Cal-Stanford Game Summary: Bears Rally to Win the Big Game

Fumble return by Jackson Sirmon is the key play as the Bears rally from 17-6 deficit to win the Big Game and end six-game losing streak

Cal overcame a 17-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Stanford 27-20 and end a six-game losing steak Saturday afternoon at sold-out Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

The key play was a touchdown scored by Cal linebacker Jackson Sirmon on a 37-yard run after recovering a fumble. It gave the Bears a 20-17 lead with 9:54 left in the game.

Stanford's Joshua Karty made a 61-yard field goal on the game's final play. That's a Big Game record and a Stanford record.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox had fired offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave on Monday, five days before Saturday's game. 

Here is the game summary.

CAL 27, STANFORD 20

RECORDS: CAL (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12), Stanford (3-8, 1-8 Pac-12)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Cal linebacker Jackson Sirmon.  His statistics were not great, but his touchdown on a fumble recovery was the pivotal play in the game.

TURNING POINT: With Stanford leading 17-12 in the fourth quarter and the ball at the Cal 38-yard line, Stanford's Ashton Daniels fumbled, which was caused by Daniel Scott. Cal's Jeremiah Earby recovered the fumble and advanced it 3 yards before he fumbled. It was picked up by Jackson Sirmon, who ran 37 yards for a touchdown. That and a two-point conversion put Cal ahead 20-17 with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter.

CAL INJURY NOTES: Players who were unavailable for Saturday's game: Cornerbacks Lu-Magia Hearns III and Collin Gamble, outside linebacker Braxten Croteau, inside linebackers Ryan Puskas and Kaleb Higgins.

KEY PLAY 1: On a first-down play from the Cal 41-yard line, Stanford's Ashton Daniels, who replaced Tanner McKee at quarterback for this one play, ran 43 yards to the Cal 16-yard line. Three plays later, Mitch Leigber scored on a 1-yard run to give Stanford a 7-0 lead with 12:08 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 2: Cal's Dario Longhetto kicked a 54-yard field goal with 10:00 left in the first quarter, reducing the Stanford lead to 7-3. It was the longest field goal of Longhetto's career, and one yard shy of the longest field goal in Big Game history and also one yard shy of the Cal record.

KEY PLAY 3: Stanford's Joshua Karty kicked a 42-yard field goal to end an 11-play drive and push the Cardinal's lead to 10-3 with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

KEY PLAY 4: Cal's Jack Plummer completed passes of 27 yards and 21 yards to Jaydn Ott and Jeremiah Hunter, respectively, on consecutive plays, setting up Dario Longhetto's 38-yard field goal.  That reduced Stanford's lead to 10-6 with 33 seconds remaining in the first quarter. 

KEY PLAY 5: On a fourth-and-3 play from the Stanford 33-yard line, Cal's Jack Plummer threw an incomplete pass intended for Jaydn Ott.

KEY PLAY 6: On a first-and-goal play from the Stanford 5-yard line, Jack Plummer threw a pass that was intercepted by Stanford's Alaka'i Gilman in the end zone with 2:21 left in the first half. That kept Stanford's lead at 10-6.

KEY PLAY 7: Stanford's Tanner McKee threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Higgins, increasing Stanford's lead to 17-6 with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter.

KEY PLAY 8: Jeremiah Hunter returned a punt 22 yards to the Stanford 47-yard line, and Cal turned that into a touchdown on Jack Plummer's 1-yard scoring pass to Monroe Young.  A two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Stanford's lead at 17-12 with 11:18 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 9: On a first-and-10 from the Cal 38-yard, Stanford's Ashton Daniels fumbled, which was caused by Daniel Scott. Cal's Jeremiah Earby recovered the fumble and advanced it 3 yards before he fumbled. It was picked up by Jackson Sirmon, who ran 37 yards for a touchdown. That and a two-point conversion put Cal ahead 20-17 with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter.

KEY PLAY 10: On a first-and-10 play from the Stanford 20-yard line, Cal's Jack Plummer threw a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Omari Porter with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter.  Cal still led 20-17.

KEY PLAY 11: On a third-and-10 play from the Cal 28-yard line, Stanford's Tanner McKee threw a pass that was intercepted by Cal safety Daniel Scott. He returned it 40 yards to the Stanford 9-yard line. Cal turned into a touchdown on Jaydn Ott's 1-yard scoring run.

STAT OF THE GAME: Stanford outgained Cal 400-393 in total offense.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Cal running back Jaydn Ott had zero yards on three carries in the first half, but he had 97 yards on 15 carries in the second half.

QUARTERBACK STATS: Cal’s Jack Plummer was 23-for-43 for 280 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.  Stanford’s Tanner McKee was 29-for-45 for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interceptions.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal ended it six-game losing streak, which was its longest since 2013. If the Bears beat UCLA next week, they will avoid becoming the first Bears team since 2013 to lose more than seven games in a season.

CAL'S BOWL BAROMETER: The Bears have a 0.01% chance to land a bowl berth, but we don't have space to explain that itty-bitty chance in this report.

NEXT GAME: UCLA (8-3, 5-3 Pac-12) at Cal (4-7, 2-6 Pac-12). Friday, Nov. 25. Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. TV: FOX. No. 16 UCLA lost to USC 48-45 Saturday evening. Friday's game will be Cal’s final game of the season. The Bears lost to UCLA 42-14 last year in Pasadena.

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Cover photo of Jack Plummer by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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