The rivalry: California vs. Stanford

 
   
California vs. Stanford
 
Last Year: Stanford won 36-30 (OT)
Series Record: Stanford leads, 53-39-11
Recently: Stanford has won six in a row and nine of the past 11.

Recent games

2000: Stanford 36, Cal 30 (OT)
Cardinal match longest winning streak in rivalry's history
Stanford fullback Casey Moore caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on their second play in overtime as the Cardinal beat California 36-30 in the 103rd Big Game. Randy Fasani threw three TD passes for Stanford, which beat its oldest rival for the sixth straight time, matching the longest winning streak in the rivalry's history. This was the final games of the season for both squads, as Stanford finished (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) and Cal ended the season (3-8, 2-6).

1999: Stanford 31, Cal 13
Stanford smells Roses after stopping Cal
The Cardinal used a 31-13 win over Cal as a springboard to their first Rose Bowl trip since 1971. Casey Moore sealed the victory with a 94-yard fourth quarter TD run, his second score of the day, and the second longest run in school history. Moore finished with six carries for 116 yards, just 14 yards less than Cal's total for the entire game. The Bears hung with the Cardinal in the first half thanks to Deltha O'Neal, who scored on a 58-yard punt return to pull Cal within 14-13. The extra point was blocked, and Stanford scored the game's next 17 points to win handily. O'Neal had gotten the Bears on the board with a 100-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, and was one of the few bright spots in Cal's 4-7 season. Todd Husak tossed for 216 yards and one touchdown, as the Cardinal completed a 7-1 Pac-10 season and improved Tyrone Willingham's Big Game record to 5-0.

1998: Stanford 10, Cal 3
Stanford kills Cal's bowl chances
Todd Husak threw for 286 yards and a touchdown, and the Stanford defense came up huge, setting a school record by limiting the Golden Bears to minus 36 yards rushing. That total included 73 yards lost in nine sacks. It was the lowest scoring Big Game since 1948, when Cal won 7-6. Cal led 3-0 at the half, but Husak's 7-yard pass to Troy Walters gave Stanford a 7-3 lead 4:32 into the third quarter. The Bears' loss was their third in a row, and they finished out of the postseason with a 5-6 record.

1997: Stanford 21, Cal 20
Bears' comeback falls short
In the 100th edition of the Big Game, Corey Hill returned an interception 41 yards for a score and Chad Hutchinson hit Troy Walters with a 36-yard touchdown pass, giving Stanford just enough points to hold off Cal. Stanford held a 21-10 lead before Justin Vedder connected with Bobby Shaw on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 4:44 remaining. A two-point conversion made it 21-18, and then with time winding down, Cardinal punter Kevin Miller conceded a safety, accounting for the one-point victory.

1996: Stanford 42, Cal 21
El Paso, here we come
Stanford secured a berth in the Sun Bowl as Chad Hutchison threw three touchdowns to power the Cardinal offense. Pat Barnes also threw three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough to rally the Bears, who trailed 27-7 at halftime.

1990: Stanford 27, Cal 25
A wild finish for the Cardinal
A touchdown, a missed two-point conversion, a successful onsides-kick, a 15-yard penalty on Cal and a 39-yard field goal on the final play. That describes how Stanford scored nine points in the final 12 seconds in one of the most thrilling finishes ever to a Big Game.

Noteworthy

Simply, The Play

Of course, the single most dramatic moment in Big Game history has to be the Big Play: Cal's five-lateral kickoff return with no time remaining for a 25-20 victory in 1982. Kevin Moen got the ball first and last, weaving in and around the onrushing Stanford band before barreling into a trombone player in the end zone. Seconds earlier, Stanford quarterback John Elway had seemingly pulled out a dramatic last-minute scoring drive to get the Cardinal into a bowl game ... only to be left running off the field screaming at the whistle-swallowing officials, "You've ruined my career!"

Other fantastic finishes

This is the oldest rivalry on the West Coast, dating to 1892. Five of the previous 103 games have been decided on the final play:

  • 1972: A Steve Sweeney touchdown pass from Vince Ferragamo for a 24-21 Cal victory.
  • 1974: Mike Langford's 50-yard field goal for a 22-20 Stanford win.
  • 1982: "The Play" gives Cal a 25-20 win.
  • 1990: John Hopkins' 37-yard field goal gives the Cardinal a 27-25 victory.
  • 1990: Stanford fullback Casey Moore caught a 25-yard TD pass from Randy Fasani on their second play in OT.

Close calls

Remarkably, 49 of the 103 Big Games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Not only that, but add up all the scores, and only 141 points separate the two teams.

The series in a sentence

This from former Stanford sports information director Dan Liebendorfer: "If we beat Cal every day and twice on Sundays, it wouldn't be enough."

 

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