# 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 in Pac-8), finished in a tie with UCLA for the Pac-8 championship, and outscored their opponents 330 to 233. 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.
The team did not participate in the Rose Bowl because during the season it lost to co-champion UCLA. In the first year that the Pac-8 allowed additional bowl games, only fifth-place USC was invited, to the Liberty Bowl.
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. Roth, a junior college transfer, became the starting quarterback in the season's fourth game, taking over from junior Fred Besana.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | at Colorado* | | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | L 27–34 | 46,211 |
| September 20 | No. 20 West Virginia* | | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | L 10–28 | 23,375 |
| September 27 | at Washington State | | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | W 33–21 | 24,500 |
| October 4 | San Jose State* | | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | W 27–24 | 32,788 |
| October 11 | at Oregon | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | W 34–7 | 18,500 |
| October 18 | Oregon State | | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | W 51–24 | 31,758 |
| October 25 | at No. 19 UCLA | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | L 14–28 | 36,100 |
| November 1 | No. 4 USC | | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | W 28–14 | 58,871 |
| November 8 | Washington | No. 18 | California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA | W 27–24 | 43,270 |
| November 15 | at Air Force* | No. 15 | Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO | W 31–14 | 35,770 |
| November 22 | at Stanford | No. 13 | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (Big Game) | W 48–15 | 88,000 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Game summaries
### Stanford

| Quarter | 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "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."

## NFL draft

Two Golden Bears were selected 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 |