One Man's Ten Favorite Big Games

This Saturday I will be attending my 54th Big Game. Saw my first one in ‘62 (second half collapse by the Bears) and have missed two (good excuses both times) since then.

Here are my ten favorites from them. It is totally subjective, so don’t tell me I’m wrong. I am not including classics like the 16-15 victory in 1958 (two touchdowns, beat two touchdowns and a field goal) that clinched the “most recent” Rose Bowl appearance; or the 1947 Jensen-to-Keckley 80-yard game winner in 1947; or the 20-20 tie in 1924, because I did not see them.

My win-loss record, by the way, is 18-34-1, and Cal lost the two games I missed so none of this is my fault.

My list:

1. 1982 -- The year of The Play. Putting this number one was an easy call, as I still regard it as the best football game I have ever seen. Stanford had the ball with 53 seconds left, trailing 19-17 and fourth and 17 on its own 13. If the game had ended there, with the Cardinal losing the ball on downs it would have gone down as one of the best, with plenty of offense, two spectacular catches for Cal touchdowns (Mariet Ford and Wes Howell).  Then John Elway fired a 29-yard rocket to Emile Harry for the first down. The Cardinal drove to the Cal 18, called time out with eight seconds left and Mark Harmon kicked a 35-yard field goal. Game over, another classic. But something happened after that, and I I don’t have to tell you what it was. The greatest finish ever.

2. 2009 -- Has it really been this long since the Bears’ last Big Game victory? This one was a spine-tingler. The Bears were underdogs but QB Kevin Riley’s big day had them on top.  I remember the game slipping away and then Mike Mohamad intercepted Andrew Luck’s pass with 1:36 left at the Cal 3-yard line and Cal celebrated. Maybe we will again.

3. 1980 -- This is one of the greatest upsets in Big Game history. Going into the season big things were expected from the Bears, led by senior quarterback Rich Campbell, who received early season Heisman Trophy consideration. The Bears lost to Florida in the opener and things never got any better, In the season’s eighth game, Campbell sustained a season-ending injury. Freshman Gale Gilbert started in his stead the next week and was largely ineffective, so head coach Roger Theder went to walk-on J (no period) Torchio, whose father had starred in the Big Game two decades earlier. Torchio was matched against Elway, (then a sophomore) and the Bears (2-8) were double-digit underdogs. Torchio was outstanding as the Bears won 28-23. They had to repel two Elway led drives. On one of them, Elway was forced into a hurried pass by a blitzing Kevin Moen, who would have another Big Game moment two years later

4. 2002 -- Jeff Tedford’s first Big Game, which ended a seven-game Stanford win streak.  Joe Igber had 226 rushing yards and Jameel Powell returned a punt 89 yards. The 30-7 victory gave the Bears, who had been 1-11 the year before, a 7-5 record, the biggest one-season Cal turn around in 55 years.

5.1967 -- This is a decidedly personal choice. The game between two so-so teams (Cal was 4-5 coming in, Stanford 5-4). And the game itself, a 26-3 Cal victory, was memorable only for a couple of leaping catches by wide receiver Wayne Stewart and a stifling Cal defense in the second half. What makes it one of my favorites is that it ended a seven-game Stanford win streak in the Big Game. It was the first Cal BG victory I had witnessed and the same held true for a lot of Bear fans. “So this is what it feels like” I remember thinking. 

6. 1975 -- Watching Chuck Muncie run wild in Stanford Stadium still resonates in the memory bank. For all the great running backs Cal has had over the years, none was better than Muncie, who had the big game of Big Games. He ran for 169 yards on 30 carries, scored three rushing touchdowns, caught a TD pass and even threw one. That team was an offensive dynamo with the late Joe Roth at quarterback and Wesley Walker at wide receiver. And of course Muncie. The Bears finished with an 8-3 record and were conference co-champs.

7. 1970 -- Another major upset, this one taking down Stanford’s Heisman trophy winner Jim Plunkett. The Bears, behind quarterback Dave Penhall had nearly pulled off the upset the year before, coming back from a 17-0 deficit to take the lead, only to fall 29-28. This time Penhall (18-for-26, 231 yards) and the Bears came out on top, 22-14. The Indians would go on to beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, first of two consecutive successful trips to Pasadena, but Cal owned the Axe.

8. 2004 -- Aaron Rodgers in his second and final year as the Cal quarterback was the key to the offense all year. But in the BIg Game Cal chewed up Stanford on the ground with J.J. Arrington gaining 169 yards and freshman Marshawn Lynch 122. Lynch not only scored on a 55-yard run, he threw a TD pass to current Cal running backs coach Burl Toler III as the Bears rolled, 41-6.  What made this game extra special at the time is that we all left Memorial Stadium believing that the 11-1 Bears would finally get to the Rose Bowl. However, with no regard for the traditions that make college football great, Texas’ coach Mack Brown lobbied his buddies on the bowl selection committee to take the Longhorns. He didn’t care about history, just money, and the Rose Bowl paid the most. A low moment for the sport. 

9. 1972 -- One of the most unlikely finishes in a rivalry filled with them. Under first year coach Mike White the Bears had struggled to a 2-8 record coming into the Big Game. Steve Bartkowski had opened the season as the Cal quarterback, was injured and replaced by Jay Cruze, who was ineffective. Finally White turned to freshman Vince Ferragamo in the ninth game. The Bears were 1-1 under their new leader going into the Big Game, which was played on a sloppy, wet Memorial Stadium field. The teams traded leads until the final minutes. Ferragamo, who had his troubles until the final drive, led the Bears from the Cal 38 to the Stanford seven. There on fourth down with three seconds left, he lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone. Steve Sweeney caught it in an awkward leap and came down in the end zone on a three point landing. The fans stormed the field after the 24-21 victory, which took much of the sting out of a dismal year.

10. 1994 -- Keith Gilbertson’s third year as Cal head coach was the beginning of the end for him. He was just 3-7 coming into the Big Game after taking the Bears to a victory in the Alamo Bowl in ‘93. Down to his third quarterback, freshman Pat Barnes, the Bears were facing a Stanford team led by Bill Walsh in his second go-round on the farm. Cal got great running games from Tyrone Edwards, who gained 205 yards on 24 carries and Reynard Rutherford 94 on 18. Stanford had closed the Cal lead to a single point with four minutes left, but Matt Clizbe batted down the pass on the two-point conversion try. Stanford had one last chance, but with 49 seconds left Cal’s Dante DePaola intercepted a Scott Frost pass. The win probably saved Gilbertson’s job for one more year, while the game was Wash’s last as a head coach

11, 2018 -- Hope springs eternal