by Daniel Dullum

AP photo: Stanford Cardinal players celebrate the Big Game victory hoisting the Ax award over the Cal Bears on Saturday’s in Berkeley

Whatever chance California thought they had to win the Big Game on Saturday, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey erased it in a big way.

The senior standout running back torched the Golden Bears for 284 yards and three touchdowns on 31 attempts, as the Cardinal upended Cal 45-31 in Berkeley.

Already bowl-eligible, Stanford (8-3 overall, 6-3 Pac-12) won its seventh consecutive game in the 119-year Bay Area college football series. After the game, Stanford Coach David Shaw addressed the media and called the win “special,” adding, “This is a great rivalry, a respectful rivalry. The bottom line is we get to have (the Axe) for another year,”

Of McCaffrey’s touchdowns, the most important one might have been his first – a 90-yard jaunt that provided the Cardinal with needed momentum to hold the Bears off.

Stanford trailed 14-7 in the second quarter, but McCaffrey added TD runs of 11 and 1 yards to surge ahead to stay. McCaffrey’s efforts helped the Cardinal amass 357 rushing yards, and 555 yards of total offense.

Shaw said, “We knew we wanted to run the ball. When the game got down to the nitty-gritty, we wanted to give it to No. 5.”

Equally important to Stanford was the timeliness of their touchdowns. The Cardinal scored in four of their first five possessions of the second half. A 30-yard scoring pass from Keller Chryst to Trenton Irwin put Stanford up 45-24 with 4:17 to play.

Chryst is 4-0 as a starter, and completed 13 of 23 passes for 198 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran 16 yards for Stanford’s first TD of the day.

Chryst’s primary target was JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who made four catches for 104 yards, including a 59-yard reception that set up the Cardinal’s final touchdown.

With The Axe staying home for another year, the Cardinal turn their focus to their regular season finale, hosting Rice this Saturday at Stanford Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.