| 2015 California Golden Bears football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Armed Forces Bowl champion | |
Armed Forces Bowl, W 55–36 vs. Air Force | |
| Conference | Pac-12 Conference |
| North Division | |
| Record | 8–5 (4–5 Pac-12) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Tony Franklin (3rd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Bear raid |
| Defensive coordinator | Art Kaufman (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | California Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Stanford x$ | 8 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Oregon | 7 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 4 | – | 5 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 4 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC xy | 6 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Utah x | 6 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 5 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 4 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 3 | – | 6 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 1 | – | 8 | 4 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Stanford 41, USC 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2015 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears were led by third-year head coach Sonny Dykes and played their home games at Memorial Stadium.
At the beginning of the season, Cal jumped out to a 5–0 start, their best since 2007.[1] In Week 3, the Bears defeated Texas 45–44 in Austin, marking the program's first-ever victory over the Longhorns.[2] The following week, Cal beat Washington 30–24, earning their first victory in Seattle since 2005 and snapping a six-game losing streak to the Huskies.[3] Cal then went on to lose five of its next six games, including losses to rivals UCLA, USC, and Oregon, and a 13-point loss to arch-rival Stanford for their sixth consecutive Big Game defeat.[4] The Golden Bears rebounded with a 54–24 win over last-place Oregon State, in which Cal gained a school-record 760 yards while becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011.[5] With a 48–46 win over Arizona State on Senior Day, Cal finished the regular season with a 7–5 record, clinching their first winning season since 2011.[6] They finished the year 8–5 including a 55–36 victory over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.[7] Nevertheless, at 4–5 Cal finished with a losing Pac-12 the record for the third consecutive season.
The 2015 season was the last at Cal for three-year starting quarterback Jared Goff, who entered the program at the same time as Dykes and set 26 team records during his time in Berkeley. Following the Armed Forces Bowl, Goff declared for the 2016 NFL draft.[8] He was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Rams, and went on to lead the Rams to Super Bowl LIII.
Following the season, Sonny Dykes' contract was extended until 2019, owing to the team's athletic and academic improvements during his tenure.[9]
- ^ Kroichick, Ron (October 3, 2015). "Cal delivers perfect comeback against Washington State". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Letourneau, Connor (September 19, 2015). "Cal holds on for wild win at Texas". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Letourneau, Connor (September 26, 2015). "Cal holds on for 30–24 win at Washington". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "California vs. Stanford – Game Summary – November 21, 2015 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Letourneau, Connor (November 15, 2015). "Cal bowl eligible after breaking out in win over Oregon State". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Letourneau, Connor (November 29, 2015). "Cal tops Arizona State with field goal on final play". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "Football". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
- ^ Letourneau, Connor (December 31, 2015). "Cal's Jared Goff to declare for NFL draft". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Matier, Phil; Ross, Andy (October 16, 2017). "Here's the real reason Cal fired Sonny Dykes". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.