November 21, 1998

Final Stats

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Todd Husak threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Troy Walters and Stanford's defense made it hold up as the Cardinal beat California 10-3 Saturday to win the 101st Big Game.

Stanford (3-8, 2-6 Pac-10), whose defense ranked last in the conference, held Cal without a touchdown and racked up nine sacks. It was Stanford's fourth straight win against Cal (5-6, 3-5). The defeat, the fifth in the last six games, wiped out any postseason hopes for the Golden Bears, who finished one victory shy of bowl eligibility.

Kevin Miller, who missed two field goal tries earlier, made an 18-yarder with 8:42 left. Stanford, whose drive began with Tim Smith's interception of Justin Vedder, had a first-and-goal at 2 but Cal put up a goal-line stand, forcing the Cardinal to settle for the field goal.

Cal tried to answer but with 6:12 left, Vedder was sacked on fourth down near the Bears 40. The Bears had two more chances in the final minutes but punted and couldn't capitalize on Deltha O'Neal's 57-yard punt return to the 31.

The Bears managed a first down to the 20 but Vedder was then sacked and threw three incompletions.

Frustrated offensively in the first half, Stanford broke through to take a 7-3 lead on Husak's touchdown pass to Walters with 10:28 remaining in the third quarter.

Emory Brock put the Cardinal in position for the score, turning a swing pass into a 39-yard gain and Husak and Walters teamed up on the next play.

During the ensuing series, Stanford had an apparent touchdown negated by an offensive pass interference call in the end zone.

Walters was at the receiving end of a 25-yard scoring pass from Husak but he was caught pulling down O'Neal before making the catch, nullifying the play and eventually leading to a Stanford punt.

With defenses dominating, Cal took a 3-0 lead at halftime on Ignacio Brache's 33-yard field goal.

Vedder moved Cal to the Stanford 12 but consecutive sacks pushed the Bears back to the 31 and Vedder's third-down pass to Douglas for 17 yards was short of the first down, bringing Brache on for the field goal.

Cal held Stanford to negative 24 yards rushing in the first half, wracking up nine tackles for losses, and the Cardinal failed to convert two early scoring chances.

Brock took a swing pass 61 yards to the Cal 24 and Stanford managed to push the ball down to the 17 before Miller shanked a 35-yard field goal try wide left.

Miller also missed a 32-yard field goal try wide right midway through the second quarter.

By DENNIS GEORGATOS
AP Sports Writer