Chances are you’ve heard of “The Play,” the ending to the 1982 Big Game that involved an ungodly number of laterals, some horrific questionable officiating, the Band’s storming of the field and, ultimately, a one-point Stanford win five-point Cal victory.

But what is lesser known among younger Stanford fans and is less prominent in the history of notorious football endings is what happened eight years later, in the 1990 matchup between these two rivals — an ending that may not be as wild as “The Play,” but one that deserves a spot among the most thrilling finishes in Big Game history.

A game that took place 25 years ago may seemingly have little relevance to the battle that will ensue when Stanford and Cal faceoff for the 118th Big Game. But many of the storylines and characters of that game are woven into the narrative going into Saturday’s matchup.

David Shaw, who redshirted in 1990 before playing from 1991 to 1994, will find himself once more on the sidelines of the game — but his helmet and jersey (he wore No. 84) will be replaced with a playbook and headset, as he will try to lead Stanford to victory and clinch the Pac-12 North.

Glyn Milburn’s performance during the 1990 Big Game set Stanford’s single-game record for all-purpose yards (379), which Christian McCaffrey came within 10 yards of tying a month ago against UCLA.

Despite not being able to pass that record, McCaffrey did beat another Milburn record: Against Oregon, the sophomore running back broke Milburn’s record for all-purpose yards in a single season. Milburn had 2,234 yards, and with three (probably four, perhaps even more if enough craziness happens in college football) games left to play, McCaffrey is set to increase his current 2,418 all-purpose yards to an even more impressive number.

And then there’s the McCaffrey connection. Ed, Christian’s father, ended the 1990 Big Game with 28 receiving yards, but most importantly scored the touchdown that would put the game within one score.

Watching the highlights of the 1990 game, a casual viewer can see a plethora of familiar faces from the world of college football (and Congress). The head coach at the time was Dennis “Denny” Green (the man made famous by “they are who we thought they were”); future Ravens head coach Brian Billick joined Green on the Cardinal coaching staff; also on the sidelines, not even involved in the game’s action, were now-New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, on the roster as a tight end, and future Super Bowl Champion, Pro-Bowler and FOX commentator John Lynch, a sophomore who even played some snaps as backup quarterback.

Putting all the 1990 to 2015 connections aside, Nov. 17 of this year marked the 25th anniversary of the 1990 Big Game, which in and of itself was one of the most legendary Big Games in the history of the rivalry.

Fans call the game “The Payback.”

Stanford (4-6), who was on the verge of its fourth straight losing season, was the underdog going into this game, while Cal (6-3-1) had reached bowl eligibility for the first time in 11 years. Trailing the whole game, the Cardinal went ahead 18-17 off a field goal, but then saw their lead disappear when Cal scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion, putting them ahead by seven.

With 17 seconds to play in the game, Stanford had managed to get the ball to Cal’s 19 yard line. Stanford quarterback Jason Palumbis connected with Ed McCaffrey to pull within one point.

Coach Green was faced with a tough decision: go for the extra point, which would’ve ended the game in a tie and, with no overtime in college football at that point, kept the Axe at Stanford, or go for the two-point conversion — which, if converted, would win Stanford the game.

He chose the latter. Stanford’s offense returned to the field, while Cal’s fans started to line up around the sidelines and edges of the stands, preparing to storm the field should Stanford fail the two-point conversion.

On the ensuing play, Palumbis rolled to his right and tried to connect with McCaffrey once more in the back of the end zone, but Cal cornerback John Hardy read Palumbis’ move and jumped the Stanford receiver, intercepting the ball and seemingly securing the Bears’ victory in the process.

In what probably seemed like a recurring nightmare for Stanford, Cal’s fans engulfed the field, celebrating the downing of their hated rival, their successful season and the retaking of the Axe.

The only problem was that there were still 12 seconds left on the clock.

Because of the fans-taking-the-field-madness, Cal was charged with a 15-yard delay of game penalty, meaning that Stanford would kick off from midfield. This ideal field position, coupled with the ensuing onside kick and a little bit of luck, would end up deciding the rest of the game.

Stanford kicker John Hopkins bounced the onside kick off a Cal player’s shin, and after some scrambling, Stanford’s Dan Byers came up with the ball at the Cal 37. The Cardinal, which had the best view of the play as it had unfolded right in front of their eyes at the Stanford sideline, started celebrating. The game was not over — the Bears could still be brought down.

With nine seconds left and no timeouts, Stanford lined up at the 37 and tried to quickly get the ball to McCaffrey, who was in double-coverage, but the pass fell short. More importantly, Cal’s John Belli got called for roughing Palumbis, advancing the ball another 15 yards, putting Hopkins in field goal territory.

While the offense was trying to get down the field, Hopkins was already preparing for a potential game-winning field goal. After Cal had denied Stanford its two-point conversion, someone had removed the field goal net from Stanford’s side line. Left with little choice if he wanted to get some practice kicks in, Hopkins started kicking balls into the stands.

Watching all this from the sideline was then-redshirt freshman David Shaw.

“[It] probably had to be about four or five balls that he kicked into the stands just to get loose because he knew we were going to try a field goal pretty soon,” Shaw said. “That image is burned in my head and a couple people have shown me the picture the last week.”

What made Hopkins’ ball-kicking antics even more noteworthy — besides the fact that he apparently shanked five of the six ones he kicked — was that it was probably enough to prepare him for the game-deciding field goal.

Hopkins, who was 4-for-5 on the day so far, took the field to attempt the 39 yard attempt and, as time expired, made the field goal to give Stanford the two-point win and keep the Axe on The Farm for another year. Stanford fans finally had the chance to storm the field and give Cal a taste of its own medicine — having victory stolen from them in an absurd ending as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“It was a long time ago but I still remember it like it was yesterday,” Shaw said. “It was just a phenomenal, phenomenal game all around.”

Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.