1997 California Golden Bears football team

American college football season

1997 California Golden Bears football

Conference	Pacific-10
Record	3–8 (1–7 Pac-10)
Head coach	Tom Holmoe (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Doug Cosbie (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Lyle Setencich (1st season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 9 Washington State +	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 5 UCLA +	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 14 Arizona State	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 18 Washington	5	–	3	8	–	4
Arizona	4	–	4	7	–	5
USC	4	–	4	6	–	5
Oregon	3	–	5	7	–	5
Stanford	3	–	5	5	–	6
California	1	–	7	3	–	8
Oregon State	0	–	8	3	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Tom Holmoe, the Golden Bears compiled a 3–8 record (1–7 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in ninth place in the Pac-10, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined score of 339 to 295.^[1]^[2] Home games were played at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

The team's statistical leaders included Justin Vedder with 2,718 passing yards, Tarik Smith with 636 rushing yards, and Bobby Shaw with 1,093 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	12:30 p.m.	at Houston*	Astrodome Houston, TX	KPIX	W 35–3	37,652
September 20	3:30 p.m.	Oklahoma*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	FSN	W 40–36	48,260
September 27	4:00 p.m.	USC	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ABC	L 17–27	54,000
October 4	5:00 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA	SCBA	L 34–41	24,812	^[4]
October 11	12:30 p.m.	No. 10 Washington	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA		L 3–30	48,000
October 18	2:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Washington State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA		L 37–63	35,759
October 25	3:30 p.m.	at No. 13 UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (rivalry)		L 17–35	52,858
November 1	12:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 33–14	32,000
November 8	12:30 p.m.	No. 15 Arizona State	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	FSN	L 21–28	33,000
November 15	7:00 p.m.	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	FSN	L 38–41 ^2OT	37,111
November 22	12:30 p.m.	at Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)	ABC	L 20–21	85,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

Roster

LB Matt Beck
Jerry DeLoach (defense)
WR Dameane Douglas
Chidi Iwuoma (Fr, defense)
Deltha O'Neal
Bruce Pierre (offense)
Kato Serwanga (defense)
WR Bobby Shaw
Marquise Smith (defense)
Brian Surgener (offense)
QB Justin Vedder
Jacob Waasdorp (Fr, defense)

Season summary

Arizona

Dameane Douglas 12 rec, 143 yds

At Stanford

California Golden Bears (3–8) at Stanford Cardinal (4–6)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
California	0	10	0	10	20
Stanford	7	14	0	0	21

at Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California

Date: November 22
Game attendance: 85,000
TV: ABC
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

STAN – Corey Hill 41-yard interception return (Kevin Miller kick), 2:32. Stanford 7–0.

Second quarter

STAN – Anthony Bookman 13 yard run (kick failed), 9:34. Stanford 13–0. Drive:
CAL – Tarik Smith 19-yard run (Tim Wolleck kick), 7:58. Stanford 13–7. Drive: 6 plays, 74 yards.
STAN – Troy Walters 36-yard pass from Chad Hutchinson (pass good), 4:02. Stanford 21–7. Drive:
CAL – Ignacio Brache 46-yard field goal, 0:00. Stanford 21–10. Drive:

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

CAL – Bobby Shaw 12-yard pass from Justin Vedder (pass good), 4:46. Stanford 21–18. Drive: 11 plays, 77 yards.
CAL – Safety, 0:19. Stanford 21–20.

Top passers

CAL –
STAN –

Top rushers

CAL –
STAN –

Top receivers

CAL – Dameane Douglas – 11 receptions, 143 yards
STAN –

100th meeting

References

^ "1997 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. 166. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^ "1997 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
^ "La. Tech's air game strikes down Cal". The San Francisco Examiner. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e California Golden Bears football
Venues	California Field (1904–1923) California Memorial Stadium (1923–2010, 2012–present) Oracle Park (2011)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Stanford: Big Game (Stanford Axe) UCLA
Culture & lore	Oski "Fight for California" "Big C" History Marching band Tightwad Hill The Play
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold