The 2013 California Golden Bears football team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was Cal's first year of being led by the head coach Sonny Dykes. Cal's athletic director Sandy Barbour stated that it was his emphasis on offense that was the primary factor in the decision. Dykes was hired from Louisiana Tech, and was known for his reliance on the pass heavy and high scoring Air Raid offense, that utilized a shotgun formation with four wide receivers. Cal finished this season with a 1âÂÂ11 record, with Dykes becoming the first head coach since the University began playing football in 1886 to fail to defeat a single D-1 opponent in a season that has lasted at least five games. The Bears lost to Stanford by 50 points, the largest margin ever in the 119-year history of the Big Game. During the season, the team was featured on The Drive, a weekly documentary series on the Pac-12 Network.
One of the season's few positives was the performance of true freshman Jared Goff as the starting quarterback. Under Dyke's Air Raid offense, Goff delivered a record-breaking season, setting Cal single-season records for passing yards (3,508), yardage gained (3,508), total offense (3,446), passes completed (320), and passes attempted (530).
In a 63âÂÂ13 victory, #10 Stanford broke the record for most points scored in a Big Game and for the largest margin of victory at 50 points. With the victory, Stanford clinched the Pac-12 North Division Championship while Cal ended their season at 1âÂÂ11, the most losses in one season in Cal football history.