The 2008 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California and are coached by Jeff Tedford.
The Bears' 2008 campaign was marked with diminished expectations, as all of California's offensive stars at their skill positions (DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, Robert Jordan, Justin Forsett and Craig Stevens) graduated or declared for the NFL draft. Thus the Bears started the season unranked for the first time since 2003.Citation error. See inline comment how to fix. Their 2008 season would confirm this ranking, as they would finish the season undefeated at home but would only win one game on the road. The Bears won their opening game at home against Michigan State 38–31 and eviscerated Washington State in Pullman 66–3, but fell to Maryland 35–27 in College Park. The Bears won two straight home games against Colorado State and Arizona State but fell in the desert to Arizona. Although the Bears still controlled their destiny in the Pac-10 after two more home wins against UCLA and Oregon, two close losses to Pac-10 champion contenders USC and Oregon State on the road put an end to those hopes. Cal reclaimed the Axe by beating Stanford 37–16 in the 111th Big Game and kept Washington's season winless with a 48–7 victory.
Cal finished the regular season 8–4 as Tedford claimed his seventh consecutive winning season for the Golden Bears and third unbeaten home record in five years. The team improved on its 2007 season record of 7–6 to 9–4 and spent most of the season unranked, breaking into the AP Top 25 three times only to get knocked out each time following a loss. The Bears accepted an invitation to take on the Miami Hurricanes at the 2008 Emerald Bowl, which they won 24–17.
Preseason The aftermath of Cal's tumble from potentially being ranked in 2007 led Tedford to declare open competition on all positions. This included at quarterback, where Tedford had come under extreme criticism from the media and Golden Bears fans alike for his decision-making the previous year. Both Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley appeared to be at a standstill through fall practice. But in a surprise move, the younger and less experienced Riley was named the starter for the season opener.Riley wins Cal's starting quarterback job However, Tedford indicated that the quarterback competition was not over, and that Longshore would also see action against Michigan State (he would appear in the second quarter).
Cal's offseason also was noted by the Kevin Hart controversy, where the small town offensive linemen would claim he had been recruited by the Golden Bears, although the athletic department claimed never to be involved with him. Hart would later admit he made the whole thing up.Nevada high school football recruit made up story
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries
Michigan State
The Bears had last played the Spartans in Michigan in 2002, defeating them 46–22 in Tedford's first year as head coach. The two teams had only played each other three times in all before their 2008 meeting, with the Spartans winning the other two contests.
Both teams were scoreless until a blocked Spartans punt resulted in a Bears touchdown in the first quarter. Cal scored again on a field goal by freshman kicker David Seawright in the second quarter. Michigan State responded when Otis Wiley intercepted a Nate Longshore pass and returned it for a touchdown, while Cal was able to counter with a touchdown run by Jahvid Best prior to the end of the first half.
The second half saw both teams score back and forth. The Spartans struck first with a touchdown run by Javon Ringer, followed by Cal QB Kevin Riley connecting with Cameron Morrah for a touchdown. Ringer made his second touchdown run of the game in the fourth quarter, while Riley made his second touchdown pass of the game to Will Ta'ufo'ou. After a Spartans field goal, freshman running back Shane Vereen scored on an 81-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears their final score of the game. The Spartans countered with a touchdown pass from Brian Hoyer to Mark Dell to get within 7 points and had a chance to tie the game with seconds left, but Hoyer threw four straight incompletions from midfield.
Longshore, who lost the starting quarterback job to Riley, threw for 62 yards with 2 interceptions. Riley threw for 202 yards with 2 touchdowns. The game marked the first time that two Cal running backs had completed over 100 yards rushing since the 2006 Holiday Bowl, with Best at 111 yards and Vereen at 101, respectively. Spartans quarterback Hoyer finished with 321 yards passing, including a touchdown and an interception. Ringer, who completed 1,447 yards rushing during the 2007 season, was held to 81 yards, which included 2 touchdowns.
Washington State
The Cougars hosted the Bears in Pullman, Washington for the first conference game of the season for both teams as well as first year Cougars head coach Paul Wulff. Cal scored early, with Jahvid Best breaking free for an 80-yard touchdown run on the Bears' first possession. This was followed by an interception by Syd'Quan Thompson deep in Washington State territory, setting up a touchdown pass from Kevin Riley to Sean Young. Shane Vereen made a 39-yard touchdown run on the next possession for the Bears' third touchdown of the first quarter. A Cougar field goal would prove to be their only score for the game.
The Cougars had another chance at scoring in the second quarter, but had a field goal blocked that linebacker Zack Follett was able to return for a 65-yard touchdown. Riley was able to run in for a touchdown from 27 yards out, while Thompson made an 89-yard interception that set up another Best touchdown.
After the half, Nate Longshore led the Bears in the third quarter. The Cougars were intercepted in the Cal red zone, setting up an 86-yard touchdown run by Best. This marked the first time that Cal had two runs of more than 80 yards in a single game, as well as in a single season.
Cal used its commanding lead in the fourth quarter to give more of its backup players some experience. Following a touchdown by sophomore running back Tracy Slocum, freshman quarterback Brock Mansion was able to take his first career snap. An interception of a Cougars pass in WSU territory gave Mansion the opportunity to make his first rushing touchdown for the final score of the game.
Cal produced 505 total yards of offense (114 passing and 391 rushing) and allowed only 167 total yards (110 passing and 57 rushing) to the Cougars, who committed four turnovers. The game marked the first time since 1921 and 1923 that the Bears had won back to back games at Pullman. It was the Cougars' worst loss since a 1976 loss to UCLA 62–3 and the first time that WSU opened the season with two losses since 1999. Best had exactly 200 yards rushing on 14 carries for three touchdowns, the most by a Cal player since Justin Forsett had 235 against New Mexico State in 2005. He also became the first player since J.J. Arrington to start the season with consecutive 100-yard rushing games. The win enabled the Bears to get back into the AP Top 25 at #23.
Maryland
Cal headed east for its second road game in a row in the first ever meeting between the Bears and the Terrapins with a noon kickoff. The Terrapins jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it, with Da’Rel Scott scoring a rushing touchdown on their first possession. Kevin Riley was intercepted on the ensuing Cal possession, setting up another touchdown run by Scott. Terrapins quarterback Chris Turner threw a touchdown pass to open the second quarter. The Bears were limited to a pair of field goals in the first half, with a possible third one from 25 yards out bouncing off the left upright in the closing seconds of the second quarter. Maryland had only scored 21 points combined in their first two games.
In the third quarter, Cal recovered a Maryland fumble, but failed to score and turned the ball over on downs. Maryland extended its lead to 28–6 on a 28-yard touchdown strike from Turner to Darrius Heyward-Bey. Riley was sacked three times. Cal was shut out of the end zone until the fourth quarter, when Riley connected with Cameron Morrah. The Terrapins recovered the ensuing onside kick and was able to respond with a touchdown for their final score of the game. Riley threw two more touchdown passes to bring the Bears within 8 points, but Maryland recovered the ensuing onside kicks and Turner was able to end the game by taking three straight knees.
Jahvid Best, coming from back to back games with over 100 yards rushing, was held to 25 on ten carries, with the Bears producing only 38 net rushing yards. Riley passed for 423 yards on 58 attempts, a school record for the most pass attempts. Terrapins quarterback Turner passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Scott and Davin Meggett rushed for 87 and two touchdowns, and 82 yards and a touchdown, respectively. The Bears also gave up five sacks, the most since October 1, 2005 against Arizona. Humidity was cited as the biggest adjustment that Cal failed to make more so than the time change and Maryland's performance in its first two games. The loss brings the Bears' record to 3–7 in its last ten trips to the East Coast and also snapped a ten-game winning streak in the month of September.
Colorado State
Although Cal struggled on pass offense and Cal's two running backs both committed a fumble early on, the defense and special teams put Cal on the board early in the first half. A Rams punt was blocked and Bryant Nnabuife ran it in for a touchdown, his second of the season. In the same quarter Cal's Brett Johnson intercepted Colorado State's Billy Farris' pass for a 43-yard touchdown.
In the second quarter Riley threw an 11-yard pass to Nyan Boateng for the score after a pass interference call on Colorado State gave Cal a first down. The defense was able to shut out Colorado State for another quarter.
In the third quarter Riley was replaced with Nate Longshore who was unable to produce any offense although running backs Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen were consistently gaining first downs. However Cal's special teams struck again as Syd'Quan Thompson ran a punt return for a touchdown.
In the fourth quarter, Cal's offense finally clicked when Longshore hit Jeremy Ross for an 11-yard touchdown and Cameron Morrah for another 16-yard touchdown. The Rams avoided being shut out with a 1-yard touchdown run by John Mosure that followed a long pass by backup quarterback Klay Kubiak. The final score was 42–7.
In addition to the struggles on offense, Cal's Jahvid Best walked off the field after dislocating his elbow following a tackle. X-rays showed that there were no fractures and an MRI revealed no ligament damage. Cal's Rulon Davis left after half-time with an undisclosed foot injury.
Arizona State
The Bears resumed conference play at home against the Sun Devils following a week off. Nate Longshore started for the Bears after Jeff Tedford had him and Kevin Riley compete for the starting position during the week. Cal took an early lead with a field goal in the first quarter followed by a touchdown pass from Longshore to LaReylle Cunningham that resulted from a fumble on the Sun Devils' first possession. Longshore threw an interception in the closing minutes of the first quarter, but the Sun Devils were unable to capitalize on it. The Bears struck again in the second quarter with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Morrah, to which the Sun Devils responded to with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Rudy Carpenter to Kyle Williams.