Stanford falls to Cal in the 127th Big Game

Say a prayer for the Class of 2025

By Sam Weyen | 11-25-2024 07:13 PM PT

Photo by Robert Siegel


On Saturday afternoon, Cal (6-5) defeated Stanford (3-8) in Big Game, 24-21, thanks to a late fourth quarter surge.

The Cardinal got off to a great start, converting both of their first drives into touchdowns with methodical strikes over the middle of the field. When Cal adjusted their coverage, QB Ashton Daniels was still capable, rolling out and making plays with his legs when nobody was open. After trading field goal misses, Stanford walked back to the locker room at half time enjoying a 14-7 lead.

With 6:33 remaining in the third quarter, things looked really good for the Cardinal. RB Micah Ford threw a short pass to Emmett Moseley V for a touchdown, a bold playcall for a goal line 4th and short that extended the lead to two scores:


David Shaw could never!

Then Cal's parade rain become a deluge, as returner Nohl Williams fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, setting up 1st and 10 for Stanford from the Cal 20. I was mingling with the Band and chatting with my great (x5) granddaughter Ruby (i.e. the current Stanford Tree) when we made the recovery. Roars geysered upward from the Cardinal side of California Memorial Stadium as Stanford was poised to take a three possession lead off of the Berkeley blunder.

Unfortunately for all of us, it turns out that Cal's historic bad luck in important games this season is contagious, and Stanford caught the bug. The Cardinal failed to move more than two yards on the next three plays, settling for a field goal. On the field goal attempt, Connor Weselman bungled the hold, throwing an incomplete pass to TE Sam Roush in desperation that left the Cardinal with no points.

Coach Taylor had this to say about being 0/2 on field goals on the day: "[K Emmet Kenney] doesn't miss many. The one on the right hash was a longer one [53 yards]. He just pulled it a little bit left. He makes the majority of those. We just didn't execute the one that didn't get off the ground."

Cal would go on to score on each of their next three drives, capped off by an impressive 98-yard drive in the final three minutes that earned the Golden Bears 8 points and a 24-21 lead. Stanford quickly folded on the other end, allowing Cal to kneel out the rest of the game. Funny that in victory formation the refs can clearly see Cal knees touch the ground, but when it's a live play in 1982...

"I'm proud of the way our guys played. We just came up a play short. We had a really good opportunity to get a stop there at the end, but not enough to win the game."

Daniels finished 14 of 26 for 139 yards, adding 21 carries (!!!) for 63 yards on the ground. Daniel's counterpart, QB Justin Lamson, served as our goal line running back, adding 14 yards and two rushing touchdowns. On the other side of the field, Cal's QB Francisco Mendoza had a stellar outing going 25 of 36 for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chances are we'll see the redshirt sophomore in a couple more Big Games.

This is Cal's fourth consecutive Big Game win, meaning that this spring—for the first time since 2007—a Stanford class will graduate without having seen Stanford win Big Game. The class of 2025 is joined by the classes of 2006 and 2007 as the only three to have experienced this unique pain in the last 70 years. If it's any consolation, we pre-paid this bill with a 9-game winning streak from 2010-2018.

Stanford Football plays their last game of season this Friday at San Jose State, where the Spartans are slight betting favorites. A win for Stanford would get them to 4 on the season, which would give the program its first year-over-year improvement on win total since... 2015.

Still, there's plenty to be positive about. In a post-pandemic CFB dominated by the transfer portal and NIL deals, Stanford is at a structural disadvantage. As such, fans should expect a rebuild to take several seasons and enjoy the ride. I for one am much happier this year watching trick plays on 4th down in a potential 3-win season than I was two years ago when we were punting in the red zone in a radically different 3-win season. We're moving in the right direction, just slowly.

Tune in on Friday at 1pm PT to root for your favorite team, and if anyone brings up losing Big Game at your Thanksgiving table, tell them what really matters: STANFORD COVERED!

--Fear The Me.

TAGS: NIL 3-win Cal Ruby Nohl Williams Stanford David Shaw Stanford Tree Connor Weselman TE Sam Roush RB Micah Ford Emmett Moseley V QB Ashton Daniels CFB Band Big Game _David Shaw Coach Taylor Cardinal 3-win season
Comments (0)
You must Login or Sign Up to post a comment.