California Golden Bears Athletics
California
6-6 , 3-6
Stanford
4-8 , 3-6
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAL | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Stanford | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
Cal Falls to Stanford in 110th Big Game
12/1/2007 12:00 PM | Football
Dec. 1, 2007
Final Stats | Final Book | Notes
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - T.C. Ostrander passed for 151 yards and an early touchdown to Mark Bradford, and Stanford snapped its five-game losing streak against Cal with a 20-13 victory Saturday night.
Nick Sanchez intercepted two passes in the 110th Big Game for the Cardinal (4-8, 3-6 Pac-10), who earned their first home conference victory under rookie coach Jim Harbaugh in the most rewarding way possible for Cardinal fans enduring their sixth straight losing season.
Stanford won for the 16th time in 29 games, but beat Cal coach Jeff Tedford for the first time in six tries. With Sanchez making the biggest plays, the Cardinal held Tedford's offense to 13 points or fewer for just the fourth time in his six seasons.
Stanford didn't even need any trickery on the 25th anniversary of The Play, Cal's famed five-lateral kickoff return for the last-second touchdown that won the Bay Area schools' 1982 meeting. Harbaugh platooned two quarterbacks to run his steady offense, and the Cardinal defense made it look easy to shut down Tedford's talented collection of playmakers.
Nate Longshore went 22-of-46 for 252 yards and two second-half interceptions for the Golden Bears (6-6, 3-6), who were the nation's second-ranked team before their first loss in early October. Justin Forsett rushed for just 96 yards.
Cal got a last chance when Stanford freshman Jeremy Stewart fumbled near midfield with 2:43 to play. The Bears drove to the Cardinal 19, but Lavelle Hawkins dropped a sure TD pass before Sanchez dived to make his second interception at the 8 with 1:55 left.
Bradford then made a nifty first-down catch on the Cal sideline, allowing the Cardinal to run all but 6 seconds off the clock. After Cal's final pass fell incomplete, Stanford's fans stormed the field - and Sanchez led a charge of players to grab The Axe, the trophy awarded to the winner.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
CAL 0, STAN 7
STAN - Bradford, Mark 28 yd pass from Ostrander, T.C. (Belch, Derek kick) 1 plays, 28 yards, TOP 0:08
CAL 7, STAN 7
CAL - JORDAN, Robert 46 yd pass from LONGSHORE, Nate (KAY, Jordan kick) 7 plays, 91 yards, TOP 3:24
CAL 7, STAN 10
STAN - Belch, Derek 36 yd field goal 15 plays, 58 yards, TOP 5:47
CAL 10, STAN 10
CAL - KAY, Jordan 27 yd field goal 13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:36
CAL 10, STAN 13
STAN - Belch, Derek 38 yd field goal 10 plays, 41 yards, TOP 3:18
CAL 10, STAN 20
STAN - Gunder, Austin 1 yd pass from Pritchard, T. (Belch, Derek kick) 4 plays, 41 yards, TOP 1:47
CAL 13, STAN 20
CAL - KAY, Jordan 42 yd field goal 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:50
