Thirty minutes had passed since the conclusion of the 1993 Big Game, and the Cal football team sat in the visiting locker room at Stanford Stadium…waiting.
 
It had been seven years since Cal fans enjoyed a win over the Cardinal. Their thirst was quenched on that November afternoon with a 46-17 win over Stanford. Yet the current members of the football team were awaiting their prize - The Axe.
 
Eventually, offensive lineman and former NFL standout Todd Steussie finally got his hands on The Axe. His first time grasping the trophy awarded annually to the winner of The Big Game, Steussie realized it was really his first opportunity to get a good look at it close up.
 
"I kind of snatched it once I saw it," Steussie remembers. "I never really knew what it looked like, frankly. In my mind, I was picturing an actual axe instead of a plaque with an axe head on it. We passed it around. It was a cool moment."
 
The victory over Stanford in 1993 highlighted a 9-4 campaign that ended with a 37-3 victory over Iowa in the Alamo Bowl. Cal endured a four-game losing streak earlier that season after losing quarterback Dave Barr due to injury.
 
Linebacker Jerrott Willard and Steussie both agree that the return of Barr got the team back on track. A 24-20 upset victory over No. 13 Arizona the week before the meeting with Stanford gave the Bears plenty of momentum.Their sights were then set on ending the losing streak to their Bay Area rival.
 
"When you lose The Big Game, you hear about it for a year until the next year's game," Willard said. "That's the thing about The Big Game. If you get too emotional and wrapped up in it, it can hurt you. You have to stay in control, but it's also the emotion that makes it exciting."
 

 
Loaded with senior leadership, like Steussie, many members of that 1993 squad endured tough losses to Stanford in otherwise successful seasons in 1990 and 1991. But the team's confidence in 1993 was so high that none of the veterans felt any pressure to accomplish the feat.
 
Barr gave credit to the Bears' offensive line for making a huge difference that day.
 
"There was a lot of passion and a lot of excitement going into that game," Barr said. "Our offensive line controlled the game. We could run the ball, we could throw the ball. It was a fun game to play. I don't recall getting hit too many times. It was one of those games where the offensive line did such a good job, I was barely touched."
 
Eight of the first 10 offensive plays for Cal were running plays. Head coach Keith Gilbertson and his staff wanted to establish the run game early and set the tone that they would win the battle in the trenches.

"That game was entirely in our control," Steussie said. "The way we approached that game was, if we did what we needed to do, we had a lot of confidence in our game plan because we were determined to run the ball. The o-line and the running backs were told before the game that it was on us. The team will go where we go. We threw the ball too, but we really wanted to establish the run and that set the tone for how that game went."
 

 
It wasn't just the dominating performance that made it so memorable for Barr. The enthusiasm from the Cal fans who trekked from Berkeley down to Palo Alto meant a lot to him and the rest of the program.
 
"Playing at Stanford, staying in the Bay Area so close to Berkeley, it was kind of a semi-home game, which adds to why it's so special," Barr said. "I remember our fans after the game were so excited, and that makes it even more enjoyable as a player."
 
East Bay fans who didn't make the trip still had the opportunity to see Cal retain The Axe when the Bears beat Stanford in Berkeley the following season.
 
In 1994, Steussie played on Sundays in the NFL and Barr missed that game due to injury, but Willard still led the Bears' defense that year.
 
"In 1994, for me personally and probably all the seniors on that team, the greatest thing about that victory was we got to finish our collegiate careers as winners," Willard said. "We didn't go to a bowl game, so our last game at Cal was a win at home against Stanford."
 
Another opportunity for Cal players to walk off the field as winners in The Big Game will take place when the Bears face Stanford on Saturday at noon at California Memorial Stadium.