Fernando Mendoza threw for 294 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, Jaydn Ott ran 36 times for 166 yards and a score, and California beat Stanford 27-15 in the annual Big Game on Saturday night.
Mendoza, the redshirt freshman making his sixth straight start after beginning the year buried on the depth chart, overcame a big hit by Stanford linebacker Tristan Sinclair early in the second quarter and returned to lead the Bears (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) to a second consecutive win that keeps Cal's postseason hopes alive. He completed 24 of 36 passes and was intercepted once.
As good as Cal's offense was, the Bears defense was equally strong. The Cardinal were limited to 12 first downs, made only one trip inside the red zone and were tackled six times for losses while losing to their San Francisco Bay Area rivals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Cardinal quarterback Ashton Daniels was 18 of 35 for 188 yards passing and a touchdown, and added another 68 yards rushing for Stanford (3-8, 2-7), the lone FBS team to not have a home victory this year. Sam Roush added a season-high 62 receiving yards on four receptions.
Stanford returns home for the regular season finale next Saturday, where it hosts Senior Day against Notre Dame.