2020 California Golden Bears football team
The 2020 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by head coach Justin Wilcox, in his fourth year as head coach. The team's offense was led by Bill Musgrave, who replaced Beau Baldwin; Baldwin left to become the head coach at Cal Poly.[2]
| 2020 California Golden Bears football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Pac-12 Conference |
| North Division | |
| 2020 record | 1–3 (1–3 Pac-12) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Bill Musgrave (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Peter Sirmon (1st as DC, 2nd as coordinator, 3rd season) |
| Co-defensive coordinator | Tim DeRuyter (1st as co-DC, 4th as coordinator, 4th season) |
| Home stadium | California Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 62,467) |
| 2020 Pac-12 Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington x | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 4 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon y$ | 3 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 USC xy | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 3 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Oregon 31, USC 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 Conference canceled all Fall 2020 sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] On September 24, it was announced that a seven-game season would be played in 2020, and the schedule was officially announced on October 3.[4] Due to additional COVID-related game cancellations, the Bears ultimately only played four games and finished with a 1–3 record for the season, with the sole win coming against No. 23 ranked Oregon.
Offseason
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 |
Offseason departures
Nine Golden Bears graduated in 2020,[5] and three were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashtyn Davis | 27 | S | 6'1 | 202 | Senior | Santa Cruz, CA | Declared for NFL Draft, drafted in the third round by New York Jets. |
| Jaylinn Hawkins | 6 | S | 6'2 | 210 | RS Senior | Buena Park, CA | Declared for NFL Draft, drafted in the fourth round by Atlanta Falcons. |
| Evan Weaver | 89 | LB | 6'3 | 235 | Senior | Spokane, WA | Declared for NFL Draft, drafted in the sixth round by Arizona Cardinals. |
| Ricky Walker III | 21 | WR | 5'11 | 190 | Senior | Graduated | |
| Colt Doughty | 42 | LB | 6'1 | 230 | Senior | Graduated | |
| Trey Turner III | 5 | S | 6'1 | 185 | Senior | Graduated | |
| Lone Toailoa | 55 | DE | 6'2 | 290 | Senior | Graduated | |
| Chinedu Udeogu | 91 | TE | 6'4 | 275 | Senior | Graduate transfer to Illinois. | |
| Gabe Siemieniec | 46 | PK | 6'1 | 210 | Senior | Graduate transfer to Louisiana Tech. | |
| Greg Thomas | 39 | PK | 5'9 | 165 | Senior | Graduated |
Recruiting
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaden Casey QB |
Calabasas, CA | Calabasas High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 14, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Jeremiah Hunter WR |
Fresno, CA | Central East High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | May 11, 2019 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Muelu Iosefa OLB |
Millilani, HI | Millilani High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 11, 2019 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Collin Gamble CB |
Argyle, TX | Liberty Christian High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2019 | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 39 | ||||||
Sources:
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Preseason
On January 3, 2020, Cal announced that it would hire former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave as its next offensive coordinator, replacing Beau Baldwin. Musgrave, an Oregon alumni like Wilcox, began his coaching career as quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 1997. He last coached at the collegiate level as an offensive coordinator for Virginia in 2001–2002.
On January 10, Angus McClure was announced as the next offensive line coach.[6] McClure spent 11 years at UCLA. Four days later, Aristotle Thompson was hired as the running backs coach.[7] Thompson was the running backs coach at Cal Poly prior to being hired at Cal.
Cal's defensive line coach, Gerald Alexander, was hired to the same position by the Miami Dolphins on January 24.[8] Cal announced it would hire former Arizona defensive coordinator Marcel Yates to replace him the following day.[9]
On March 4, it was announced that Peter Sirmon would be made co-defensive coordinator alongside Tim DeRuyter.
Pac-12 media poll
In the 2020 Pac-12 preseason media poll, California was voted to finish in second place in the North Division.[10]
| Media poll (North Division) | ||
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 222 (35) |
| 2 | California | 176 (3) |
| 3 | Washington | 161 |
| 4 | Stanford | 105 |
| 5 | Oregon State | 76 |
| 6 | Washington State | 58 |
Schedule
Cal's 2020 regular season was announced on January 16.[11] The Golden Bears had 3 games scheduled against UNLV, TCU, and Cal Poly, but canceled these games on July 10 due to the Pac-12 Conference's decision to play a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]
On August 11, the Pac-12 Conference canceled all Fall 2020 sports competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] However, following an agreement that boosted testing capacity for players and personnel,[13] the conference announced it would play a seven-game football schedule beginning in November.[14] The schedule would see Cal play all five division opponents, Arizona State from the Pac-12 South division, and a season-closing game against the equally-ranked team in the opposite division (the division winners will play each other in the conference championship, while the team that finishes second in the North division plays the team that finishes second in the South division).
On November 13, Cal's scheduled game at Arizona State for November 14 was canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak within the Arizona State program.[15] The Pac-12 then announced that Cal would instead play at UCLA on the morning of November 15;[16] the Bruins' scheduled game against Utah had also been canceled after Utah had a COVID-19 outbreak.[17]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Contest | ||||||
| November 15 | 9:00 a.m. | at UCLA | FS1 | L 10–34 | — | |
| November 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | FS1 | L 27–31 | — | |
| November 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Stanford |
| FOX | L 23–24 | — |
| December 5 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 23 Oregon |
| ESPN | W 21–17 | — |
| at | No Contest | |||||
| No Contest | |||||
| ||||||
Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final | ||||||||||||||||||||
| AP | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | RV | NR | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | Not released | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game Summaries
at UCLA
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 34–55–1 | 2019 | W, 28–18 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Bears | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Bruins | 7 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
at Oregon State
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 38–34 | 2019 | L, 17–21 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Bears | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Beavers | 14 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon
- Date: November 21, 2020
- Game time: 12:30 p.m.
- Game weather: Partly cloudy, 41 °F (5 °C)
- Game attendance: 0
- Referee: Chris Coyle
- TV: FS1
- Reference
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Stanford
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 44–59–10 | 2019 | W, 24–20 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Oregon
| Overall record | Last meeting | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 42–40–2 | 2019 | L, 7–17 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Ducks | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
References
- Pac-12 Conference. "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons". Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- Curtis, Jake (January 3, 2020). "Cal Football: Bill Musgrave Officially Named Bears' Offensive Coordinator". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- "Pac-12 Conference postpones all sport competitions through end of calendar year". pac-12.com. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- "Pac-12 announces 2020 football schedule". October 3, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- Mellor, Cam. "Cal Football graduates nine student-athletes".
- "Cal hires former UCLA coach Angus McClure to coach the offensive line". California Golden Blogs.
- "Bears hire Aristotle Thompson as new Running Backs Coach". California Golden Blogs.
- "Miami Dolphins Hire Gerald Alexander as Defensive-Back Coach". California Golden Blogs.
- "Cal Hires Former Arizona DC Marcel Yates as DB Coach". California Golden Blogs.
- "Oregon edges USC as 2020 Pac-12 Football preseason media favorite". pac-12.com. October 7, 2020.
- Chen, Rick (2020-01-16). "What to Know About the New Cal Football 2020 Schedule". California Golden Blogs. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
- Bromberg, Nick. "Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020". Yahoo News. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- "Pac-12 Conference announces groundbreaking testing research initiative with Quidel; Rapid-results test could speed the return of sport competitions | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- "Pac-12 announces 2020 football schedule | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- "Pac-12 statement on Cal at Arizona State football game". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- "Pac-12 statement on Cal at UCLA football game". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- "UCLA-Cal set for Sunday following Arizona State, Utah cancellations". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
- "Pac-12 Statement regarding Washington at California Football Game". Retrieved November 5, 2020.