Let There Be Light
A Brief History of California Golden Bears Football After Steve Mariucci
January 17, 2004
Li Tai Fang
At the end of 2001-2002 football season, the Golden Bears football program was in shambles. The motto of the University, "let there be light," describes everything the football program is not. The demise of the Golden Bears football program started at the conclusion of 1995-1996 season. First-year head coach Steve Mariucci, who took over fired coach Keith Gilbertson, turned around the team and surprisingly led the Golden Bears to the Aloha Bowl. Cal blew the lead against Navy, and Navy was eventually allowed to come back to win the game after a Pat Barnes fumble in the last minute. Even so, it was Bears' first bowl game since 1993, and there was cause for celebration.
However, in the mist of optimism, something developed in San Francisco completely changed the course of the Golden Bears football program. George Seifert, then head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, resigned. Among the reasons for his forced resignation was the absence of a potent offense the 49ers had historically enjoyed under coach Bill Walsh. Soon after, Steve Mariucci, reputed to be an offensive guru, decided an opportunity to coach the likes of Steve Young and Jerry Rice was too good to pass up, so he left Cal to be the head coach of the 49ers, which was only 2 years removed from its last Super Bowl victory.
The Golden Bears, in the mean time, was left without a coach. In the middle of the recruiting season, and in the name of "continuity" of the program, then athletic director John Kassar promoted the defensive coordinator, Tom Holmoe, to the head coach position. It is important to notice, that although Cal had its first bowl season since 1993, it was due to its high-octane offense under Steve Mariucci. The defense, however, was rated the worst in the Pac-10 conference. The only coaching job Tom Holmoe enjoyed any success at all, was being the defensive back coach of the Super Bowl 49ers in the 1994-1995 season. However, it is also important to point out, that the 49ers had Deion Sanders and Eric Davis at cornerback, and Tim McDonald and Merton Hanks at safeties. Needless to say, there was far more superior talent at these positions than superior coaching.
Tom Holmoe, in my opinion, is the worst head coach in California's modern history. His 5-year tenure at the helm of the Golden Bears football, turned a good team into a complete disaster. Tom Holmoe's overall 5-year record at Cal was 15-30, and he left the worst for the last. In 2001-2002 season, Cal suffered the worst record in football in her 115 years of proud history, since year 1882. Cal started the season with a 10-game losing streak, the only time it has happened in her history, and finished the season 1-10. Arizona, carrying a 0-6 Pac-10 record at the time, led the Golden Bears by a score of 38-3 with less than 6 minutes left in the football game, before a string of meaningless garbage touchdowns made the final score 38-24. Tom Holmoe, faced with constant criticism as well as embarrassment, announced his resignation after this game, effective at end of the 2001-2002 season.
Golden Bears football program was in shambles. The once proud football program had no light, no coach, and no future. The beautiful football stadium, California Memorial Stadium, was in bad shape, and so did all the football facilities. The once high-octane offense left by Mariucci, was ranked last in the Pac-10 in each of the last 5 seasons. Furthermore, Cal football was later sanctioned by NCAA with a post-season ban because of violations by two of Holmoe's players, Michael Ainsworth and Linsley Davenport. However, the athletic department had a new athletic director, Steve Gladstone. The future of Cal football depended on Steve Gladstone, and he delivered. December 12, 2001 is a cause to celebrate for all Cal football fans around the world. It is the day Steve Gladstone announced the hiring of Jeff Tedford as the new head coach of Cal football. Forty-year-old Jeff Tedford did not have any head coaching experience. However, what he had, was an array of success as offensive coordinator at both Fresno State and Oregon. The Oregon's offense under Tedford was rated the No. 2 offense in the nation. Jeff Tedford also had a fantastic reputation as a quarterback coach, who has tutored Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, AJ Feeley, and Joey Harrington. Tedford also coached David Carr for one year. Among these 5 college quarterbacks, 4 of them are first round NFL draft picks, and AJ Feeley is also having a productive NFL career.
Jeff Tedford was talented yet inexperienced, and Steve Gladstone has put the Golden Bears football program in his hands. He did not disappoint.
Inheriting a 1-10 team that saw very few newcomers, the expectation of the team was low at the start of 2002-2003 season. Many would consider the season a success if it had just more than one win. Having seen Keith Gilbertson and Tom Holmoe for a decade, most Cal fans have forgotten what a good coach is like. They will soon be reminded by Jeff Tedford. The impact of a great coach is often immediate. In a season that was banned by NCAA for any post-season play, in a season that had nothing to play for, Jeff Tedford's Bears had plenty of excitement. Quarterback Kyle Boller, whose career was an utter disappointment in his first 3 years with Tom Holmoe, saw a complete turnaround in his own career. At end of the season, he added himself to the list of Jeff Tedford's first round NFL pick quarterbacks. The team also saw an unbelievable turnaround. Only a year removed from the 1-10 season, the first play of the season, a 70-yard half-back touchdown pass set the tone for the entire season. It is a season which the Golden Bears beat 3 ranked opponents on the road for the first time ever: Michigan State, Washington, and Arizona State. It is the season the Bears beat Washington for the first time in 26 years. It is also the season the Bears snapped a 7-game losing streak to arch rival Stanford. The Bears finished the season 7-5, her first winning season since 1993.
The 2002 season was a surprise, but rebuilding was expected for the 2003-2004 season, with 26 seniors graduating, including 9 of 11 starters on defense, in addition to star quarterback Kyle Boller in the first round of NFL draft. Expectation was low once again, picked to finish anywhere between 7th to 9th in the Pac-10 by most pre-season publications. They are all wrong. To fill the void at the quarterback position, Jeff Tedford brought in a junior college transfer, Aaron Rodgers, who was never recruiting by any Division-1 football programs. Tedford's magic work on quarterbacks continued. Aaron Rodgers only became the full-time starter in the 5th game of the season, yet his total passing yardage puts him 2nd all-time in Golden Bears history.
After a difficult 1-3 start capped with poor kicking and late game defensive breakdowns, the Bears would put up the most glorious football victory in a very long time. Coming to Berkeley ranked No. 3 in the nation, who eventually became the Rose Bowl champion and also the Co-National Champion, USC was handed their only loss of the season by the Golden Bears. Aaron Rodgers and the offense took advantage of every single USC mistake, and the inspired defense shut down the vented USC offense in the first half, to get a 21-7 jump on powerhouse USC. In a game filled with emotion and momentum shift, USC did not go down easy. On one of the late drives in the first half, with a 21-7 lead and deep in USC territory, Aaron Rodgers scrambled into the USC in-zone, a play that was eventually called back due to holding penalty, and a play that was almost too costly to the Bears. Aaron Rodgers was hit hard after he reached into the in-zone, and was clearly hurt. The very next play, Aaron Rodgers's pass into the
in-zone was intercepted by USC defender, preventing the Bears from going up by 3 touchdowns in the first half. On USC's first drive of the 2nd half, they scored a touchdown to make the score 21-14, and on Bears' first drive on the 2nd half, Aaron Rodgers' pass was intercepted yet again, and returned by USC defender to a touchdown, and the game was suddenly tied. Aaron Rodgers, who was not 100%, took himself out of the game in favor of backup quarterback Reggie Robertson. Reggie Robertson, with the help of coach Jeff Tedford, rose to the occasion. Some misdirection play fooled the USC defenders enough so that Cal was able to get 2 first downs without having to pass the ball by Reggie Robertson, who was most likely nervous, but the 2 first downs gave him and the offense confidence to finish the game. The Bears was able to get close enough for Tyler Fredrickson to score a 51-yard field goal to get the lead back. Not spectacular, but Reggie Robertson and the offense was productive enough to match whatever production put up with USC, and the Bears had a chance to win the game at end of the regulation, but Tyler Fredrickson's potential game winning field goal was blocked, sending the game to the overtime tied at 31-31. In the first overtime period, USC running back Reggie Bush fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line, recovered by Cal, and Cal was in position to win the game with just a field goal, but Tyler Fredrickson's field goal attempt was blocked once again. In the second overtime period, each team scored a touchdown, and the game went to third overtime. USC missed their field goal attempt in third overtime period, and once again, the game was put into Tyler Fredrickson's legs, who just had his previous two attempts blocked. To prevent another blocked kick, the holder moved back one additional yard. Tyler Fredrickson's kick went through the goal posts, and the Bears won 34-31 in 3 OTs. This game will haunt USC for rest of the year, stripping of their chance to win the national championship outright. For Jeff Tedford and the Cal fans, this victory couldn't be any sweeter.
On the year, the Bears won 4 of their 5 last regular season games, including beating arch rival Stanford for the second time in a row, and a complete mauling of Washington with a score of 54-7, a team that has beaten Cal 19 of the past 20 times. With a regular season record of 7-6, the Bears qualified for a Bowl game for the first time since Steve Mariucci's 1995-1996 season, and potentially first bowl win since 1993. The opponent was 8-4 Virginia Tech, who started the season 6-0 with national championship inspirations and ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation. Virginia Tech is an athletic and talented group, who has the ability to beat anyone, as proven in their 37-3 win over Miami. Jeff Tedford's offense, however, simply would not allow the Bears to lose. After being down 21-7, Aaron Rodgers showcased his talent to the whole national audience, leading the team to 5 straight touchdown drives, and had 394 passing yards on the day, with 2 touchdown passes and 2 touchdown runs. With the game tied at 49-49 with about 3 minutes left, poised Rodgers drove the offense in position to kick a game winning field with no time left, and Tyler Fredrickson, who had missed his previous 5 field goal attempts, delivered yet another important kick. The Bears had her first bowl victory since 1993, and finished the season 8-6. It is indeed a season to remember. With most of the starters returning next season including star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and nation's 2nd leading receiver Geoff McArthur, the future looks ever brighter! Let there be light!
P.S. To get the Outlook of Season 2004, click here.
