It looked for a while that Stanford was going to deny Cal that sixth game needed for bowl eligibility as they held the Golden Bears scoreless in the 1st Qtr and were up 21-to-10 at the end of the third. But Cal would return the favor and hold the Cardinal scoreless in the 4th Qtr while putting up 14 points of their own to become bowl eligible in a 24-21 win at home.
For Cal, their Sophomore QB Fernando Mendoza connected multiple times to five different receivers on 25-of-36 for 299 yards, 3 TD’s, and no interceptions while also rushing 11 times for another 35 yards. Junior WR Jonathan Brady and Trond Grizzell collectively grabbed nine of those receptions for 134 yards and all three of the TD’s. On the ground Cal rushed 28 times for 75 yards but never found the end zone.
For Stanford, Junior QB Ashton Daniels was 14-of-26 for 139 yards without a TD or interception in addition to rushing 21 times for another 63 yards while their Freshman RB Micah Ford connected in the end zone on his lone throw of the game to fellow Freshman WR Emmett Mosley V. On the ground the Cardinal collectively ran the ball 39 times for 120 yards with Junior QB Justin Lamson rushing six times for just 14 yards but finding the end zone twice.
With only 41 miles distance separating these two California academic powerhouses, the football rivalry between the two schools was first played in 1892 and is the oldest rivalry in the West and one of the oldest in the country. Usually held in late November the game is played at Cal in even years and on the Stanford campus in odd-numbered years. Future President Herbert Hoover, an undergraduate at Stanford and student manager for both the baseball and football teams, helped to organize the first game. According to the story 10,000 tickets were printed but 20,000 people showed up to watch what’s been known ever since as the Big Game. What most people consider to be the most famous play in college football took place during this matchup in 1982. If you have about seven minutes check out the video and call of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ka2TWrAdqU