Notes: Stanford’s running game delivers in second half.
back Chase Garbers’ 16yard touchdown run with 79 seconds remaining was the decisive score. There was a chance for similar heroics in Friday’s game, which was otherwise marred by coronavirus protocol.
Cal (03) trimmed the deficit to 2423 on a 3yard Christopher Brown Jr. run with 58 seconds remaining, but the extra point attempt was blocked by Thomas Booker, preserving the lead and victory with a play that mirrored the game.
The Cardinal had short touchdown drives after a Cal muffed punt and a fumble. The Bears were called for defensive holding that erased a Daniel Scott interception, and Stanford scored later on the drive. Cal also had a field goal blocked at the end of the first half.
“It’s unacceptable. On special teams, it’s literally a simple technique that we have to execute with great effort, and we are having issues,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “I’ve got to help give them answers. We’ve got to coach better. And, we’ve got to perform better on special teams.”
Wilcox said he made the “wrong decision” in not going for a lastminute, twopoint conversion after seeing the team’s kicking struggles on the day, and the decision ultimately puts the Bears in a precarious position.
Cal will now probably have to win its final three regular season games to qualify for a bowl in a season that started with the program’s highest hopes in nearly a decade. Although the NCAA is allowing all teams to play in bowl games this season, the Pac12 has said that its teams must finish .500 or better to qualify — a tough pill for the Bears to swallow after a Big Game that did its best to replace the pageantry that normally comes with the rivalry.
Looking west toward the bay from the raised side of Memorial Stadium, the marine layer had burned off by kickoff and provided a pristine view past San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge.
On the opposite side, Tightwad Hill was closed to avoid gatherings, but scores of fans slipped past security. The cannon, usually perched on the hill, was moved onto the stadium’s east rim.
A recorded performance by the Cal band was streamed onto the video board, and crowd noise was piped through the publicaddress system. But even the efforts to make the game feel relevant didn’t translate to the field, where the Bears lost the game as much as the Cardinal won it.
Garbers, who was 19 of 29 for 151 yards and two touch
“I think our guys took a lot of pride in grabbing the Axe and taking a picture in front of that ‘Our Axe’ sign up there, just to remind everybody that it is called the Stanford Axe.” David Shaw, Stanford football coach
downs, hit Kekoa Crawford with a 7yard touchdown pass to cap a drive that started with the Bears setting a physical tone with the run. Cal ran four times for 44 yards, including a 23yard Marcel Dancy dash on the first play from scrimmage, to set up the score for a 70 lead in the game’s first 41⁄2 minutes.
After the teams traded chipshot field goals, Stanford tied it when Davis Mills (24 of 32 for 205 yards and a touchdown) found Michael Wilson on a touchdown pass that highlighted Cal’s special teams woes. A week after allowing a blocked punt and seeing two touchdown returns erased by penalties, Cal watched Nikko Remigio muff a punt to set up the Cardinal on the Bears’ 16yard line.
Cal had a chance to take a lead into halftime, but special teams failed again. Stanford blocked Dario Longhetto’s 32yard field goal attempt to keep it tied 1010 at the break. Curtis Robinson was credited with the block, something he also did in October 2017 against Oregon.
Stanford took its first lead four minutes into the third quarter, taking advantage of Cal’s second turnover. Dancy had earned firstdown yardage, but Salim Muhammad punched out the ball toward the end of the 10yard thirddown run, and Booker recovered the fumble at the Cal 41yard line. Three plays later, Austin Jones pounded in a 2yard touchdown run for a 1710 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as Cal tied it 1717 on a 3yard touchdown pass from Garbers to Remigio on a gutsy fourthdown call. The score was set up by Damien Moore’s 54yard scamper, the Bears’ longest run since Brown’s 54yarder in last season’s Redbox Bowl.
The game swayed back and forth into the final minutes. Jones carried about half of Cal’s defense on an 8yard touchdown run after another huge mistake by the Bears. Elijah Hicks was called for defensive holding, wiping out a Scott interception on the second play of that drive, which ended up going 71 yards and giving Stanford a 2417 lead.
“There’s a lot of pain and frustration that we didn’t play better,” Wilcox said. “We had multiple opportunities to win the game, and we didn’t get it done. … We put a lot into this. A lot of people do: players, coaches, people in the program and the fans. It doesn’t feel good, so need to own our mistakes and fix those.”
After the clock ticked down to zero, Stanford players raced toward the south end zone and the Axe for a celebration that almost felt normal. They hijacked the postgame ceremony that was reduced from the typical 20 people from the rally committees to four, took the prized Axe they weren’t supposed to touch — and knew right where to go with it.
“I can’t lie. They were telling us that we weren’t going to be able to touch it, because of COVID,” Stanford’s Robinson said. “One way or another, we found a way. I was very excited about that, because that’s something I’ve dreamed of ever since I got here. I felt (the cards) were disrespect, so I was anxious to get a picture in front of that.”