Cal QBs Get to the Super Bowl, But Seldom Win

During the NFL preseason there were hopes that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers or Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff would lead his team to a Super Bowl victory this season, providing the second Super Bowl win for a former Cal quarterback.

If either had started in this season’s Super Bowl it would have meant that a quarterback who played his final college season at Cal would have been a starting quarterback in six Super Bowls, tied with Purdue for the third most of any school, behind only Michigan’s 10 (all by Tom Brady) and Notre Dame and Stanford at seven apiece.

More to the point, four different players who played their final college season at Cal have been starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, more than any other school. (Alabama, Notre Dame, Purdue and LSU are tied for second with three apiece).

Furthermore, five Cal alumni have been Super Bowl starting quarterbacks, including Vince Ferragamo, who played his first two college seasons at Cal before transferring to Nebraska. And no college has had as many alumni start Super Bowls at quarterback. But seldom do players who transferred to another college figure in this kind of list.

The issue with Cal’s quarterbacks in the Super Bowls is that they have played poorly in the big game. Of the five games in which a Cal quarterback started a Super Bowl (six games if you include Ferragamo), only once did the Golden Bears quarterback win.

That was Aaron Rodgers, who led to the Packers to a Super Bowl victory in 2011 (2010 season). The Packers were a surprise winner, doing it as the No. 6 seed in the NFC that season after a 10-6 regular season. The fact that Rodgers has not been to the Super Bowl since despite winning four MVP awards has prevented him from being rated higher historically speaking.

Four other Super Bowls featured a starting quarterback from Cal, and not only did they lose, but they didn’t perform well.

Take a look:

Joe Kapp, Minnesota Vikings, January 11, 1970, Super Bowl IV

Chiefs 23, Vikings 7

The Vikings were two-touchdown favorites over the champions from the supposedly inferior AFL, and Kapp was the runnerup for the NFL MVP that season. But Kapp threw two interceptions with no touchdowns and was outplayed by Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson.

Craig Morton, Dallas Cowboys, Super V, January 17, 1971, Super Bowl V

Colts 16, Cowboys 13

Morton completed 12-of-26 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, and Dallas failed to score a point in the second half.

Craig Morton, Denver Broncos, January 15, 1978, Super Bowl XII

Cowboys 27, Broncos 10

Morton was the first quarterback to start Super Bowls for two different teams and he finished second in the MVP voting that season. But he had a terrible Super Bowl, going 4-for-15 for 39 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions. He had a passer rating of 0.0, and was replaced by Norris Weese in the third quarter.

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams, February 3, 2019, Super Bowl LIII

Patriots 13, Rams 3

The Rams scored a Super Bowl-low three points and Goff got much of the blame after going 19-for-38 for 229 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked four times. It was this performance that began Goff’s downfall with the Rams.

Most Super Bowl wins by a quarterback who played his final college season at a given school:

Michigan -- 7 (Tom Brady 7)

Notre Dame -- 5 (Joe Montana 4, Joe Theismann 1)

Alabama -- 4 (Bart Starr 2, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler)

Purdue -- 4 (Bob Griese 2, Len Dawson, Drew Brees)

Louisiana Tech -- 4 (Terry Bradshaw 4)

Stanford -- 4 (Jim Plunkett 2, John Elway 2)

Most Super Bowl games started by a quarterback who played his final college season at a given school.

Michigan – 10 (Tom Brady 10)

Stanford – 7 (John Elway 5, Jim Plunkett 2)

Notre Dame – 7 (Joe Montana 4, Joe Theisman 2, Daryle Lamonica 1)

Purdue – 6 (Bob Griese 3, Len Dawson 2, Drew Brees 1)

Cal – 5 (Craig Morton 2, Joe Kapp 1, Aaron Rodgers 1, Jared Goff 1)

Texas Tech – 5 (Patrick Mahomes 5, including this season)

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