Our long Cal nightmare is over. The Bears have won the Big Game. The Axe is finally ours again.
The recapturing of The Axe was far from certain for most of the 122nd Big Game. With 2:23 remaining, Stanford’s Ryan Sanborn kicked a 44-yard field goal to give the Cardinal a 20-17, leaving many a Cal fan with the harsh reality that a 10th straight Big Game loss was in the offing. But a funny thing happened on the way to doom.
Cal’s redshirt sophomore quarterback led the Bears’ offense onto the field at the Cal 25 yard line with 2:23 left, needing a field goal to tie or a touchdown to take the lead and perhaps break Stanford’s 9-year uninterrupted possession of The Axe.