1970 California Golden Bears football team

The 1970 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 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh year under head coach Ray Willsey, the Golden Bears compiled a 6–5 record (4–3 in Pac-8, second) and were outscored 272 to 249. Home games were played on campus at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

1970 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Record	6–5 (4–3 Pac-8)
Head coach	Ray Willsey (7th season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium

1970 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Stanford $	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Washington	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
UCLA	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
California	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 15 USC	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Washington State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

At home for the Big Game, Cal upset #11 Stanford 22–14, the Pac-8 champion led by Heisman Trophy winner Jim Plunkett. On New Year's Day, Stanford upset undefeated Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and quarterback Plunkett was the first pick in the 1971 NFL draft.

California's statistical leaders on offense were quarterback Dave Penhall with 1,785 passing yards, Stan Murphy with 603 rushing yards, and Steve Sweeney with 679 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Oregon	Civic Stadium Portland, OR	L 24–31	26,556
September 19	at No. 2 Texas*	Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	L 15–56	61,000
September 26	Indiana*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 56–14	29,857
October 3	at Rice*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 0–28	22,000
October 10	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–28	54,000
October 17	No. 19 UCLA	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry)	L 21–24	42,178
October 24	Washington State	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 45–0	26,101
October 31	at No. 18 USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 13–10	54,750
November 7	at Oregon State	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 10–16	20,202
November 14	San Jose State*	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 35–28	16,841
November 21	No. 11 Stanford	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game)	W 22–14	76,799
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1970 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Ken Adams TE Jim Brady TE John Conley RB 36 Isaac Curtis So QB Steve Curtis RB Bob Darby WR Geoff DeLapp WR Jim Fraser OL Greg Hendren RB Steve Kemnitzer OL Skip Leonard RB Stan Murphy QB Dave Penhall OL Rob Purnell OL Bob Richards OL Steve Sawin RB Smith OL Eric Swanson WR 88 Steve Sweeney So RB Tim Todd Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Joe Acker DL Dennis Acree DB Andy Anderson DB Jerome Carter LB 60 Phil Croyle Sr DL Sam Garamendi DL Tom Grieb LB Tom Hawkins DT 69 Bob Kampa So DL Steve Reece DL Bob Rogers DL Dave Seppi DB Scott Stringer So LB 18 Loren Toews So DL Dick Wagner DL O.Z. White DT 74 Sherman White Jr DB Ray Youngblood	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 2 Randy Wersching So	Head coach Ray Willsey Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt