The 1982 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season .[ 1] [ 2] For the Golden Bears this season is historically known for its last game – the 85th Big Game against Stanford on November 20, 1982. Specifically – The Play . A last-second kickoff return on which Cal was able to score a touchdown to win the game. Because of the context of the rivalry, the timing of the play and the unusual multi-lateral way that it occurred, it is recognized as one of the most memorable plays in college football history and among the most memorable in American sports.
Date Opponent Site TV Result Attendance Source September 11 at Colorado * W 31–1733,835 [ 3]
September 18 San Diego State * W 28–035,000 [ 4]
September 25 No. 14 Arizona State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA L 0–1535,673 [ 5]
October 2 San Jose State * California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 26–737,136 [ 6]
October 9 at No. 1 Washington ABC L 7–5056,500 [ 7]
October 16 Oregon California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 10–731,736 [ 8]
October 23 No. 11 UCLA California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (rivalry ) L 31–4751,600 [ 9]
October 30 at Oregon State W 28–1425,000 [ 10]
November 6 at No. 16 USC L 0–4254,670 [ 11]
November 13 Washington State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 34–1434,060 [ 12]
November 20 Stanford California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA (Big Game ) USA W 25–20 75,662 [ 13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 14]
1982 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Not listed: Mariet Ford, Richard Rodgers
Stanford at California85th Big Game
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinal
0
0 14 6
20
• Golden Bears
0
10 0 15
25
Scoring summary 2 9:22 CAL Joe Cooper 31-yard field goal Cal 3–0
2 2:42 CAL Mariet Ford 29-yard pass from Gale Gilbert (Joe Cooper kick) Cal 10–0
3 5:29 STAN Vincent White 2-yard pass from John Elway (Mark Harmon kick) Cal 10–7
3 1:42 STAN Vincent White 43-yard pass from John Elway (Mark Harmon kick) Stanford 14–10
4 13:28 CAL Joe Cooper 31-yard field goal Stanford 14–13
4 11:24 CAL Wes Howell 32 yard pass from Gale Gilbert (pass failed) Cal 19–14
4 5:32 STAN Mark Harmon 22-yard field goal Cal 19–17
4 0:04 STAN Mark Harmon 35-yard field goal Stanford 20–19
4 0:00 CAL Kevin Moen 25-yard kickoff return after numerous laterals (conversion not attempted) Cal 25–20
[ 15] [ 16]
^ "1982 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF) . CalBears.com . Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 166. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
^ "Colorado vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs San Diego State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs Arizona State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs San Jose State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "Washington vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs Oregon Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs UCLA Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "Oregon State vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs USC Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs Washington State Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ "California vs Stanford Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF) . NCAA Football Statistics . NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018 .
^ 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF) . Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 166. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.
^ "Cal defeats Stanford on final play, 25-20" . The San Bernardino Sun via newspapers.com . November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
^ "Weird, last-second TD leads Cal over Stanford" . Santa Cruz Sentinel via newspapers.com . November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
^ "1983 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.