The 2019 California Golden Bears football team represented the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in the

2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 150th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. They competed as members of the North Division of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. In their third year under head coach Justin Wilcox, the Bears improved to an 8–5 record for only the second time since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, finishing 2nd in the Pac-12 North. The Bears started off the season strong, achieving a No. 15 AP ranking (their highest since 2009) after a 4–0 start, including a 20–19 upset win against No. 14 ranked

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. However, after injury to quarterback Chase Garbers during the Arizona State game, the Bears proceeded to lose the next four games. With the return of Garbers, Cal notably defeated

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in the Big Game for the first time since 2009. This win clinched bowl eligibility for the Bears while making the Cardinal ineligible for the post-season for the first time in ten years. The Bears went to the Redbox Bowl, where they defeated the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

35–20, their first bowl win since

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. Senior linebacker Evan Weaver was the standout player of the season after leading the nation with a school-record and Pac-12 record 182 tackles, earning him the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and becoming the first consensus All-American from Cal since 2006.

Preseason

Coaching changes

On February 26, 2019, defensive line coach Tony Tuioti left the Golden Bears to become the new defensive line coach for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

under

Scott Frost Scott Andrew Frost (born January 4, 1975) is an American football coach and player who currently serves as the head football coach for UCF Knights football, UCF. He was the head football coach at the Nebraska Cornhuskers football, University o ...

. Andrew Browning was named the Bears' new defensive line coach on February 27, 2019. Browning is the third defensive line coach in three years under Justin Wilcox after Jerry Azzinaro's departure in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Pac-12 media days

Pac-12 media poll

In the 2019 Pac-12 preseason media poll, California was voted to finish in fifth place in the North Division.

Schedule

Three of California first four games were non-conference games, starting on August 31 against

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

. The Golden Bears then played their conference opener against

. Rounding out the non-conference slate was a home game against

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Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

and a road game against

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of the

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(SEC). In

conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

, Cal did not play

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Game summaries

* Home games are in dark blue

UC Davis

At Washington

The game started at 7:30 pm, but was paused at the end of first quarter due to a lightning storm; the pause lasted for approximately two and a half hours. By the time of the restart - 10 pm, there was only approximately 16,000 of the original approximately 60,000 fans left at the venue. Relying on rushing of running backs Christopher Brown (80 yards), and Marcel Dancy (72 yards, 2 touchdowns) and quarterback Chase Garbers (42 yards), Cal won on a last minute field goal by Greg Thomas. This was the Golden Bears second straight win against the Huskies. In the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

home game Cal upset No. 15 Washington 12 to 10.

North Texas

At Ole Miss

Arizona State

In the final drive of the first half, quarterback Chase Garbers was injured, breaking his right collarbone. Gabrers would not be cleared to play again until he started against USC.

At Oregon

Oregon State

At Utah

This defeat was the first shutout of a California team since a 1999 defeat to No. 5 Nebraska. Starting quarterback Chase Garbers and backup Devon Modster were injured for the game.

Washington State

USC

At Stanford

With this victory, Cal ended Stanford's nine-year win streak in the Big Game. The win also ensured the Bears' qualification to a bowl game for the second consecutive year, the first time this has happened in ten years. Likewise, the loss put Stanford at 4–7 for the season, ending its hopes of making its tenth consecutive bowl game.

At UCLA

Vs. Illinois (Redbox Bowl)

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Rankings

Media affiliates

Radio

* KGO 810 AM - Joe Starkey, Mike Pawlawski, Todd McKim, Hal Ramey * KALX 90.7 FM

TV

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* FSN/

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Players drafted into the NFL

References

{{California Golden Bears football navbox

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

California Golden Bears football seasons Redbox Bowl champion seasons

California Golden Bears football The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley, in college football as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. They were previously a member of the Pac-12 Confer ...