Related Links: Game summary Kahn: Apple Cup no consolation for Washington Miech: For a game that doesn't matter, USC-UCLA one to remember Pac-10 roundup Top 25 roundup Forum: Will Stanford win the Rose Bowl?
	T O P   N E W S

The occasion was fullback Casey Moore's 94-yard touchdown run, second longest in school history, early in the fourth quarter. The surprise burst gave the struggling Cardinal much-needed breathing room against pesky Cal in the 102nd Big Game and paved the way for a 31-13 victory Saturday at Stanford Stadium.

Elway never made it to a Rose Bowl, but Plunkett did, leading the then-Indians to a victory over Ohio State in 1971. The following year, Don Bunce, who was also in attendance Saturday, quarterbacked Stanford to an upset over Michigan.

Finally, 28 years later, the Cardinal are returning.

"It's great," Plunkett said. "Especially after that god-awful start. I'm really proud of the players and know quite a few of them."

Starting quarterback Todd Husak, in particular. During the summer, Husak lives in Plunkett's guest house.

"It's a dream come true for us," Husak said. "We earned it. Nobody thought we'd get it."

A trip to Pasadena seemed highly unlikely after Stanford was overwhelmed by Texas in its season opener 69-17. Interestingly, Elway was in Austin for the game and gave a pep talk to the players. Asked if Elway would address the team before the Cal game, Nelson, now an athletic department administrator, replied, "Hell, no."

However, Elway, who attended his first Big Game since 1982 when his Cardinal team lost on the final play to a controversial five-lateral kickoff return, watched the entire contest from the sideline. Now that his alma mater has clinched a Rose Bowl berth, not to mention their first Pac-10 Conference championship since 1971, he will call a millennium audible and make the trek.

"I didn't want to make plans until they had it," he said.

An 11-point favorite, Stanford made it look easy on its opening drive, moving 57 yards on four plays against the highly touted Cal defense. Running back Brian Allen burst through the middle for the final 22 to polish off the march.

Fully aware Cal cornerback Deltha O'Neal was probably the best player on the field and the team's top playmaker, Cardinal coach Tyrone Willingham still elected to kick deep. He paid the price. O'Neal fielded Mike Biselli's boot at his own goal line and carted it 100 yards for a touchdown.

From then on, Stanford wisely used bloops or kicked the ball out of bounds to keep it away from O'Neal. Ah, but Think Tank U committed another strategic blunder in the second quarter. Leading 14-7, the Cardinal was forced to punt and Sean Tolpinrud's weak kick was taken on the run by O'Neal at his own 42 and returned 58 yards for another score.

Hello? If you're afraid to let O'Neal beat you with a kickoff return, why punt to him? Great question. As a result, the Bears trailed only 21-13 at halftime. This despite being outgained 242-69 and having only two first downs to Stanford's 13.

Fifth-year senior Wes Dalton, making his first collegiate start, was intercepted on his first pass attempt. Hardly surprising considering he had only thrown seven passes previously and is a former walk-on. Still, O'Neal's heroics and Stanford's stubbornness kept the game within reach until Moore's heroics.

Willie Howard celebrates Stanford's first Rose Bowl berth since 1972.(AP)

Both teams punted four times in the scoreless third quarter. The longer the Bears hung around, the more nervous Cardinal faithful became. As most of the 80,746 spectators knew, strange things happen in this series and Cal was one big fluke/play away from tying the game.

"What we were hoping for was at some point to get that touchdown and break their back," said Willingham, now 5-0 against Cal.

Moore, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound sophomore, is not known for his speed, but he produced a key 49-yard scoring run earlier in the season at Arizona. Like that one, Saturday's play was a simple handoff up the middle designed to pick up 3 or 4 yards. Instead, he caught the pressuring Bears in a blitz and outran the safety to the end zone.

"They shifted into a perfect look," he said. "If I get a chance, I put it into the highest gear I've got."

From Husak's perspective, Moore had an out-of-body experience.

"I've never seen a guy that big run that fast," Husak said. "He showed me another gear."

The play epitomized Stanford's season. Picked to finish eighth or ninth in the conference, players kept plugging and found ways to win. Even the much-maligned defense did its part, holding Cal without a touchdown.

"It was motivating to prove to ourselves we had a lot more talent then we were credited for," said defensive tackle Willie Howard.

To be sure, Stanford will be a decided underdog against Ron Dayne-led Wisconsin on Jan. 1. Not that the players care. Few figured they would get that far.

"He's a great back," Howard said. "We're just going to use our pride to stop the run."

As Stanford players filtered out of the locker room armed with Rose Bowl hats, T-shirts and red roses, Plunkett drifted by. Normally, he heads straight home to see his family. Not Saturday.

"I'm going back to the tailgate party with the guys," he said. "We still have guys who get together and say they (this team) aren't as good as we were."

Nobody was happier than Cardinal defensive line coach Dave Tipton. He was an All-American defensive tackle for the 1971 Rose Bowl team and wasn't sure if this moment would ever come again.

"Oh, lord," Tipton said. "I'm just going to stand here and look at the scoreboard."