STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Jay Green and Darrius Davis returned fumbles for touchdowns to help Stanford snap a four-game losing streak in the Big Game with a 31-10 victory over mistake-prone California on Saturday.
The Cardinal (4-7, 3-5 ACC) took advantage of three lost fumbles and 13 penalties by the Golden Bears (6-5, 3-4) to get their first win in the rivalry since the 2020 pandemic season and first at home since 2017.
The win improved Stanford to 4-1 at home this season under interim coach Frank Reich and gave the Cardinal their most wins in a season since going 4-2 in the shortened 2020 campaign.
Stanford pulled away by scoring three times in a span of just over seven minutes starting late in the third quarter. Emmet Kenney made a 36-yard field goal after missing his first two tries to make it 17-10.
The Cardinal then quickly got the ball back when Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele fumbled a shotgun snap that was recovered by Matt Rose at the Bears' 20. Micah Ford ran it in from 4 yards out four plays later to the delight of the Cardinal contingent in the rare big crowd of 50,039 at Stanford Stadium.
Elijah Brown then hit CJ Williams for a 34-yard touchdown to make it 31-10 with 10:01 to play.
All that was left was waiting for The Axe to change hands after the game.
The loss comes one game after Cal beat No. 14 Louisville on the road for its first win over a ranked opponent since 2020 and will likley raise more questions about the job security of coach Justin Wilcox, who hasn't finished a season with a winning record since 2019.
Stanford led 14-10 at the half despite gaining only 71 yards and scoring no points on offense. Green returned Jacob De Jesus' fumble 49 yards early in the second quarter for a TD.
The Cardinal struck again late in the half when Jahsiah Galvan forced a fumble by Kendrick Raphael and Davis returned it 17 yards.
California: The Bears tied for their most penalties (13) and had their most penalty yards (128) in a game in nine seasons under Wilcox, along with the three lost fumbles in a sloppy performance.
Stanford: The Cardinal have shown good progress in the first season under general manager Andrew Luck. The win in the Big Game assures Stanford of improving its win total after four straight 3-9 seasons and will set the stage for when the new coach is hired.
California: Hosts SMU on Saturday.
Stanford: Hosts No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
The 17th Annual Colony of Coastside Artists (CoCA) Open Studios tour returns this weekend to… Read more17th Annual Colony of Coastside Artists (CoCA) Open Studios Tour
CoastalBoy said:
I took a class from him at CSM about 20 years ago. Very good lecturer.
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.