The 2010 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) competition in the 2010 season. The Golden Bears were led by ninth-year head coach Jeff Tedford.
Tedford surpassed the legendary Pappy Waldorf to become the Cal coach with 3rd most career victories with a victory over UC Davis in the season opener. Despite early successes however, the team had an inconsistent season. The Bears had only one road victory, lost the Stanford Axe to archrival Stanford in a 48–14 blowout, and ended the season with a three-game losing streak to finish 5–7 (3–6 Pac-10), Tedford's first losing season and the team's first losing season since 2001. Cal was ranked only once during the season with a No. 24 spot in the Coaches' Poll.
Preseason On 19 January 2010, the Regents of the University of California approved the retrofit and renovation of California Memorial Stadium. The $321 million project began in June 2010 and is expected to be completed in time for the 2012 season. The project will renovate the seismically vulnerable west side of the stadium and add amenities such as club levels, restrooms, and a new press box. Renovation of the east side of the stadium will be done at a later time in phase III. The Bears will play at AT&T Park in San Francisco for the 2011 season while the renovations are being made.
Following the 2009 season the Bears saw several coaching changes. Pete Alamar, special teams and tight ends coach, was not asked back for the 2010 season. The Bears had struggled on special teams in 2009, ranking ninth in the conference in kick coverage, 48th nationally, and 99th nationally in punt coverage. Placekicker duties during the season alternated between Giorgio Tavecchio and Vince D'Amato, with consistency an issue. Alamar was succeeded by Jeff Genyk.
Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, who was first hired by head coach Tedford upon Tedford's arrival at Cal in 2002, left to become a defensive assistant at Boise State. He was succeeded by Clancy Pendergast, who had been hired by the Oakland Raiders on February 8, 2010, as a defensive assistant. Pendergast had previously been the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals. Former NFL players Akili Smith and Ronnie Bradford joined the Cal coaching staff March 12, 2010, as administrative assistants for the offense and defense, respectively. Tedford had previously coached Smith as a quarterback at Oregon.
Jahvid Best announced on January 2, 2010, that he would forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft. He was picked by the Detroit Lions as the 30th overall selection in the 2010 NFL draft following Tyson Alualu, who was drafted as the 10th overall selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars. This marked the first time since 2003 that two Cal players had been drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. No other players were drafted until Syd'Quan Thompson was taken in the seventh round as the 225th overall selection by the Denver Broncos.
Offensive linemen Chet Teofilo and Mike Tepper signed undrafted free agent contracts with the Dallas Cowboys on April 24. Wide receiver Verran Tucker joined them on April 26, the same day that linebacker Devin Bishop signed a free agent contract with Denver.
Senior quarterback Kevin Riley entered the 2010 season as the Pac-10 leader in wins and touchdown passes. Although head coach Jeff Tedford declared on August 4 that there would be competition for the starting quarterback job., on August 25 he confirmed that Riley would be the starter.
Schedule
Game summaries
UC Davis
The Bears had last played the Aggies in 1939 and had won all eight of the teams' previous meetings. The Aggies recovered a fumble by Kevin Riley on Cal's first possession, but could not capitalize on it. The Bears' first score of the day coming on a 23-yard pass from Riley to Vereen in the first quarter. Cal scored four touchdowns in the second quarter: on a 13-yard pass from Riley to Marvin Jones, an 18-yard run by Keenan Allen, and back to back 7-yard runs by Shane Vereen, the latter set up by an Aggies fumble on the prior kickoff that was recovered. The third quarter saw Allen score his second touchdown of the game on a 48-yard pass from Riley, after which the Bears pulled their starters. Backup quarterback Beau Sweeney scored on a 3-yard run for Cal's final touchdown of the game, while the final score came on a fourth-quarter field goal. UC Davis' sole score of the game came on a third quarter 43-yard field goal.
The win made Jeff Tedford Cal's winningest coach in the modern era with 68 victories, passing the legendary Pappy Waldorf. Kevin Riley threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, while Shane Vereen had 67 rushing yards for two touchdowns, with a third receiving. Freshman Keenan Allen in his Cal debut had 120 receiving yards for a score and another rushing touchdown. UC Davis redshirt freshman quarterback Randy Wright in his first career start threw for 57 yards. The Bears put together 517 total yards of offense while limiting the Aggies to 81, outpassing them 287 to 67 and outrushing them 230 to 14.
Colorado
Cal was matched against future Pac-10 member Colorado for the first time since 1982. Taking advantage of a good punt return and a short field, the Bears scored on their second possession of the game on a 13-yard pass from Kevin Riley to Shane Vereen midway into the first quarter. The second score of the quarter was set up by a sack of Buffaloes quarterback Tyler Hansen on the Colorado 46-yard line which forced a fumble. Cal recovered and finished the drive with a 4-yard pass from Riley to Marvin Jones. In the second quarter, Hansen was intercepted, resulting in a field goal. Cal added two touchdowns, one resulting from an 82-yard drive that was capped off by a 3-yard run by Vereen, and another coming in the final minute of the half when Cal linebacker Mike Mohammed intercepted Hansen for a 41-yard touchdown. A Colorado field goal late in the second quarter from 42 yards missed.
The Buffaloes prevented a shutout by making the only score of the third quarter on a 4-yard run by quarterback Hansen. In fourth quarter, Keenan Allen made an 8-yard touchdown reception and running back Isi Sofele made a 1-yard touchdown reception set up by an interception of Hansen deep in Cal territory. In the final minutes of the game the Buffaloes took advantage of a failed 4th down conversion attempt by the Bears with good field position to march downfield, but a pass from Hansen to wide receiver Ryan Deehan was fumbled and recovered by Cal defensive back Darian Hagan, who returned it 81 yards for the final score of the game.
Kevin Riley threw for 197 yards and four scores, all to different receivers. Shane Vereen rushed for 60 yards and one score as well as a receiving touchdown. The Cal defense intercepted Hansen three times, recovered two fumbles, and had six sacks. The victory earned Cal a #24 ranking in the Coaches Poll.
Nevada
Cal's number one defense in the nation was put to the test in the first road game of the season came against Nevada, the nation's number one offense in the teams' first meeting since 1915. The Wolf Pack marched downfield on the game's opening possession in a lengthy drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick to Tray Session. Kevin Riley was intercepted on the ensuing drive, but Nevada was unable to capitalize on it. Shane Vereen then broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run to bring Cal even. The second quarter saw the Wolf Pack finish an 85-yard drive with a 1-yard run by Kaepernick. He scored again on an 8-yard run on Nevada's next possession. Cal recovered a deep in Nevada territory and was able to score on a 1-yard run from Vereen. The Bears managed to hold the Wolf Pack to a field goal to close out the quarter to make it 24–14 Nevada at the half.
Cal opened the third quarter with a 50-yard touchdown run by Vereen. After holding the Wolf Pack to a three and out, the Bears were able to drive into Wolf Pack territory where Riley threw an interception to Marlon Johnson that was returned 65 yards for a score. Cal was able to kick a field goal on the following possession, however Nevada drove downfield to the Cal 30-yard line. A 27-yard pass from Kaepernick to Rishard Matthews was fumbled, but Matthews managed to recover the fumble on the goal line, resulting in a touchdown. The Wolf Pack scored again midway through the four quarter on a 54-yard run by Vai Taua. Cal responded with a 71-yard run drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Riley to Eric Stevens. Nevada came right back on the ensuing possession for the final score of the game on a 27-yard run by Kaepernick. A late Cal drive was ended with Riley's third interception of the game.
Shane Vereen had a career-high 198 rushing yards and three scores, while wide receiver Marvin Jones also had a career game with 161 receiving yards. Riley threw for 277 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in the loss. The Wolf Pack had two 100-yard rushers, with Kaepernick running for 148 and three scores, while Vai Taua had 151 yards and a score. Kaepernick threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
Arizona
The Bears faced the Wildcats in Tucson in the conference opener for both teams. The game was a defensive battle, with the first quarter scoreless. The Cal defense sacked Arizona quarterback Nick Foles late in the quarter and forced a fumble, setting up a 25-yard field goal from Giorgio Tavecchio to begin the second quarter. The Bears added to their lead on a second 40-yard field goal from Tavecchio and stopped a Wildcats drive in the final minute with an interception deep in Cal territory to make it 6–0 at the half. Arizona scored in the third quarter on a 46-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. Cal failed to score again when a 33-yard attempt by Tavecchio missed. The fourth quarter saw Cal's final score of the game come on a 23-yard field goal to start the quarter. The Bears failed to capitalize on a 48-yard attempt by Zendejas that missed when Tavecchio missed from 40 yards with under 3 minutes left. The Wildcats responded by putting together a 78-yard scoring drive that ended with the only touchdown of the game on a 3-yard pass from Foles to Juron Criner. With a minute left in the game, Cal had a chance to drive downfield and kick a game-winning field goal, but Kevin Riley was intercepted by Joseph Perkins who then fumbled on the return, but Arizona recovered the fumble to hang on and prevent an upset.
Riley threw for 116 yards and an interception, while Shane Vereen had 102 rushing yards as Cal lost its conference opener for the second year in a row. Nick Foles threw for 212 yards, had an interception and was sacked three times, but threw the game-winning touchdown as Arizona improved to 4–0 for the first time since 1998.
UCLA
Cal faced UCLA following a bye week after two straight road losses, while the Bruins came into the matchup on a three-game winning streak with victories against #23 Houston and #7 Texas, with their last victory in Berkeley being in 1998. On the opening possession, the Bears drove downfield in a five-minute scoring drive which was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Shane Vereen. UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin fumbled the ball on the Bruins's second possession deep in UCLA territory, which set up another touchdown run by Veren from 4 yards. The second quarter saw Cal score the third touchdown of the game after a six-minute drive on a 10-yard pass from Kevin Riley to Keenan Allen. In the closing minutes of the second quarter Riley scored on a 1-yard run to put the Bears up 28–0 at the half, as the Cal defense shut down UCLA and limited the Bruins' offensive output to 58 yards.