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- The 2009 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) competition during the 2009 season. The Golden Bears were led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Tedford. California hosted and beat Maryland to begin the season on September 5, 2009. It continued with victories over Eastern Washington, and at Minnesota. However, the team struggled with consistency, losing at Oregon and USC, then rebounding by winning at UCLA, Washington State, and then at Arizona State. Following a loss to Oregon State, Cal managed to upset Pac-10 title contender Arizona. Cal also pulled of an away game upset at Stanford in the Big Game. It ended the season with a loss at Washington on December 5. The Bears matched their 2008 regular season record of 8–4, finishing tied for fifth in the conference with the former reigning conference champion, USC. The Bears did not produce a 1,000-yard rusher for the first time since 2002, Tedford's first season. They accepted a bid to the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl, where they lost to Utah on December 23, snapping a four bowl game winning streak going back to 2004. The team was ranked as high as no. 6, but spent almost half the season unranked. The end of the season saw some coaching changes. Cal hired Jeff Genyk as special teams coach to replace the fired Pete Alamar, and Clancy Pendergast as defensive coordinator to replace Bob Gregory, who departed for Boise State. (en)
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