by Morris Phillips

Facing their toughest opponent of 2015, the Cal Bears knew they needed to be near perfect to beat Stanford for the first time since 2009.

The effort was there, the statistical imprint was there, but admittedly, the execution was lacking in the Bears 35-22 defeat at Stanford Stadium.

“I told the guys, I thought we played very hard, we just didn’t play quite well enough to win and we couldn’t overcome some of the things that were out of our control,” Coach Sonny Dykes said.

High on the list—if not at the top—of things the Bears needed to accomplish to beat the Cardinal, controlling Heisman candidate Christian McCaffrey was paramount. But Cal didn’t even come close to containing McCaffrey, who amassed a Stanford school-record 389 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. With the game still in reach in the second quarter, McCaffrey broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown on a catch and run that put Stanford up 14-3, then after Cal responded with a field goal, McCaffrey broke free again on a 98-yard kickoff return that put the Cardinal on top 21-6 at halftime.

“He’s truly, truly special,” Coach David Shaw said of McCaffrey. “Kickoff returner, runner, receiver, blocker, he got a couple nice blocks today. The kid’s just truly, truly special. And our guys know that and they take a lot of pride in blocking for him down the field because the guy makes special, special plays.”

Jared Goff battled for Cal without the services of leading receiver Kenny Lawler and top runner Daniel Lasco, throwing for 386 yards on 37 of 54 passing with two touchdowns. But early on, Cal ran smack into Stanford’s meticulous defense that was burned by Oregon last week in the pass game.   Throughout, the Cardinal defense surrendered yardage underneath but got stingy when Cal advanced into scoring areas. In Dykes’ assessment, a couple of Cal drives were short circuited by penalties, and in two promising, first half drives, the Bears were forced to settle for field goals.

With Cal trailing 7-0, a long drive appeared to end with Maurice Harris’ three-yard touchdown catch but Harris was stripped by cornerback Alijah Holder as he crossed the end zone’s back line. Two plays later, Cal settled for a field goal. In the third quarter, Cal had another long drive that appeared headed for a touchdown, but Cal settled for a field goal when Goff and the Bears couldn’t convert on 3^rd-and-2 from the eight-yard line. On that play, Goff’s inaccurate throw didn’t give Tre Watson an opportunity to run after the catch.

“We went for it a bunch on fourth down,” Dykes recalled. “We went for it early in the game because we felt like we had to. We were trying to play aggressive. But at the same time we didn’t want to get—we didn’t want to miss opportunities to get points. We felt like if we could keep getting field goals that was better than not getting anything.”

“We’re not used to losing the time of possession,” Shaw said. “They kept the ball for a long time. They were very efficient. But give Coach Anderson a lot of credit, keeping the ball in front of us, not giving up touchdowns, giving up field goals in the red zone. That was huge.”

Cal earned a brief reset in the third quarter when Darius Powe’s 3-yard touchdown catch brought the Bears within 21-16. But Stanford responded with touchdowns on its next two drives to go up 35-16. Throughout, Stanford played stubborn and patient, as Kevin Hogan attempted just 12 passes all evening. Instead, Stanford relied on McCaffrey and its running game with the sophomore runner amassing 192 yards rushing on 29 carries.

The Bears must quickly turn the page on their inability to beat Stanford since Andrew Luck’s freshman year at Stanford, and get ready for the final home game against Arizona State. The Bears are bowl-eligible at 6-5 but would love to close out with a win after losing five of their last six games.

Morris Phillips is the Cal Bears beat writer for http://www.sportsradioservice.com