STANFORD, Calif. - Despite holding an edge in yardage and time of possession, the Cal football team couldn't find the big plays it needed to gain the advantage on the scoreboard as No. 15 Stanford led wire to wire and the Bears fell 35-22 in the 118th Big Game.

Another good performance by Jared Goff ended with Cal's quarterback completing 37 of 54 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns. Tre Watson had another productive day on the ground with 87 yards on 14 carries and Bryce Treggs hauled in seven passes for 102 yards and a score. The Bears also owned the advantage in total offense, outgaining Stanford 495-356.

Trailing by 15 at halftime, Cal (6-5, 3-5 Pac-12) scored the first 10 points of the second half and moved the ball well as it tried to rally against the Cardinal. A 25-yard field goal by Matt Anderson gave the Bears points on their first drive of the half but the next drive brought even better results as a 13-play, 86-yard drive culminated in Goff finding Darius Powe for a 3-yard touchdown that, combined with Anderson's PAT, made it 21-16 Stanford with 4:54 left in the third quarter.

Stanford's ground and pound approach continued to whittle the clock away, and a 12-play, 61-yard drive ended when Remound Wright dragged a would-be tackler through the line for a 1-yard touchdown. That capped a drive that took 5 minutes and 31 seconds and put the Cardinal ahead 28-16 with 14:23 left to play.

Cal drove deep into Stanford territory again on the next possession, but the drive stalled when a penalty moved the Bears out of the red zone and Goff's pass on 4th and 14 landed incomplete for a turnover on downs. Bryce Love put Stanford in control just a few minutes later as he took an end around and busted free for a 48-yard touchdown run to make it 35-16 with 6:13 to play. A 31-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Treggs with 1:44 left brought Cal a little closer but the 2-point conversion failed and Cal kicked it deep on the ensuing kickoff which let Stanford run the clock out.

"I thought our guys really played hard. I was proud of how hard we played, " Cal head coach Sonny Dykes said. "I thought -- defensively, I thought we really did a good job containing the passing game. I thought our guys were aggressive, broke on the ball well, made some plays on the ball ... When you have almost 500 yards of offense, against a good defense, it's a little bit frustrating when you score 22 points and don't win the game. But as I said, the penalties really, really hurt us. It killed numerous drives."

Stanford (9-2, 8-1) built a 21-6 lead by intermission, but it wasn't for lack of offense by the Golden Bears. Cal actually moved the ball well over the first two quarters, outgaining the Cardinal 205-176 heading to the break but, while the Bears had to settle for field goals on deep drives, Stanford found the end zone instead to take the lead.

The Cardinal struck first when Wright wriggled out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and fell across the goal line for a 2-yard touchdown run. Cal looked ready to answer with a touchdown of its own, but a near-touchdown fell incomplete and a 14-play, 64-yard drive netted just a 20-yard field goal by Anderson.

Stanford added on with a great individual effort by Christian McCaffrey, as the running back took a screen pass at the line of scrimmage, broke two tackles and escaped for a 49-yard touchdown to cap a four-play, 80-yard drive in which he gained 72 yards himself. After Anderson converted again from 28 yards, McCaffrey broke loose on the ensuing kickoff and his 98-yard return left the Cardinal up by 15 with 38 seconds until halftime.

McCaffrey wasn't just a kickoff return specialist. He led Stanford with 192 yards rushing and 49 yards and a touchdown receiving. Receivers Powe (7 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown), Trevor Davis (7 for 80) and Chad Hansen (5 for 51) each set career highs in receptions for the Bears while Anderson was a perfect 3 for 3 in field goal attempts and has made eight in a row.

Cal returns to Kabam Field at Memorial Stadium next Saturday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Arizona State in the final regular season game of 2015. The game will be televised by Fox Sports 1. From there, the Bears will turn their attention to the postseason after becoming bowl eligible last week for the first time since 2011.