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1948 California

10–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Pappy Waldorf, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

California in 1948, game by game: won vs. Santa Clara 41–19; won at Navy 21–7; won vs. Saint Mary’s (CA) 20–0; won vs. Wisconsin 40–14; won vs. Oregon State 42–0; won at Washington 21–0; won at USC 13–7; won vs. UCLA 28–13; won vs. Washington State 44–14; won vs. Stanford 7–6; lost vs. No. 7 Northwestern 14–20+42−6Won 41–19 vs. Santa Clara+22Santa ClaraWon 21–7 at Navy+14NavyWon 20–0 vs. Saint Mary’s (CA)+20Saint Mary’s (C…Won 40–14 vs. Wisconsin+26WisconsinWon 42–0 vs. Oregon State+42Oregon StateWon 21–0 at Washington+21WashingtonWon 13–7 at USC+6USCWon 28–13 vs. UCLA+15UCLAWon 44–14 vs. Washington State+30Washington StateWon 7–6 vs. Stanford+1StanfordLost 14–20 vs. No. 7 Northwestern-6No. 7 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 18vsSanta ClaraW 41–⁠1971%
Sep 25atNavyW 21–⁠759%
Oct 2vsSaint Mary’s (CA)W 20–⁠080%
Oct 9vsWisconsinW 40–⁠1472%
Oct 16vsOregon StateW 42–⁠072%
Oct 23atWashingtonW 21–⁠067%
Oct 30atUSCW 13–⁠750%
Nov 6vsUCLAW 28–⁠1384%
Nov 13vsWashington StateW 44–⁠1483%
Nov 20vsStanfordW 7–⁠686%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7NorthwesternRose BowlL 14–⁠2063%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 20–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Pacific Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1948.

Pacific Coast Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Oregon

Heisman voteJackie Jensen, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanJackie Jensen, FB

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 shared first in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 4
Points
291–⁠100
Coach
Pappy Waldorf
Elo
1677 +120 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.6 No. 12 of 117 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1949

The 1949 draft
Rd 7Jon Baker OGLos Angeles Rams

All-Pacific Coast

6 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Jack SwanerRBCoaches-1; AP-1; UP-1
  • Jackie JensenFBCoaches-1; AP-1; UP-1
  • Bud Van DerenECoaches-1; AP-2; UP-1
  • Jim TurnerOTCoaches-1; AP-1; UP-2
  • Rod FranzOGCoaches-1; AP-1
  • Jon BakerOGAP-2; UP-1

Second team

  • Gene FrassettoOTAP-3; UP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1948 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1948 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon7–⁠09–⁠29
California6–⁠010–⁠14
USC4–⁠26–⁠3–⁠1
Washington State4–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Stanford3–⁠44–⁠6
Oregon State2–⁠3–⁠25–⁠4–⁠3
Washington2–⁠5–⁠12–⁠7–⁠1
UCLA2–⁠63–⁠7
Idaho1–⁠53–⁠6
Montana0–⁠33–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.