Nov. 18, 2000
Final StatisticsQuotesNotesPhoto GallerySend a FANcard!BERKELEY, Calif. - Stanford waited until the last snap of the last gameof the season to run this particular play.
The timing was perfect.
Fullback Casey Moore caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on Stanford's secondplay in overtime as the Cardinal beat California 36-30 on Saturday in the 103rdBig Game.
Randy Fasani threw three TD passes as Stanford (5-6, 4-4 Pac-10) beat itsoldest rival for the sixth straight time, matching the longest winning streakin the rivalry's history.
"I guess we picked the right time to throw to the fullback," said agrinning Moore, who made his eighth catch of the year. "This is not exactlythe way I thought it would end."
The final play, which Stanford hadn't even called since last season, workedto perfection. Fasani found Moore wide open across the middle, and he scoredwithout a defender in sight.
The Big Game is best known for the 1982 five-lateral kickoff return thatgave Cal a shocking victory. Moore's catch wasn't as dramatic or as balletic,but Moore and Fasani both admitted few scenarios were less likely than this.
"We've been preparing all this year for the right place and the right timeto run this play," said Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham, who hasn't lost insix Big Games. "It's not a bad idea every once in a while to go in thestadium, shut the doors and work on something like that."
Stanford trumped the Golden Bears yet again when Moore, who hadn't caught apass all day, became the Cardinal's primary option on second down in overtime.The play called for Moore to fake a run into the middle of the line, then popout in the secondary.
"It felt like it was sitting up there all day," Moore said. "I was justtrying to look it into my hands, because I knew I was all alone out there."
Moore, who scored twice in last year's meeting between the bitter foes,scored two more times this year. The Cardinal celebrated in the end zone, thenran to the other end of Memorial Stadium and saluted their fans.
"This is one of the best feelings I've ever had," senior linebacker RiallJohnson said. "This is closure on my career. A lot of things didn't go rightthis season, but this makes up for all of it. It makes me glad I went toStanford."
In last year's Big Game, Stanford clinched its first undisputed Pac-10 titlewith a 31-13 win. With both teams assured of losing seasons in 2000, nothingwas at stake this year but pride and bragging rights.
Cal fell behind 30-23 with 4:17 left when Stanford's Luke Powell caught ashort pass and raced 75 yards for a score. The Bears threw an interception butquickly got the ball back, and Geoff McArthur's 38-yard fingertip catch set upJoe Igber's 9-yard scoring run with a minute to play.
"I think it was a draw," said Igber, who was among several Cal playersshedding tears in the locker room. "I was just trying to do whatever I couldfor us to score."
The Stanford defense stymied Cal (3-8, 2-6) on its overtime possession, andMark-Christian Jensen missed a 42-yard field goal.
"That put us in a bind," said Cal coach Tom Holmoe, who was given a voteof confidence by athletic director John Kasser after the game. "We had to gointo a real risky defense."
With its high-powered offense struggling all afternoon, Stanford stayed inthe game by blocking two punts and intercepting Cal quarterback Kyle Bollerfour times. Fasani, who was 12 of 23 for 242 yards, threw two TD passes in thefourth quarter.
Stanford senior defensive lineman Willie Howard got his first careerinterception and recovered a fumble to hurt the Golden Bears, who outplayed theCardinal much of the day but still surrendered the symbolic Axe for anotheryear.
"I'll always be able to say I never lost to Cal," said Howard, who worehis trademarks chains around his neck after the final outing of Stanford'sTrench Dogs defensive line.
The schools have the West Coast's oldest football rivalry, and theCardinal's six straight wins tied the six victories recorded by Stanford in the1960s. Stanford has a 53-39-11 record in the series, which began in 1892 and istied for 10th-longest in the nation.
Stanford's offense, ranked among the Pac-10's best all season, struggled allday against a fired-up Cal defense. But the Cardinal led 16-7 at halftimethanks to two blocked punts - one which was returned 20 yards for a touchdownby Colin Branch - and three interceptions, two by Stanford backup cornerbackBrian Taylor.
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer