1968 California Golden Bears football team

1968 California Golden Bears football
1968 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	7–3–1 (2–2–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	Ray Willsey (5th season);
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

1968 Pacific-8 Conference football standings
v t e	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

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 in Pac-8, fourth) and outscored their opponents 243 to 114.^[1]^[2] Home games were played on campus at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

This year's team came to be known as "The Bear Minimum", led by defensive lineman Ed White, an All-American and future member of College Hall of Fame. Relying on its defense, Cal ranked as high as eighth in the AP poll in early November. The Bears won 21–7 at Michigan in the season opener and shut out No. 10 Syracuse 43–0 in late October. Earning three shutouts, California 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]

California's statistical leaders on offense were quarterback Randy Humphries with 1,247 passing yards, Gary Fowler with 665 rushing yards, and Wayne Stewart with 679 receiving yards.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21		at Michigan*		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		W 21–7	71,386	^[6]
September 28		Colorado*		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ABC	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	11:00 a.m.	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 All times are in Pacific time

^[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
OT	`77`	Mike Meers	Jr
QB	`15`	Dave Penhall	So
TE	`83`	John Phillips	Jr
OT	`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

^ "1968 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^ "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.
^ "The Golden Bears". The Bear Insider. November 12, 2013. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015.
^ "California Golden Bears 2011 Football Information Guide" (PDF). p. 171. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
^ "1968 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^ "Michigan vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs Colorado Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs San Jose State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "Army vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs UCLA Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs Syracuse Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "Washington vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "USC vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs Oregon Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "California vs Stanford Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ "Hawaii vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF). Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.