Ranking the Most Devastating Losses in Cal Football History

Bears defeats in 2007, 1929, 2006, 1990 and other years might rival what happened to Cal against No. 8 Miami

Cal fans cheer during Saturday's gme against Miami / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal has recorded many thrilling football victories over the years, most notably the 1982 win over Stanford that ended with The Play.

However, after Saturday’s heartbreaking 39-38 loss at home to eighth-ranked Miami, we felt it was time to recall other Cal losses that were tough to take.

Therefore, we present our ranking of the 13 most devastating losses in Cal football history, otherwise known as The Unlucky 13.  A tough loss or two that should be included has no doubt been inadvertently overlooked, but here’s our list, counting down from No. 13:

No. 13

2004 -- USC 23, Cal 17

Much like the 1991 close loss to Washington in a battle of top-10 teams, the Bears’ loss to No. 3-ranked USC was more of an “Aw, shucks” defeat than a devastating loss. But it deserves to be on the list.

Aaron Rodgers had been nearly perfect, completing 29-of-31 passes when seventh-ranked Cal got a first down at the USC 9-yard line with 1:47 left, trailing by six. It seemed a Cal victory on the Trpojans’ home field was assured.  But a Rodgers incompletion, a sack and two more incompletion sent Cal to its only regular-season defeat while USC went on to win a national championship.

This was a loss that was more devastating in retrospect.

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No. 12

1929 Rose Bowl (1928 season) – Georgia Tech 8, Cal 7

With the score 0-0, a Georgia Tech fumble was recovered by Cal’s Roy Riegels at about the Yellow Jackets’ 30-yard line, which would have put the Bears in position to score the game’s first points, especially if Riegels had advanced the fumble.  But instead a disoriented Riegels ran 65 yards the wrong way before teammate Benny Lom tackled him at the Cal 1-yard line. Cal tried to punt from its end zone, but it was blocked for a safety, and after each team scored a touchdown, the safety was the difference in an 8-7 loss.

Riegels became an All-American center but he is remembered for that play.

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No. 11

1979 – UCLA 28, Cal 27

Cal was 4-2 and seemed headed for a fifth win when it held a 27-7 halftime lead on UCLA, which was 2-4 and riding a three-game losing streak.  But the Bruins rallied behind inexperienced redshirt freshman quarterback Bernard Quarles, who entered the game in the second quarter.  Quarles completed only 15 passes with three interceptions in his one and only season at UCLA before transferring to Hawaii, but eight of those completions came against Cal that day.  

After UCLA took the lead with five minutes left, Cal fumbled on its final two possessions.

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No. 10

1974 – Stanford 22, Cal 20

Big Game losses always seem more heartbreaking than other defeats, and this one was difficult to swallow because Cal was 7-2-1,  ranked 19th, and tied with Stanford for second place in the Pac-8.

The Bears made an impressive comeback to take 20-19 lead with 26 seconds left, only on lose on Mike Langford’s 50-yard field goal on the last play. Langford was a straight-on kicker at a time when 50-yard field goals were extremely rare, but this one sent Cal to a devastating defeat.

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No. 9

2014 – Arizona 49, Cal 45

Cal was 2-0 and Arizona was 3-0 when they met on the Wildcats' home field, and the Bears seemed to have a third victory in hand, leading 28-6 at halftime and 31-13 entering the fourth quarter.

But Arizona scored 36 points in the fourth quarter, the winning touchdown coming on a 47-yard Hail Mary pass from Anu Solomon to Austin Hill amid a crowd of Cal defenders on the game’s final play.

September 20, 2014: Arizona completes a 47-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the game to beat California 49-45.
pic.twitter.com/DkmIey7qUL

— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) September 21, 2024

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No. 8

1949 Rose Bowl (1948 season) – Northwestern 20, Cal 14

Cal was 10-0 under Pappy Waldorf and ranked No. 4 when it faced seventh-ranked Northwestern, which was 7-2.  This one rankled Cal folks because officials’ rulings on two apparent Northwestern fumbles – one which occurred at the goal-line and was recovered by Cal in the end zone but ruled a Northwestern touchdown, and the other which occurred when a Wildcats ballcarrier was in the air but was ruled down because the whistle had blown – may have ruined the Bears’ chance to win.

"I don't remember a lot, but I remember we got screwed," Dick Erickson, the Bears quarterback that day, told SF Gate.

Cal lost close games in each of the next two Rose Bowls too, but this one seemed the most annoying.

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No. 7

2006 – Tennessee 35, Cal 18

Cal, ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll, had high hopes heading into its season opener against No. 23 Tennessee on the Vols’ home field.  But the Bears got pummeled and the final score was not indicative of the pounding Cal took.  Jeff Tedford’s Cal squad trailed 35-0 late in the third quarter before substitutes on both sides helped make the final score a little more presentable, but this was a demoralizing butt-kicking in SEC country.

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No. 6

1993 – Washington 24, Cal 23

When 13th-ranked Washington faced a fourth-and-9 situation from its own 25-yard line with 3:06 left in the game, 16th-ranked Cal held a 23-10 lead and seemed destined to achieve its first 6-0 start in 43 years.

But suddenly Washington quarterback Damon Huard got hot, converting the first down, scoring with 2:06 left, recovering the onside kick and scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 1:03 to play.

On its ensuring possession Cal got to the Washington 47-yard line with reliable kicker Doug Brien warming up on the sideline, but the Bears got no further.

Washington won the game despite committing seven turnovers. Yes, seven!

What is interesting is that Cal, coached by Keith Gilbertson, had rallied from a 30-point deficit to beat 15th-ranked Oregon the week before.

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No. 5

1996 – Washington State 21, Cal 18

In its first and only season under Steve Mariucci Cal was a surprising 5-0 and ranked 19th when it traveled to Pullman to face Washington State, which was 4-2.

It appeared Cal would pull off a comeback win to improve to 6-0 for the first time in 46 years when it trailed 21-16 but had a first down at the Washington State 1-yard line with 1:16 left.  On that first-down play, Bears quarterback Pat Barnes turned to hand the ball off to a running back when the ball slipped out of his hands. Barnes pounced on the loose ball at the 7-yard line, but the ball squirted away and Washington State recovered, preserving the Cougars’ victory and sending Cal to its first loss.

The sight of Barnes on the Cal sidelines was almost too much to bear.

That started  a run of six losses in the Bears’ final seven games.

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No. 4

1990 – Stanford 27, Cal 25

Cal, which was 6-3-1, was assured of its first winning season in eight years, and when Cal’s John Hardy knocked down a Stanford pass on a two-point conversion attempt with 12 seconds left Cal held a 25-24 lead. 

Thinking the game was over Cal fans stormed the field, which resulted in a 15-yard penalty, letting Stanford kick off from the 50-yard line.  The onside kick was recovered by Stanford at the 37-yard line with 10 seconds left, and a roughing-the-passer call on Cal on Jason Palumbis’ incompletion with five seconds left gave John Hopkins a chance to win the game with a 39-yard field goal. He made it on the game’s final play and somehow Cal had lost.

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No. 3

2007 – Oregon State 31, Cal 28

No. 1-ranked LSU had lost earlier in the day and if second-ranked, 5-0 Cal could beat a 3-3 Oregon State team on the Bears’ home field Cal would become the No. 1 team in the country.

With Cal trailing by three points, redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Riley, making his first collegiate start in place of injured Nate Longshore, led an impressive late-game drive that took Cal to the Oregon State 12-yard line with 14 seconds left.  Cal had no timeouts, so Riley needed to complete a pass in the end zone on the next play or throw the ball away so Cal could attempt a short game-tying field goal.

But after he faded back to pass, Riley decided to scramble. He got stopped at the 9-yard line, then, for some reason, carried the ball to the Cal sideline as he rushed off the field.  As a result Cal had no ball to snap as it tried to get off a hurried field-goal attempt as time ran out.

That was the start of six losses in the next seven games.

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No. 2

2006 – Arizona 24, Cal 20

Cal was 8-1 and ranked No. 8, with a berth in the national championship game or the Rose Bowl within reach, when it went on the road late in the season to face Arizona, which was 4-5.

Things were rolling along as expected for the Bears when they took a 17-3 lead at halftime.  But Arizona scored the first 21 points of the second half to take a 24-17 lead.  Cal looked like it was about to tie the score when Nate Longshore completed a 45-yard pass to Lavelle Hawkins that gave the Bears a first down at the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter.  But Cal lost 2 yards on three plays and kicked a short field goal to close the gap to 24-20.

On its final possession, Cal drove from its own 10-yard line to the Arizona 27-yard line with 1:38 left before Longshore threw an interception to end Cal’s eight-game winning streak.

The game was pure torture for Cal fans. Cal intercepted two passes that were negated by penalties, had one touchdown negated by a penalty and had another touchdown overturned on a video review.

Cal lost to USC the following week but still tied the Trojans for the Pac-10 title. That was the last time the Bears won or shared a conference crown.

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No. 1

2024 – Miami 39, Cal 38

Considering this game was played before a rare sellout crowd at Cal. And considering Cal was unranked. And considering Miami was ranked No. 8. And considering Cal had a 35-10 lead midway in the third quarter. And considering a controversial officiating non-call late in the game had an impact on the outcome. And considering the hoopla that had been stirred up by Calgorithm and having ESPN’s College GameDay on the Cal campus before a raucous Golden Bears crowd. And considering that it occurred just a few days ago.

Considering all that, the loss to the Hurricanes ranks as the Bears’ most devastating loss.

Of course, the fact that it is still fresh in every Cal fan's mind probably makes it more heartbreaking than tough losses of bygone years.

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