebacker (2016) |
Reference: [5] |
Roster
2017 California Golden Bears Football | ||||||||||
Quarterback
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Tight End
Punter
|
Offensive Lineman
Defensive End
Nose Guard
Outside Linebacker
Placekicker
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Inside Linebacker
Cornerback
Defensive Back
Safety
Long Snapper
Fullback
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Source and player details: |
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2 | 9:20 a.m. | at North Carolina* | ACCN | W 35–30 | 49,500 | |
September 9 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 25 (FCS) Weber State* | P12N | W 33–20 | 36,209 | |
September 16 | 7:30 p.m. | Ole Miss* |
| ESPN | W 27–16 | 37,125 |
September 23 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 5 USC |
| ABC | L 20–30 | 46,747 |
September 30 | 7:30 p.m. | at Oregon | FS1 | L 24–45 | 55,707 | |
October 7 | 7:45 p.m. | at No. 6 Washington |
| ESPN | L 7–38 | 67,429 |
October 13 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 8 Washington State |
| ESPN | W 37–3 | 26,244 |
October 21 | 4:00 p.m. | Arizona |
| P12N | L 44–45 2OT | 37,525 |
October 28 | 11:00 a.m. | at Colorado | P12N | L 28–44 | 47,216 | |
November 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Oregon State |
| P12N | W 37–23 | 35,440 |
November 18 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 20 Stanford | FOX | L 14–17 | 51,424 | |
November 24 | 7:30 p.m. | at UCLA | FS1 | L 27–30 | 50,287 | |
|
Source:[6]
Game summaries
at North Carolina
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Tar Heels | 7 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 30 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
First meeting |
Weber State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 25 (FCS) Wildcats | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Golden Bears | 7 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 33 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
First meeting |
Ole Miss
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rebels | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Golden Bears | 7 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 27 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
First meeting |
USC
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 5 Trojans | 3 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 30 |
Golden Bears | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
29–70–5 | 2016 | USC, 45–24 |
at Oregon
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
Ducks | 17 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
41–37–2 | 2016 | CAL, 52–49 |
at Washington
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
No. 6 Huskies | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
39–53–4 | 2016 | WASH, 66–27 |
Washington State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. 8 Cougars | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Golden Bears | 10 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 37 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
46–27–5 | 2016 | WSU, 56–21 |
Arizona
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wildcats | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
Golden Bears | 7 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 44 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
14–16–2 | 2014 | ARIZ, 49–45 |
at Colorado
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
Buffaloes | 14 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 44 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
5–3 | 2014 | CAL, 59–56 |
Oregon State
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beavers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
Golden Bears | 14 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 37 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
36–33 | 2016 | ORST, 47–44 |
- The game was the sixth time in program history that Cal had zero punts in a game. It was the first time that Cal had zero punts in a game since playing USC in 2004.[9]
- Matt Anderson broke the Cal record for career scoring, reaching 297 points after kicking three field goals and four extra points in the game. He broke the previous record of 288 points held by Doug Brien since 1993. Anderson would finish the season with an all-time record of 316 points.
- Patrick Laird's 214 yards rushing ranks tenth in program history for rushing yards in a single game.
at Stanford
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
No. 22 Cardinal | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
43–57–10 | 2016 | STAN, 45–31 |
at UCLA
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Bears | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 27 |
Bruins | 7 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 30 |
Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
---|---|---|
33–52–1 | 2016 | CAL, 36–10 |
- Matt Anderson broke the Cal record for career field goals, reaching 60 after kicking four field goals in the game. He broke the previous record of 56 field goals held by Doug Brien since 1993.[10]
- Ross Bowers reached 3,000 passing yards for the season and became the seventh player in Cal history to reach the milestone.
- Patrick Laird reached 1,000 rushing yards for the season and became the sixteenth player in Cal history to reach the milestone.
Awards and honors
Coaches
- Tim DeRuyter (Defensive Coordinator)
- Athlon Sports' National Defensive Coordinator of the Week, vs. Washington State[11]
Offense
- Ross Bowers (QB)
- Manning Award Stars of the Week, vs. North Carolina[12]
- Patrick Laird (RB)
- Malik McMorris (FB)
- Kanawai Noa (WR)
- Vic Wharton III (WR)
- Biletnikoff Award watchlist[19]
- Jake Curhan (OL)
- Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
- Patrick Mekari (OL)
- All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
- Tony Mekari (G)
- Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
Defense
- James Looney (DL)
- All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
- Devante Downs (LB)
- Chuck Bednarik Award watchlist[20]
- Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlist[20]
- All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
- Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, at North Carolina[20]
- Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week(2), vs. Ole Miss[20]
- College Sports Madness National Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Ole Miss[21]
- College Sports Madness Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Ole Miss[21]
- Jordan Kunaszyk (LB)
- Luke Rubenzer (S)
- First-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
Special teams
- Matt Anderson (PK)
- Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year[23]
- Campbell Trophy semifinalist [24]
- Lou Groza Award pre-season watchlist[24]
- Senior CLASS Award candidate[24]
- Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
- CoSIDA Academic All-District Team[16]
References
- Wild, Andrew (November 30, 2017). "Cal football had severe highs, lows in Justin Wilcox's 1st year". The Daily Californian.
- "Cal flips out over signature win against No. 8 Washington State – SFGate". October 26, 2017. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- "Sonny Dykes Fired as Cal Football Head Coach". The Daily Californian. 8 January 2017.
- Simmons, Rusty (25 November 2017). "Cal football wants more than just bowl berth in 2018". San Francisco Chronicle.
- "2017 Football Coaching Staff". CalBears.com.
- "2017 Cal Football Schedule Announced". CalBears.com. 18 January 2017.
- "Cal-WSU Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
- "WATCH: Cal QB nearly pulls off front flip as he scores TD". SI.com. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
- "Cal-Oregon State Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
- "Cal-UCLA Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
- "DeRuyter Selected Athlon's National DC of the Week". CalBears.com. 15 October 2017.
- "Manning Award Stars of the Week, 2017". Sugar Bowl. Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
- "Burlsworth Trophy Announces Nominees". BurlsworthTrophy.com. 31 October 2017.
- "Laird and Rubenzer First-Team Pac-12 All-Academic". CalBears.com. 30 November 2017.
- "Pac-12 Football All-Conference Team Announced". Pac-12. 5 December 2017.
- "Announcing 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District® Football and Volleyball Teams". CoSIDA. 16 November 2017.
- "McMorris on Final Piesman Trophy Ballot". CalBears.com. 27 November 2017.
- "2017 Watch List for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award". Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
- "Wharton III added to Biletnikoff Award watch list". CalBears.com. 6 November 2017.
- "Downs Added to Chuck Bednarik Award Watchlist". CalBears.com. 6 October 2017.
- "Downs Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week". CalBears.com. 18 September 2017.
- "Kunaszyk named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week". CalBears.com. 16 October 2017.
- "Pac-12 Announces Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year". Pac-12. 27 November 2017.
- "Matt Anderson Candidate for Senior CLASS Award". CalBears.com. 5 October 2017.