Stanford Cardinal players left to right defensive end Zach Buckley (98), offensive lineman Simone Pale (55), and defensive lineman Zach Rowell (97) join in the celebration of bringing the axe back to Stanford University after defeating the Cal Bears at Stanford Stadium on Sat Nov 22, 2025 (Stanford Cardinal photo)

By Michael Roberson

STANFORD, Calif. — A Big Game crowd of 50.039 experienced cross-Bay, conference (ACC) battle, with the Stanford Cardinal (4-7, 3-5 ACC) obtaining the axe from the California Golden Bears (6-5, 3-4 ACC) 31-10 inside Stanford Stadium.

Although Cal opened the game with possession of the ball, neither team scored on their opening drives. A little more than 10 minutes into the first quarter, the Golden Bears got onto the scoreboard first. Redshirt-Junior kicker Chase Meyer booted a 40-yard field goal, to put the visitors up by three, 3-0.

The first 15 minutes of gameplay ended with that same score, with either team doing much on offense, The crowd of both schools wanted and anticipated more action in the second quarter.

Quarter number two did bring more action to the masses. However, the Cardinal faithful did not see an offensive explosion, but a stellar defensive force.

A few ticks over two minutes into the second stanza, Stanford redshirt-junior safety Jay Green scooped up a Cal fumble for a49-yard touchdown. The Cardinal took a four points lead, 7-3. More than eight minutes later, Cal put up points offensively. Freshman quarterback Jason-Keawe Sagapolutele scored from 7 yards out on a keeper. The Bears regained the lead by three, 10-7..

The Cardinal marched down the field, getting inside the “Red Zone” by the two-minute timeout. After several attempts for a touchdown, they settled for a field goal attempt, with a little over a minute before recess. The kick was blocked by senior safety Dru Polidore Jr. All momentum switched to California, and Stanford’s offense and special teams could not score.

The Bears had possession of the ball in their own Bear territory, with less than a minute until halftime, and had the worst case scenario happen to the team. They coughed up the ball again, with Cardinal sophomore safety Darrius Davis grasping the gift and carrying it to paydirt for a 17 yard score. Stanford went back up by four, 14-10.

When the mid-game whistle blew, that last score stood at intermission., 14-10 Stanford.

The Cardinal had possession of the ball to start the second half, but more of the same on offense persisted. They could not get into the end zone, but did get into field goal range. Just over four minutes into the half, senior Emmett Kenney missed a 35-yard attempt, to the dismay of the home fans.

About eight minutes later he had another opportunity. This time from 36 yards from the goalposts. Kenney was successful on that particular attempt. The cardinal extended their advantage to seven, 17-10.

The Golden Bears managed to lose possession of the ball immediately upon receiving it after the Cardinal score. Stanford parlayed that golden opportunity to another score, over two quarters. They had the ball near the goal line as the third quarter ended, and continued at the beginning of the fourth.

Four seconds into the final quarter, sophomore running back Micah Ford scampered in for a 4-yard TD. The Cardinal went up by 14 points, 24-10. They were not finished.

Less than two minutes of elapsed time, the Cardinal reached the end zone again. This score was a 34 yard bomb from Elijah Brown to CJ Williams for SIX. with the subsequent extra point, the Cardinal tied their high score output of 31 points. They also led by 21 points. 31-10.

Despite Cal’s efforts to score again in the waning moments, the score remained the same after 60 minutes of regulation play, 31-10 for the Tree.

The Cardinal will next be in action back here on the Farm next Saturday, November 29, hosting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 7:30 PM PT on ESPN. Cal heads back across the Bay to host SMU on the same date at TBD.