Stanford routs rival Cal 38-17 in 117th Big Game

BERKELEY, Calif. – Stanford players paraded around the field with the Axe, sprinted into the tunnel and shouted so loud outside the visiting locker room at Memorial Stadium that they drowned out coach David Shaw’s news conference in the next room.

Despite a disappointing season, celebrating a victory at California never gets old.

Remound Wright ran for four touchdowns, and Stanford used a smothering defensive effort to rout rival Cal 38-17 on Saturday and clinch bowl eligibility.

“Our seniors did not want to be the group that lost the Axe,” Shaw said. “They never had an experience at Stanford where they didn’t have the Axe.”

And now they never will.

Blake Martinez intercepted two passes and forced a fumble as the Cardinal (6-5, 4-4 Pac-12) created five turnovers. Stanford beat the Golden Bears (5-6, 3-6) for the fifth straight year in the Big Game, savoring every second as the announced crowd of 56,483 cleared out.

“It’s one of those rivalries you dream of as a kid to play in. Just to finish it off right is huge,” Martinez said.

Jared Goff tied Cal’s record for touchdowns (Pat Barnes, 1996, 31 TDs) and broke his own school record for yards passing in a season but had little to show for his milestones. He threw for 182 yards, one TD and two interceptions.

Freshman Luke Rubenzer, who has been used primarily as a wildcat quarterback, also threw two interceptions in the second half. Cal can still salvage its season and clinch bowl eligibility at home against BYU next week.

“We certainly don’t feel the gap is as big as the score was,” Goff said. “We just didn’t play up to our potential.”

Wright ran for 92 yards on 23 attempts, becoming the first Stanford player to rush for four touchdowns in a game since Stephan Taylor in November 2010. Stanford also sustained the momentum even after losing top playmaker Ty Montgomery with a sprained right shoulder in the first quarter.

Shaw said X-rays were negative and Montgomery is questionable for next week.

Cal’s conference-worst defense couldn’t overcome its own loss when Michael Lowe was ejected for targeting the head of Austin Hooper on the first play from scrimmage. That was just the first in a series of mistakes for coach Sonny Dykes’ team.

The Bears finished with 12 penalties for 113 yards, while Stanford had just four penalties for 21 yards. Cal also had a TD overturned on three consecutive plays in the third quarter.

“It was a bit of a strange football game,” Dykes said. “It certainly didn’t start the way we wanted it to start.”