Oct. 12, 1997
California (2-3) Visits Washington State (5-0)
Saturday's Game Versus Cougars 1,000th In Cal Football History
GAME NO. 6 California Golden Bears (2-3, 0-2 Pac-10) at Washington State Cougars (5-0, 3-0)
Saturday, Oct. 18, 1997, Martin Stadium (37,600 - OmniTurf); Pullman, WA
KICKOFF/ATTENDANCE: Kickoff is at 2 p.m. Attendance is expected to be approximately 35,000.
TELEVISION: There is no live television for this week's game. However, the game will be aired locally on a tape delay basis at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 by SportsChannel.
RADIO: The game will be broadcast live over KGO Radio (810 AM) San Francisco and the five-station Golden Bear Radio Network. Other stations on the network are: KRCK (1490 AM) in King City; KGOE (105.5 FM) in Eureka; KFIV (1360 AM) in Modesto; and KJAX (1280 AM) in Stockton. The pre-game show begins 15 minutes prior to kickoff. KGO Radio is in its 24th season as the Golden Bears flagship station. Sports Director Joe Starkey is in his 23rd season handling play-by-play duties, and he is joined with color commentary by Lee Grosscup, who is in his ninth year in the booth. The Tom Holmoe Show airs weekly on KGO Radio each Tuesday at 6:20 p.m.
CAL GAMES AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE BY 800 TELEPHONE SERVICE: All Cal football radio broadcasts during the 1997 season are available nationwide via telephone through the facilities of TRZ Telephone Broadcast Services. Fans can access the Cal Radio Network from anywhere in the country at 1-800-846-4700, ext. 5918. The cost is $.50 for the first minute, with decreasing rates for additional minutes.
OFFICIAL CAL WEB SITE: All Cal releases, results, statistics, schedules, coach and player information, as well as historical data, can be found on the World Wide Web at www.calbears.com.
CAL BROADCASTS AVAILABLE OVER THE INTERNET: All Cal football radio broadcasts can be heard on the Internet at www.audionet.com/schools/berkeley. Visit the site and download the necessary software, then log on at game time to catch the Bears live.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game will be the 60th meeting between the Bears and Cougars with Cal holding a 35-20-5 advantage in the series. Washington State has taken three of the last four games, including a 21-18 victory last year in Pullman that was sealed when Cal fumbled with just over a minute to go and the ball on the Cougar one-yard-line. WSU has not lost to Cal in Pullman since 1979 when the Bears brought home a 45-13 victory, a span of six games.
TRAVEL PLANS: The California travel party will depart from Oakland Airport Friday at 3:30 p.m. on a Champion Airlines charter and will stay at the University Inn (208-882-0550) in Moscow, Idaho. Associate Athletic Director for Communications Kevin Reneau and Associate Media Relations Director Herb Benenson will accompany the team. Cal will return to Berkeley immediately after the game.
AROUND THE PAC-10: The remainder of the Pac-10 schedule for the week of Oct. 18 is: Washington at Arizona; Arizona State at Stanford; Oregon State at UCLA; Utah at Oregon; and USC at Notre Dame.
RELEASE AVAILABLE ON FAXBACK: All California releases, statistics and rosters are available to the media on the Pacific-10 Conference FaxBack system. To access FaxBack, dial (503) 614-4044 from the handset of your fax machine. The Bears release is in directory 121050 and is generally available late Sunday afternoon. The rest of Cal's directory is as follows: notes and depth chart only (121051); stats only (121052); latest game stats (121053); latest game book (121054); and roster (121056).
WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE: California's weekly press luncheon will begin at 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14 in the Hall of Fame Room in Memorial Stadium. Head coach Tom Holmoe and several Cal players will be in attendance for interviews. In addition, Washington State head coach Mike Price will be available via a speakerphone beginning at 11:45.
THE COACHES: Tom Holmoe, California (Brigham Young '83) is in his first year as head coach of the Bears and second with the Cal program. A 1983 graduate of BYU, Holmoe was the Cougars starting cornerback from 1980-82, and led the WAC in interceptions as a sophomore in 1980. He went on to earn first team WAC honors as a senior and later was drafted in the fourth round by the San Francisco 49ers. Holmoe went on to play seven years with in the NFL, all with San Francisco, and helped the 49ers win three Super Bowls. After retiring from pro football, he entered the coaching ranks, serving as a graduate assistant during the 1990 and '91 seasons under LaVell Edwards at his alma mater, BYU. In 1992, Holmoe was reunited with Bill Walsh after accepting and offer to become the Stanford secondary coach. After two years as a member of the Cardinal staff, he moved back to the pro ranks and his former team, the 49ers, as George Seifert's defensive backfield coach for the 1994 and '95 seasons. Last year, Holmoe joined the Bears staff as the defensive coordinator and on Jan. 18, 1997, he was named head football coach at Cal.
Mike Price, Washington State (Puget Sound '69), hired as the Cougars' 29th coach in 1989, is now in his ninth season at the helm of the Cougars and has compiled a 48-47 record over that time. Prior to taking over in Pullman, he was head coach at Weber State from 1981-88, leading the Wildcats to a 36-44 mark. In his 16 years as a head coach, his clubs are a combined 84-91. Price has long been associated with the Washington State football. He first came to WSU in 1965 and played two years under head coach Bert Clark before transferring to Puget Sound. Price then served two coaching stints with the Cougars, the first as a graduate assistant for coach Jim Sweeney from 1969-70. After two season as the offensive coordinator at Puget Sound, Price returned to Sweeney's staff as the Cougars' backfield coach and remained there until 1978 when he moved to Missouri as quarterbacks and receivers coach.
PAC-10 FEED: The Pacific-10 Conference provides a weekly satellite feed every Wednesday throughout the season. The weekly feed will air from 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon PT on Telstar 5, Transponder 23 (C-Band). In case of trouble with the feed, call Master Control at (310) 286-3800 or Renee Lyall at (510) 932-4411.
HIGHLIGHT SHOW: The weekly one-half hour California Football Highlight Show, hosted by Tim Sharp, is in its 12th season on KPIX-TV (Channel 5) in San Francisco. The show will be aired each Sunday on KPIX at 5 p.m. In addition, the program will be rebroadcast on SportsChannel on Mondays, usually at 6:30 p.m., and Tuesdays at 4 p.m. each week. In addition, Cal football will also be featured in SportsChannel's weekly Cal Sports Magazine show this fall. The show is scheduled to air Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Fridays at 6 p.m. There will be re-airings throughout Friday and Saturday mornings.
IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS PLAY OF THE WEEK: Each week throughout the 1997 football season, IKON Office Solutions will salute the Golden Bear Play of the Week. Against Washington, the play was Matt Beck's 10-yard sack of Husky quarterback Brock Huard in the second quarter. The loss helped end a Washington drive and set up Cal's drive for a field goal at the end of the first half.
THE TIMES PLAYER OF THE GAME: Each week throughout the 1997 football season, the Contra Costa Times will recognize the Cal Player of the Game. For the Washington game, the player was senior tailback Tarik Smith. After sitting out the Louisiana Tech game with a hip injury, Smith rushed 18 times for 89 yards, an average of 4.9 yards per carry. He had a season-long 32-yard rush in the game, as well.
