After four straight heartbreaking losses, the Axe has made its way home in a Stanford Cardinal (4-7, 3-5 ACC) 31-10 blowout victory against the California Golden Bears (6-5, 3-4 ACC). Stanford capitalized on the Bears’ mistakes, forcing three turnovers to earn the first Big Game win at home since 2017.
The first quarter ended with a 3-0 Cal lead, with a struggling Cardinal offense putting up only seven total yards. In the Bears’ first offensive play of the second quarter, redshirt sophomore Omar Staples forced a fumble at Cal’s own 49-yard line. Redshirt junior safety Jay Green swooped in for the scoop-and-score, putting Stanford up 7-3 with 12:57 left in the second quarter.
“Shoutout to my teammate O [Omar Staples] because I mean, I get all the praise for scooping and scoring, but he’s the one who caused that play,” Green said.
Stanford caused yet another turnover for points before the end of the half. At the Bears’ own six-yard line, redshirt junior Jahsiah Galvan caused a fumble in another scoop-and-score by another safety — sophomore Darrius Davis.
The half closed out with a 14-10 Stanford lead, with the Cardinal defense being responsible for all the points through two quarters. Despite a four-point lead, the Cardinal offense posted only 71 yards to Cal’s 196 yards, with 12 minutes less of possession.
“It’s one thing for the defense to keep you in the game while you’re struggling,” head coach Frank Reich said. “It’s another thing for them to score two touchdowns for you, and you go in with a lead and you feel like you haven’t even made a first down.”
Stanford came out in the second half ready to play complementary football. At the Bears’ own 25-yard line, Cal continued the storyline of a mistake-riddled game with a fumble on a low snap, leading to a recovery by redshirt junior linebacker Matt Rose.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown and his offense would capitalize on the opportunity. After a 10-yard scramble by Brown on third down to place the ball at the Cal four-yard line, sophomore running back Micah Ford found his way into the end zone to extend the Stanford lead 24-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. Ford posted a season-best 150 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry with one touchdown.
The ensuing offensive drive led to more points for the Cardinal. In a third and seven at the Bears’ 34-yard line, Brown threaded the needle, hitting senior wide receiver CJ Williams in stride on a go-route for a touchdown. Williams ended the day with 76 yards on five receptions, finishing the game as the Cardinal’s leading receiver. This put the nail, or Oski, in the coffin, marking the final points of the 128th Big Game. After trailing the game 10-7, Stanford scored the final 21 points of the game.
“I’m really glad we won, for our seniors, they haven’t gotten that win. So that means the world to me,” Brown said.
In his first Big Game start, Brown went 10 for 20 with 123 yards and one touchdown. The Stanford offense flipped the script in the second half, putting up 211 yards in comparison to Cal’s 101 yards. The Cardinal defense continued its dominance into the second half, allowing no more points and finishing the day with five sacks and three turnovers.
Stanford will look to close out the season next weekend in a home game against No. 9 Notre Dame. After agreeing to lead Stanford for one season as an interim coach, Saturday will mark Reich’s final head coaching game with Stanford. Kickoff for the Saturday night showdown is set for 7:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium.