The Cal 100: No. 51 -- Jared Goff

Goff holds numerous Cal records and has been named to three Pro Bowls

We count down the top 100 individuals associated with Cal athletics, based on their impact in sports or in the world at large – a wide-open category. See if you agree.

No. 51: Jared Goff

Cal Sports Connection: Goff was Cal's starting quarterback all three of his seasons in Berkeley.

Claim to Fame: He was a first-team all-Pac-12 selection in 2015, set two Pac-12 records, holds numerous Cal passing marks, was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft, has been named to three Pro Bowls and re-emerged as a star in 2022.

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A series of high peaks and deep valleys – that describes Jared Goff’s football career, which is still evolving at age 28.

--He went from being pulled in the first quarter of a game as a Cal freshman to setting Pac-12 single-season records for touchdown passes and passing yards two years later and being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

--He went from being a prime NFL MVP contender 11 games into the 2018 season to delivering a clunker performance in the Super Bowl to end that season.

--He went from being the Rams’ savior to being a scapegoat who was unloaded in a lopsided trade.

--He went from being the Lions temporary quarterback who figured to be gone as soon as an adequate replacement could be found to being the reason the Lions are given a shot to land their first playoff berth in seven years in 2023.

Goff’s story is best told as a chronological narrative. Hence:

He was recruited to Cal by Jeff Tedford, who was fired before Goff arrived and replaced by Sonny Dykes. Nonetheless, Goff became the first true freshman ever to start a season opener for Cal.

It was in Goff’s fourth game, his first on the road, that disaster struck. Amid a downpour and strong winds in Eugene, Oregon, Goff fumbled twice and went 3-for-7 for just 11 yards before being replaced in the first quarter.

Nonetheless he became a star two years later as a junior, leading Cal to an 8-5 record and a bowl-game victory over Air Force, when Goff went 25-for-37 for 467 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in his final college game.

In that 2015 season, Goff set Pac-12 records for touchdown passes (43) in a season and passing yards (4,719) in a season (both since broken) and was named the co-first-team all-conference quarterback.

Though he did not return for his senior season, Goff still holds a slew of Cal records achieved in three seasons. Here are just a few:

Career passing yards – 12,200 (more than 4,000 yards more than any other Cal quarterback in history)

Career touchdown passes – 96 (28 more than anyone else)

Season passing yards – 4,719 (2015)

Season touchdown passes – 43 (2015)

Game passing yards – 542 (vs. Arizona State in 2015)

Career lowest percentage of passes intercepted (1.91%)

Season lowest percentage of passes intercepted (1.37% in 2015)

Most consecutive passes without an interception – 185 (2015)

Of course, playing in Dykes' pass-happy spread offense had a lot to do with these records, but there is also this:

Goff is second in Cal history in career passer rating – 144.0 (behind only Aaron Rodgers)

Goff is second in Cal history in single-season passer rating – 161.3 (2015, behind only Dave Barr and ahead of Aaron Rodgers)

Goff became the second Cal quarterback to be the first overall draft pick when he was taken No. 1 by the Rams in the 2016 NFL Draft. (Steve Bartkowski was No. 1 in 1975.)

When Sean McVay became the Rams head coach in Goff’s second season, he became a star, being named to the Pro Bowl as the Rams went 11-4 in his 15 starts in 2017.

Goff’s ascent continued in 2018, and after he outplayed Patrick Mahomes in the Rams’ 54-51, Monday night victory over Kansas City in the 11th game, Goff, Mahomes and Drew Brees were in a virtual dead heat atop the MVP race, according to betting sites. In that win over the Chiefs, Goff went 31-for-49 for 413 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and he threw a game-winning, 40-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining to help the Rams improve to 10-1.

Was the #Rams 54-51 ‘MNF’ victory over the #Chiefs in 2018 the greatest regular season game of all time in #NFL history? pic.twitter.com/lC6wSeDtT3

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 26, 2023

Goff could not maintain the pace, and his poor showing in the Super Bowl, when he completed just half his passes for 229 yards, no TDs and one interception while being sacked four times in a 13-3 loss to the Patriots, made him the target of criticism. He did not receive a single vote in the MVP polling, with Mahomes winning.

Things got worse in 2019. Goff was demoted to second string in the postseason and eventually traded to Detroit, the Rams sending the Lions two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick along with Goff to get Matthew Stafford in return. Goff was essentially unloaded.

Goff figured to be a place-holder as Detroit’s quarterback until the Lions could find a long-term replacement. But Goff played well at the end of the 2021 season, then excelled in 2022. After the Lions started the 2022 season 1-6, they rallied to go 8-2 over the final 10 games and nearly got to the postseason. Goff had 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions over his final nine games, was selected to the Pro Bowl for a third time and ended the season having thrown 324 passes without an interception, a Lions franchise record.

He enters the 2023 season with the fifth-longest streak of passes without an interception in NFL history. He is just eight passes shy of Derek Carr’s streak of 332 interception-less passes, while Tom Brady holds the second- and third-longest streaks at 358 and 399 throws.

The record-holder for passes without a pick is former Cal star Aaron Rodgers, who threw 402 passes without an interception.

That’s a pretty impressive group to be part of, and Goff’s story continues in 2023.

The Cal 100: No. 52 -- Dave Maggard

Cover photo Jared Goff by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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