Thirteen yards and two minutes away from Big Game immortality, Stanford looked poised to beat the Golden Bears in a thrilling 35-34 victory at a filled-to-capacity Stanford Stadium. But Cal linebacker Mike Mohamed had other plans.
The Bears junior stepped in front of an Andrew Luck pass on second down with just a minute and a half remaining, sending the Cal fan section into a fury and leaving the majority of the 50,000 fans in attendance shellshocked. Mohamed’s play allowed the Bears to return home with the Axe as they defeated the Cardinal in thrilling fashion, 34-28.
“It wasn’t a good enough throw,” said a disappointed Luck after the game. “I wish I had that one back. I could have done a lot of different things.”
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about, ‘Oh, they’re going to go to the Rose Bowl,’ Mohamed told media after the game. “We felt like they were overlooking us a little bit. For us to come out and to prove all these guys wrong, it feels good.”
The tough loss overshadowed another stalwart performance from senior running back Toby Gerhart, who rushed for 136 yards and four touchdowns. His 29-yard reception to get the Cardinal down to the 13-yard line was Heisman-esque, as he bulldozed at least three or four Cal defenders through what appeared to be sheer will.
The story of the game wasn’t Gerhart’s performance, however, but that of backup Bears running back Shane Vereen. Replacing the injured Jahvid Best for the second game in a row, Vereen and the Cal offensive controlled the majority of Saturday’s game–the sophomore rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on an astounding 42 carries.
“I didn’t even realize he had 42 [carries],” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “He’s a great kid. The way he’s performed the past two weeks has been awesome.”
Vereen got plenty of help from his teammates, too. Coming into the game as a significant underdog, the Bears played one of their best games of the year in shutting down Stanford’s heralded freshman quarterback: Luck probably had his worst game of the year, completing just 10-of-30 passes for 157 yards and committing that crucial interception. Cal quarterback Kevin Riley, who has received criticism from fans and media alike at times this season, gave a solid showing with 235 yards on 17-of-31 passing.
Though Cal did dominate the game statistically, the Cardinal jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half after two Gerhart touchdowns in the first quarter. The first electrified Stanford Stadium, as the running back broke a 61-yard run. The Bears’ defense tightened up from that point on though, containing Gerhart for the rest of the game and stifling Luck all day. Stanford went into halftime with a 14-10 lead, but the second half was all Bears, and the Cardinal found itself down 31-21 with less than ten minutes to go in the game.
Another Gerhart touchdown made it 31-28, and the Cardinal defense held Cal to a field goal after the Bears had great field position after a failed Stanford fourth-down attempt. With 2:42 on the clock, Stanford would start the game’s final and decisive drive on its own 42-yard line after the Bears squib-kicked to prevent a return from the ever-dangerous Chris Owusu.
The 42-yard line seemed to be a perfect starting point for a storybook ending at Stanford Stadium Saturday, but it was not to be as the Bears captured the Axe for the second year in a row.