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
ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
2017 record5–7 (2–7 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBeau Baldwin (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorTim DeRuyter (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Captain
Home stadiumCalifornia Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 62,467)
2017 Pac-12 Conference football standings
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
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season
Main article: 2016 California Golden Bears football team

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.

Personnel

Coaching staff
NamePositionSeasons at CalBefore Cal
Justin WilcoxHead Coach1st as Head Coach
(LB Coach, 2003–2005)		Wisconsin — Defensive Coordinator (2016)
Beau BaldwinAssistant Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Running Backs Coach1st yearEastern Washington — Head Coach (2008–16)
Tim DeRuyterDefensive Coordinator / Inside Linebackers Coach1st yearFresno State — Head Coach (2012–16)
Gerald AlexanderDefensive Backs Coach1st yearMontana State — Defensive Backs Coach (2016)
Jerry AzzinaroDefensive Line Coach1st yearSan Francisco 49ers — Defensive Line Coach (2016)
Steve GreatwoodOffensive Line Coach1st yearOregon — Offensive Line / Defensive Line Coach (2000–16)
Marques TuiasosopoQuarterbacks Coach / Passing Game Coordinator / Recruiting Coordinator1st yearUCLA — Quarterbacks Coach / Passing Game Coordinator (2016)
Nicholas EdwardsWide Receivers Coach1st yearEastern Washington — Wide Receivers Coach (2014–16)
Charlie RagleSpecial Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends Coach1st yearArizona — Special Teams Coordinator (2013–17)
Tony TuiotiOutside Linebackers Coach1st yearCleveland Browns — Quality Control, Defense (2014–15)
Desmond BishopQuality Control, Defense1st as Asst. Coach
(LB, 2005–2006)		Washington Redskins — Linebacker (2016)
Reference: [5]

Roster
2017 California Golden Bears Football

Quarterback

  •  3 Ross Bowers - Sophomore (6'2, 190)
  •  7 Chase Garbers - Freshman (6'2, 210)
  • 11 Brandon McIlwain - Sophomore (6'1, 195)
  • 14 Chase Forrest - Junior (6'2, 205)

Running Back

  •  4 Zion Echols - Freshman (5'8, 180)
  •  5 Tre Watson - Senior (5'11, 205)
  • 22 Derrick Clark - Freshman (5'10, 210)
  • 23 Vic Enwere - Senior (6'0, 245)
  • 26 Biaggo Ali Walsh - Freshman (5'10, 190)
  • 28 Patrick Laird - Junior (6'0, 200)
  • 30 Billy McCrary III - Junior (5'11, 210)
  • 34 Fabiano Hale - Senior (6'0, 225)

Wide Receiver

  •  1 Melquise Stovall - Sophomore (5'9, 185)
  •  2 Jordan Duncan - Sophomore (6'1, 210)
  •  6 Jeremiah Hawkins - Freshman (5'8, 170)
  •  8 Demetris Robertson - Sophomore (6'0, 185)
  •  9 Kanawai Noa - Sophomore (6'0, 180)
  • 13 Grayson Bankhead - Freshman (6'0, 170)
  • 15 Jordan Veasy - Senior (6'3, 225)
  • 17 Vic Wharton III - Junior (5'11, 210)
  • 19 Brandon Singleton - Sophomore (6'0, 170)
  • 24 Matt Rockett - Sophomore (5'9, 195)
  • 31 Chas Peterson - Senior (5'11, 185)
  • 38 Alex Netherda - Sophomore (6'0, 205)
  • 88 Taariq Johnson - Freshman (6'2, 220)

Tight End

  • 11 Raymond Hudson - Senior (6'3, 245)
  • 16 Collin Moore - Freshman (6'4, 225)
  • 80 Jake Ashton - Junior (6'3, 235)
  • 83 Ben Moos - Freshman (6'4, 235)
  • 84 Gavin Reinwald - Freshman (6'3, 215)
  • 87 Kyle Wells - Junior (6'3, 245)
  • 89 Matt Laris - Freshman (6'3, 235)
  • 99 Malik McMorris - Junior (5'11, 300) (+FB)

Punter

  • 37 Steven Coutts - Junior (6'4, 210)
  • 42 Dylan Klumph - Junior (6'2, 235)
  

Offensive Lineman

  • 53 Michael Saffell - Freshman (6'2, 295)
  • 54 Gentle Williams - Freshman (6'3, 295)
  • 57 Addison Ooms - Junior (6'4, 300)
  • 58 Semisi Uluave - Junior (6'5, 345)
  • 60 Daniel Juarez - Freshman (6'5, 290)
  • 61 Valentino Daltoso - Freshman (6'4, 310)
  • 65 Tanner Prenovost - Freshman (6'0, 265)
  • 70 Poutasi Poutasi - Freshman (6'4, 305)
  • 71 Jake Curhan - Freshman (6'6, 325)
  • 72 Kamryn Bennett - Junior (6'3, 310)
  • 74 Ryan Gibson - Sophomore (6'2, 285)
  • 76 Henry Bazakas - Sophomore (6'6, 300)
  • 77 J.D. Hinnant - Senior (6'4, 300)
  • 79 Patrick Mekari - Junior (6'4, 300)

Defensive End

  •  9 James Looney - Senior (6'3, 280)
  • 44 Zeandae Johnson - Sophomore (6'4, 280)
  • 90 Rusty Becker - Senior (6'4, 280)
  • 91 Chinedu Udeogu - Freshman (6'4, 250)
  • 92 Gabe Cherry - Freshman (6'5, 260)
  • 96 Tevin Paul - Freshman (6'4, 270)

Nose Guard

  • 50 Hunter Abel - Sophomore (6'0, 275)
  • 93 Luc Bequette - Sophomore (6'2, 290)
  • 97 Tony Mekari - Senior (6'1, 295)
  • 98 Chris Palmer - Junior (6'2, 320)

Outside Linebacker

  • 13 Russell Ude - Sophomore (6'3, 245)
  • 19 Cameron Goode - Freshman (6'3, 225)
  • 33 Noah Westerfield - Senior (6'3, 250)
  • 36 Alex Funches - Junior (6'2, 230)
  • 46 Drew Bryant - Junior (6'2, 220)
  • 51 Cameron Saffle - Junior (6'3, 250)
  • 89 Evan Weaver - Sophomore (6'3, 250)
  • 94 Trevor Howard - Sophomore (6'3, 250)

Placekicker

  •  9 Matt Anderson - Senior (6'0, 195)
  • 41 Gabe Siemieniec - Freshman (6'1, 220)
  • 49 Matt Abramo - Sophomore (6'3, 190)
  

Inside Linebacker

  •  1 Devante Downs - Senior (6'3, 245)
  • 11 Hamilton Anoa'i - Senior (6'2, 255)
  • 31 Raymond Davison - Senior (6'2, 235)
  • 40 David Ortega Jr. - Junior (5'9, 210)
  • 41 Gerran Brown - Sophomore (6'2, 220)
  • 43 Kyle Harmon - Freshman (6'1, 240) (+OLB)
  • 55 Aisea Tongilava - Junior (6'1, 220)
  • 59 Jordan Kunaszyk - Junior (6'3, 235)

Cornerback

  •  2 Darius Allensworth - Senior (5'11, 195)
  •  3 Elijah Hicks - Freshman (5'11, 180)
  •  8 Nygel Edmonds - Freshman (5'11, 190)
  • 16 Chibuzo Nwokocha - Junior (6'1, 185)
  • 18 Marloshawn Franklin Jr. - Senior (5'11, 190)
  • 20 Joshua Drayden - Sophomore (5'9, 185)
  • 22 Traveon Beck - Sophomore (5'9, 160)
  • 24 Camryn Bynum - Freshman (6'0, 180)
  • 27 Ashtyn Davis - Sophomore (6'1, 195)

Defensive Back

  • 10 Daniel Scott - Freshman (6'2, 200)
  • 45 Branden Smith - Freshman (5'10, 170)

Safety

  •  4 Derron Brown - Junior (6'1, 210)
  •  5 Trey Turner - Junior (6'1, 190)
  •  6 Jaylinn Hawkins - Sophomore (6'2, 200)
  • 17 Luke Rubenzer - Senior (5'11, 200)
  • 21 Evan Rambo - Sophomore (6'4, 210)
  • 23 Malik Psalms - Sophomore (6'1, 185)
  • 28 Quentin Tartabull - Junior (5'11, 205)
  • 29 Bryce Turner - Freshman (5'10, 175)
  • 32 Jacob Anderson - Senior (5'11, 195)
  • 34 De'Zhon Grace - Senior (5'9, 180)
  • 39 Ricky Walker III - Freshman (5'11, 200)

Long Snapper

  • 45 Grant Gluhaich - Sophomore (5'11, 200)
  • 46 Garrett Frum - Senior (6'1, 230)
  • 47 Alonso Vera - Junior (5'11, 225)

Fullback

  • 40 Justin Norbeck - Junior (6'0, 235)
Source and player details:

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 29:20 a.m.at North Carolina*
ACCNW 35–3049,500
September 92:00 p.m.No. 25 (FCS) Weber State*
P12NW 33–2036,209
September 167:30 p.m.Ole Miss*
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
ESPNW 27–1637,125
September 2312:30 p.m.No. 5 USC
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA (Joe Roth Memorial Game)
ABCL 20–3046,747
September 307:30 p.m.at Oregon
FS1L 24–4555,707
October 77:45 p.m.at No. 6 Washington
ESPNL 7–3867,429
October 137:30 p.m.No. 8 Washington State
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
ESPNW 37–326,244
October 214:00 p.m.Arizona
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
P12NL 44–45 2OT37,525
October 2811:00 a.m.at Colorado
P12NL 28–4447,216
November 42:00 p.m.Oregon State
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
P12NW 37–2335,440
November 185:00 p.m.at No. 20 Stanford
FOXL 14–1751,424
November 247:30 p.m.at UCLA
FS1L 27–3050,287
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Source:[6]

Game summaries

at North Carolina
See also: 2017 North Carolina Tar Heels football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 7 7 7 14 35
Tar Heels 7 10 7 6 30
Overall recordLast meetingResult
First meeting

Weber State
See also: 2017 Weber State Wildcats football team
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 25 (FCS) Wildcats 10 10 0 0 20
Golden Bears 7 10 0 16 33
Overall recordLast meetingResult
First meeting

Ole Miss
See also: 2017 Ole Miss Rebels football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Rebels 10 6 0 0 16
Golden Bears 7 0 10 10 27
Overall recordLast meetingResult
First meeting

USC
See also: 2017 USC Trojans football team
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Trojans 3 10 0 17 30
Golden Bears 3 10 0 7 20
Overall recordLast meetingResult
29–70–52016USC, 45–24

at Oregon
See also: 2017 Oregon Ducks football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 0 7 7 10 24
Ducks 17 0 7 21 45
Overall recordLast meetingResult
41–37–22016CAL, 52–49

at Washington
See also: 2017 Washington Huskies football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 0 0 7 0 7
No. 6 Huskies 7 17 7 7 38
Overall recordLast meetingResult
39–53–42016WASH, 66–27

Washington State
See also: 2017 Washington State Cougars football team
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Cougars 0 3 0 0 3
Golden Bears 10 7 3 17 37
Overall recordLast meetingResult
46–27–52016WSU, 56–21
  • The game marked Cal's first win against a top ten opponent since 2003.[7]
  • The three points allowed by the Bears defense are the fewest since holding UC Davis to three points in 2010.
  • In the fourth quarter, quarterback Ross Bowers executed a flip into the end zone to put the Bears up 27-3.[8]

Arizona
See also: 2017 Arizona Wildcats football team
1 2 3 4OT2OT Total
Wildcats 14 7 7 377 45
Golden Bears 7 0 14 1076 44
Overall recordLast meetingResult
14–16–22014ARIZ, 49–45

at Colorado
See also: 2017 Colorado Buffaloes football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 7 7 0 14 28
Buffaloes 14 13 0 17 44
Overall recordLast meetingResult
5–32014CAL, 59–56

Oregon State
See also: 2017 Oregon State Beavers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Beavers 7 6 7 3 23
Golden Bears 14 6 10 7 37
Overall recordLast meetingResult
36–332016ORST, 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
See also: 2017 Stanford Cardinal football team, Big Game (American football), and Stanford Axe
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 3 3 8 0 14
No. 22 Cardinal 3 7 7 0 17
Overall recordLast meetingResult
43–57–102016STAN, 45–31

at UCLA
See also: 2017 UCLA Bruins football team and California–UCLA football rivalry
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 3 6 8 10 27
Bruins 7 10 7 6 30
Overall recordLast meetingResult
33–52–12016CAL, 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
Athlon Sports' National Defensive Coordinator of the Week, vs. Washington State[11]

Offense
Manning Award Stars of the Week, vs. North Carolina[12]
Burlsworth Trophy semifinalist[13]
First-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
CoSIDA Academic All-District Team[16]
  • Malik McMorris (FB)
SB Nation Piesman Trophy finalist[17]
  • Kanawai Noa (WR)
Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award watchlist[18]
  • Vic Wharton III (WR)
Biletnikoff Award watchlist[19]
  • Jake Curhan (OL)
Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]
All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
  • Tony Mekari (G)
Second-team Pac-12 All-Academic[14]

Defense
All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention[15]
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]
Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Washington State[22]
Rose Bowl: Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Washington State[22]
Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Washington State[22]
College Sports Madness Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, vs. Washington State[22]
  • 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
  1. Wild, Andrew (November 30, 2017). "Cal football had severe highs, lows in Justin Wilcox's 1st year". The Daily Californian.
  2. "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.
  3. "Sonny Dykes Fired as Cal Football Head Coach". The Daily Californian. 8 January 2017.
  4. Simmons, Rusty (25 November 2017). "Cal football wants more than just bowl berth in 2018". San Francisco Chronicle.
  5. "2017 Football Coaching Staff". CalBears.com.
  6. "2017 Cal Football Schedule Announced". CalBears.com. 18 January 2017.
  7. "Cal-WSU Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
  8. "WATCH: Cal QB nearly pulls off front flip as he scores TD". SI.com. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  9. "Cal-Oregon State Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
  10. "Cal-UCLA Postgame Notes". CalBears.com.
  11. "DeRuyter Selected Athlon's National DC of the Week". CalBears.com. 15 October 2017.
  12. "Manning Award Stars of the Week, 2017". Sugar Bowl. Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  13. "Burlsworth Trophy Announces Nominees". BurlsworthTrophy.com. 31 October 2017.
  14. "Laird and Rubenzer First-Team Pac-12 All-Academic". CalBears.com. 30 November 2017.
  15. "Pac-12 Football All-Conference Team Announced". Pac-12. 5 December 2017.
  16. "Announcing 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-District® Football and Volleyball Teams". CoSIDA. 16 November 2017.
  17. "McMorris on Final Piesman Trophy Ballot". CalBears.com. 27 November 2017.
  18. "2017 Watch List for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award". Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
  19. "Wharton III added to Biletnikoff Award watch list". CalBears.com. 6 November 2017.
  20. "Downs Added to Chuck Bednarik Award Watchlist". CalBears.com. 6 October 2017.
  21. "Downs Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week". CalBears.com. 18 September 2017.
  22. "Kunaszyk named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week". CalBears.com. 16 October 2017.
  23. "Pac-12 Announces Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year". Pac-12. 27 November 2017.
  24. "Matt Anderson Candidate for Senior CLASS Award". CalBears.com. 5 October 2017.
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