1972 California Golden Bears football team

1972 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	3–8 (3–4 Pac-8)
Head coach	Mike White (1st season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1971 1973  →

1972 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 USC $	7	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 15 UCLA	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 19 Washington State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1972 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 1972 NCAA University Division football season. In their first year under head coach Mike White, the Golden Bears compiled a 3–8 record (3–4 in Pac-8, fifth) and were outscored 314 to 228. ^{[1] [2]} Home games were played on campus at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

California's statistical leaders on offense were sophomore quarterback Steve Bartkowski with 944 passing yards, Steve Kemnitzer with 434 rushing yards, and Steve Sweeney with 785 receiving yards. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9		at No. 2 Colorado *	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 10–20	50,751
September 16		Washington State	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 37–23	30,794
September 23	1:35 p.m.	San Jose State *	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 10–17	28,000–28,691	[4]
September 30	1:30 p.m.	at Missouri *	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 27–34	41,000
October 7	1:31 p.m.	No. 3 Ohio State *	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 18–35	45,000
October 14	1:31 p.m.	at No. 1 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 14–42	56,488
October 21	1:30 p.m.	No. 11 UCLA	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	L 13–49	30,563
October 28		at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 21–35	56,300
November 4	1:32 p.m.	Oregon	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 31–12	23,565	[5] [6]
November 11	1:30 p.m.	at Oregon State	Civic Stadium Portland, OR	L 23–26	16,624
November 18	1:33 p.m.	Stanford	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)	W 24–21	68,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^{[7] [8]}

Game summaries

Stanford

See also: 1972 Stanford Cardinals football team and Big Game (American football)

Stanford Cardinals at California Golden Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Stanford	7	7	0	7	21
California	0	3	8	13	24

at California Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California

• Date: November 18, 1972
• Game attendance: 68,000
• Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Nov 19.

Game information

First quarter STAN – Eric Cross 24-yard pass from Mike Boryla (Steve Murray kick). Stanford 7–0. Drive: Second quarter CAL – Ray Wersching 29-yard field goal. Stanford 7–3. Drive: STAN – Gordon Riegel 71-yard interception return (Steve Murray kick). Stanford 14–3. Third quarter CAL – Syl Youngblood 4-yard run (pass good). Stanford 14–11. Drive: Fourth quarter CAL – Syl Youngblood 6-yard run (Ray Wersching kick). Cal 18–14. Drive: STAN – Reggie Sanderson 3-yard run (Rod Garcia kick), 3:42. Stanford 21–18. Drive: CAL – Steve Sweeney 7-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo, 0:00. Cal 24–21. Drive: 64 yards. Top rushers CAL – Steve Kemnitzer – 15 rushes, 60 yards

• 75th meeting between the schools
• Steve Sweeney set single season conference record for receiving touchdowns, tied the single season school record and set the school career record for receptions. ^[9]

Roster

1972 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Steve Bartkowski So WR Dave Bateman WR Sammy Burns QB Jay Cruze QB 15 Vince Ferragamo Fr WR Mike Hodgins OL Randy Howard OL Scott Hudgins RB Rick Jones RB Steve Kemnitzer OL Mark Klink OL Steve Lawrence OL Kem Lawyer RB Fred Leathers OL Kevin O'Dorisio TE Steve Oliver TE Randy Schmidt OL Ted Seifert WR Mike Shaughnessy RB J.D. Smith WR Steve Sweeney Sr OL Ray Volker RB Blane Warhurst RB Syl Youngblood	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Bill Armstrong DB Robert Curry DB Clarence Duren DL Dave Frey LB Paul Giroday DL Dave Gleason DB Paul James LB Bill Johnson DB Jerry Jones DB Dave Lawson DT 69 Bob Kampa Sr DL Chris Keyser DE 95 Jeff Sevy So LB Bob Smith DB Scott Stringer Sr DT 90 Bob Swenson So LB 18 Loren Toews Sr DL Fred Weber DL Steve Wendt	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 5 Ray Wersching Sr	Head coach Mike White Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1972 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. "1972 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
4. Doyle, Kevin (September 25, 1972). "Spartans pull a switch—or two—on Bears". Palo Alto Times . Palo Alto, California. p. 24. Retrieved May 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
5. Newnham, Blaine (November 5, 1972). "Bears bury Ducks in the mud". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1D.
6. "Cal romps". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 5, 1972. p. 19.
7. "1972-73 California Golden Bears; Schedule/Results". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
8. 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF). Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.
9. "Bears upend Stanford with Sweeney as hero." Eugene Register-Guard. 1972 Nov 19. Retrieved 28-Mar-20.