By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Anything with 127 occurrences is likely to produce one crazy, jaw-dropping outcome that trumps all the rest.

For Stanford and Cal, this wasn’t it. That Play took place a few years back. But for 30 Golden Bears’ seniors playing at Memorial Stadium for the final time, this was it.

For that group, a 24-21 come-from-behind win cements an extremely rare college career without a loss to hated rival Stanford.

“I’m glad we get to send everyone off the right way and keep the Axe where it belongs,” said Lu-Magia Hearns, one of the 30 triumphant seniors.

Cal played lethargically into the third quarter, trailing 14-0 after Stanford’s first two possessions, and 21-7 after the Cardinal fashioned a third, lengthy scoring drive after halftime.

Cal’s Nohl Williams took a hard hit on the ensuing kickoff and fumbled, which set up Stanford with a short field. With the Cardinal threatening to fashion a three-score lead, the Bears finally responded.

Three plays without a first down left Stanford to attempt a 35-yard field goal. But placeholder Connor Weselman mishandled the snap and attempted a pass instead. That pass fell incomplete, and Cal regained possession and new life.

A 12-play Bears’ drive culminated with Ryan Coe’s 46-yard field goal, and Cal trimmed the deficit to 21-10 with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out possession by Stanford, the Bears got moving with Fernando Mendoza’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady on a 3rd-and-6 play. After a non-productive first half, Mendoza said he honed in on Cal’s advantages with their top receivers battling an inexperienced Stanford secondary. Brady’s catch made it 21-16 after the Bears failed to convert a two-point attempt.

Another brief Stanford possession gave Cal the ball, but punter Aidan Flintoff pinned the Bears at their own 2-yard line. An 11-play drive, aided by a pair of Stanford penalties, covered 98 yards and gave Cal their first lead with 2:40 remaining. Again, Mendoza partnered with Brady on a third down pass play that left the receiver single covered in the end zone. This time, Cal picked up a critical, two-point conversion on a catch by Jadyn Ott to lead 24-21.

“I’ve never felt something so exciting,” Brady said. “It means so much to our fans. It was exciting to see a smile on their faces.”

“We never quit, and we found a way to win,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “That means a lot. There was a time when small people or weak people could have tried to find a way out… that it’s not going to be our day. A lot of people would have quit, honestly. It’s human nature.”

Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch and Ron Rivera headlined a vested group of Cal football alumni that attended the game, and Rodgers spoke to the team on Friday, which reportedly ramped up the team’s intensity.

The last time the Bears (6-5, 2-5) captured four consecutive meetings with Stanford was 2006. Under Wilcox, the Bears have won five of the previous six editions of the Big Game.

The Cal regular season concludes on Saturday against SMU in Dallas with the Bears afforded an opportunity to play spoiler to the Mustangs’ national title aspirations.