In the 1990 Big Game, Ed McCaffrey scored the touchdown that would pull Stanford within one of Cal, eventually allowing the Cardinal to win the game.

“He [McCaffrey] was instrumental in that game,” current head coach David Shaw said about his former teammate a few days prior to this Saturday’s Big Game. “And hopefully our McCaffrey has a good game as well.”

“Good game” turned out to be an understatement to describe Christian McCaffrey’s performance.

McCaffrey broke Stanford’s single-game all-purpose yards record, originally set by Glyn Milburn in that same 1990 Big Game, to lead Stanford to a 35-22 win over the Cal Golden Bears in the 118th Big Game. With the victory, the Cardinal not only will retain the Axe, but they have also clinched the Pac-12 North for the third time in four years, earning a spot in the Pac-12 Championship on Dec. 5.

The 13-point score margin, however, doesn’t reflect Cal’s offensive dominance. The Bears totaled 495 yards, 397 of which came through the air off a 37-of-54 showing from Cal quarterback Jared Goff.

The Bears also won the possession game (31:16 to 28:44), a problem Stanford hasn’t faced most of this season, but the difference came down to how Cal fared in the red zone. Cal had to settle for 3 field goals, many of which came after some costly penalties. Another time, the Bears turned the ball over on downs when they couldn’t convert on fourth and 15 from the Stanford 22, a situation that arose from a 15-yard personal foul on Cal.

Stanford was able to largely offset the Bear Raid with McCaffrey’s outstanding play. The sophomore running back notched 282 all-purpose yards and his 2 touchdowns, one of which was a 49-yard reception while the other was off a 98-yard kick return, before halftime. Overall, he totaled 300 all-purpose yards for the fourth time this season as well as 100 rushing yards for the ninth-straight game.

The game wasn’t solely a McCaffrey show. Fifth-year senior Remound Wright did what he does best, scoring from 2 and 1 yards out, respectively, on the Cardinal’s first and second-to-last touchdowns. Freshman Bryce Love also showed off his speed with a 48-yard rushing touchdown with just over six minutes to play in the game.

With all these weapons firing on all cylinders, fifth-year senior Kevin Hogan didn’t have to do much to help Stanford keep the Axe. The quarterback went just 7-for-12 for 96 yards and 1 touchdown.

Stanford will be back in action next Saturday, when it takes on No. 4 Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. PT at Stanford Stadium.

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