State of the Rivalry: UCLA-Cal

A lot of fallout stemmed from the collapse of the Pac-12, including storied rivalries that programs leaned on annually for nearly a century. One of the notable fallouts that extended beyond the football field was UCLA's football rivalry with California.

Unlike their crosstown rivalry with USC, and similar to their matchup with Stanford, the Bruins can't look forward to taking on the Golden Bears every year since Cal went to the ACC along with the Cardinal and the Bruins and Trojans stepped up to the Big Ten.

Scott Dochterman ofThe Athletic released a composite ranking of the top 100 rivalries in all of college football, and the UCLA-Cal clash made the cut along with their rivalries with USC and Stanford.

Here's what Dochterman had to say about the rivalry between the Bruins and Golden Bears:

"As public universities under the same board of regents, UCLA and Cal became the athletic tentpoles for the state of California. The teams played every season from 1933-2023 until the Pac-12 disintegrated.

"The breakup became bitter between the programs with UCLA securing a more lucrative future in the Big Ten, while Cal took a reduced share to join the ACC. It prompted the board of regents to install $10 million “Calimony” payments annually for three years from UCLA to Cal. When the Pac-12 expanded by two teams in 2011, UCLA and Cal were placed in opposite divisions, which meant their series would cycle out. The schools joined USC and Stanford in demanding that all four California schools play each year. Instead of changing the division structure, the league agreed. Over the final seven meetings, UCLA and Cal ended their regular seasons against one another five times."

Recalling the best game of each of the 100 rivalries, Dochterman added, "Both UCLA and Cal were unbeaten and in the top 20 in their clash at the Rose Bowl in October 2005. No. 10 Cal led 40-26 in the fourth quarter. Spurred by RB Maurice Jones-Drew’s 299 all-purpose yards and five TDs, the No. 20 Bruins staged a furious rally with three late TDs to win 47-40 en route to a 10-2 season."

The Bruins have the edge in their historical matchups, leading 58-35-1.

Yes, UCLA moved on to a much stronger conference that is sure to improve nearly every aspect of the program, but storied rivalries like the one it had with Stanford are essential to the foundation of every college football program.