The 2007 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California and were coached by Jeff Tedford.
California began the 2007 season ranked 12th in both the AP/USA Today Polls. In a nationally televised game on September 1, the Golden Bears defeated Tennessee 45–31. The Bears rose in the polls following subsequent victories against Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, and Arizona. California's defeat of then No. 11 Oregon in Eugene 31–24, combined with a series of losses from Oklahoma, Florida, and West Virginia, allowed the Bears to break into the top five. California had a bye the following week, but as a result of Stanford's surprise upset of then No. 2 USC on October 6, the Bears were ranked No. 2 in the country in the AP, Coaches, and Harris polls behind No. 1 LSU. This was the highest the team had been ranked since 1951.
With the Kentucky upset of LSU on October 13, the Bears had a shot at being the number one team in the nation along with Ohio State, but an upset loss to unranked Oregon State that same night dashed any hopes of a top ranking. The loss marked the beginning of a reversal in the second half of the season which saw the Bears winning only one game out of the next six and dropping out of the Top 25 entirely. The Bears lost to Washington for the first time in five years and to Stanford on the 25th anniversary of The Play, which resulted in the Cardinal regaining The Stanford Axe for the first time in six years under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh. California accepted an invitation to the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force on December 31, where post a 42–36 victory to end the season 7–6, finished in 7th place in the Pac-10, and was unranked for the first time since 2003. Before the season even ended, Tedford declared there would be open competition for all positions on the team in 2008 and reevaluate every aspect of California's football program. Tedford made several coaching changes, most notably relinquishing offensive coordinator duties and hiring Frank Cignetti to play call and take over quarterback coaching duties.
At the end of the season, all of California's offensive stars at their skill position DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins, Robert Jordan, Justin Forsett and Craig Stevens graduated or declared for the NFL draft.
Preseason
At the end of the 2006 season, offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar resigned to accept the coaching position of offensive coordinator at Minnesota. Mike Dunbar's first and only season at Cal was a success as Cal led the Pac-10 and ranked 11th in the nation in scoring with 32.8 points per game. He will be replaced by Cal assistant head coach and offensive line coach Jim Michalczik. Jim Michalczik joined the Cal staff upon Tedford's arrival in 2002 and was integral in the development of one of the most potent offenses in the nation. Cal is one of just five teams to rank in the top 25 in scoring in each of the last five years.
Cal RB Marshawn Lynch decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2007 NFL draft at the end of the 2006 season. He was selected as the 12th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills. Cal DT Brandon Mebane (Seattle Seahawks, third round, No. 22), CB Daymeion Hughes (Indianapolis Colts, third round, No. 32), and ILB Desmond Bishop (Green Bay Packers, sixth round, No. 18) were also drafted. This marks the first time since 1996 that California has had three players taken in the first three rounds of the draft.
In the pre-season, returning veteran running back Justin Forsett was named one of the top-10 impact seniors for 2007. DeSean Jackson was a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. Expectations for the 2007 were high as Coach Tedford declared the team to be "strongest and fastest" team he had coached at California despite losing several high defensive players to the NFL and graduation.
Schedule The schedule was ranked as the sixth-toughest home schedule.
Rankings
Game summaries
Tennessee
The Vols traveled to Berkeley for the return trip in a home-and-home series with the California Golden Bears. The game was viewed by a national audience on ABC and was the only top 25 match up in the opening week. After Cal's loss to Tennessee the previous year, some observers and college football personalities such as LSU coach Les Miles had questioned the strength of the Pac-10. During the game, a plane with the banner "SEC rules, Pac-10 drools" flew overhead; however, during the fourth quarter, as Tennessee fans were somberly exiting Memorial Stadium in defeat, Cal fans bid them adieu with a loud and continuous chant of "Pac-10 football! Pac-10 football! Pac-10 football!" in response to Tennessee's "SEC! SEC!" chants after the previous year's victory. Cal's victory on a national stage in the only Pac-10/SEC match up helped further legitimize the strength of the Pac-10 and made Cal a contender for the national title at the time.
Jeff Tedford commented on the "revenge factor" before the game: It's not really revenge, I think, if anything, it's redemption. But it's more about us, it's not so much about Tennessee. We didn't play very well last year when we went there and probably got caught a little too much focusing on them and the environment and that type of thing. So at practice this year, we're really just focusing on ourselves if we go out and play to our potential then we'll have a chance to be successful. Last year we didn't come close to our potential so we had no chance. Of course it's a big game like it was last year, two ranked teams, so there's a lot of people watching it to see what's going on. It wasn't that we lost the game last year, I think it was the way we lost the game last year that was the devastating part of it, that hung with us so long.
California had stressed "redemption" in this game, and ultimately came out the victors.
Tennessee gave up the opening points when quarterback Erik Ainge was hit while trying to release a pass and it flew backwards. California's Worrell Williams recovered the fumble and returned it 45 yards for the score. Cal WR DeSean Jackson also scored at touchdown on a 77-yard punt return. Cal QB Nate Longshore was 19-of-28 for 240 yards, 2 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown. Cal running back Justin Forsett rushed for 156 yards, a touchdown, and caught a screen pass that turned into a 49-yard gain. Cal out rushed Tennessee 230 to 111 and would never trail.
QB Erik Ainge played game despite suffering a broken pinky in practice. He was 32-of-47 for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Colorado State
California came in as 14-point favorites and came out struggling against Colorado State. Colorado State came out with a 7–0 lead early, as Cal's defense failed to stop the run. California answered with a huge play by DeSean Jackson, scoring on a 78-yard run play, and then scored on a Justin Forsett goal-line touchdown. The Rams scored another touchdown, as the Golden Bears added a field goal, to go into halftime with a 17–14 lead.
The second half started off with only a field goal by Cal scored in the third quarter. The Bears came alive in the 4th quarter and scored two touchdowns to all but seal the victory. With 5 minutes to go and holding a lead over the Rams, California replaced their defensive starters with backups. The backup secondary allowed two touchdowns within a minute, with Cal leading 34–28 with 3:00 left in regulation. California ran out the clock with their last possession, and left Sonny Lubick Field with the victory.
Longshore completed 19 of 29 passes for 146 yards. Forsett ran for 59 yards on 13 carries before leaving in the third quarter with a back stinger. Back up running back James Montgomery got his first collegiate carry and touchdown. Montgomery had a 12-yard run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to allow Cal to run the clock. Freshman tailback Jahvid Best had a 34-yard touchdown run that provided the final margin needed for victory. Cal allowed 301 yards passing.
Louisiana Tech
The game started off quickly with a Lavelle Hawkins kickoff return that went ninety yards and spotted California an early lead. Hawkins lead Cal's receiving core with 87 yards returning.
Justin Forsett rushed for a total of 152 yards on twenty-three carries and three touchdowns, one of which was a score in the second quarter that gave Cal a 14–0 lead. The Bulldogs' Zac Champion threw a two-yard pass to Joe Anderson to get Louisiana Tech on the board, but kicker Danny Horwedel missed the PAT. The Bears would score twice again in the second quarter, giving Cal a 28–6 halftime advantage.
Cal quarterback Nate Longshore threw for 230 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while the Bulldogs' Zac Champion threw for 149 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. One of Champion's touchdowns came in the third, a five-yard strike to Patrick Jackson, but Horwedel would again miss the PAT.
True freshman Jahvid Best would later on score a touchdown off of a Longshore pass, giving Cal the 35–12 lead. DeSean Jackson only had five catches for twenty-eight yards, due to a dislocated thumb he suffered during the game against Tennessee. Forsett would score once more in the fourth quarter, making the final score 42–12.
Arizona
Justin Forsett rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns as Cal settled another year-old score with a 45–27 victory over Arizona Wildcats.
Three weeks after the Bears avenged last year's season-opening loss to Tennessee, they flattened the Wildcats by taking a 25-point lead in the first 13 minutes. However, the Bears were sloppy after their fast start, committing 14 penalties for 121 yards.
Cal defensive end Tyson Alualu scored on a fumble recovery during the first-quarter blitz, and the Bears defense fared well against Arizona's spread attack despite missing three injured starters – linebacker Zack Follett and defensive linemen Matt Malele and Rulon Davis.
DeSean Jackson had another quiet game for Cal with three catches for 39 yards, but he still helped. Arizona pooched a 19-yard punt away from Jackson after its opening drive, and Cal quickly drove for its first score when Forsett broke four tackles on a 9-yard TD run.
Hawkins then caught an 18-yard TD pass to cap a 77-yard drive that lasted 34 seconds, and Best rushed for a score on Cal's next drive as the Bears broke Arizona tackles on seemingly every play. Safety Thomas DeCoud blitzed Tuitama and forced the fumble Alualu recovered in the end zone with 2:12 left in the first quarter, putting the Bears up 28–3. Arizona steadily climbed back in the second half, with Tuitama scoring on a 1-yard run and Thomas catching a 4-yard TD pass early in the fourth.
Forsett, remembering last year's loss, lobbied to get back in the game after Arizona scored a touchdown to cut the lead down to eleven. He finished with a flourish: nine carries for 53 yards and a score on Cal's final two possessions.
Jahvid Best and James Montgomery also made scoring runs for the Golden Bears, whose 2006 loss in Tucson denied them an outright Pac-10 championship and a probable trip to Cal's first Rose Bowl in nearly a half-century.
Willie Tuitama set school records for pass attempts and completions, going 42-of-61 for 309 yards, but Arizona couldn't escape its huge early hole despite a strong second half. Mike Thomas had a career-high 12 catches, second-most in school history, for 105 yards and a score.
Though Arizona's final drive ended on downs with 3:46 left, the Wildcats seemed encouraged by their effort – after the first quarter.
The win marked Cal's 10th straight win at Memorial Stadium.
Oregon
The California Golden Bears traveled to Eugene, Oregon to face the Ducks in Autzen Stadium. Both teams were undefeated leading into the game of two Pac-10 heavyweights.