 "Photo: Matt Sayles/The Associated Press")
It’s simply known as “The Play,” which some of you may remember by the famous call, “The band is out on the field! The band is out on the field!”
You know the rest. Four seconds left, Stanford kicks off to California, the Bears lateral five times and finally cross the end zone by trucking over a Stanford band member to win the game.
The No. 25 California Golden Bears will take on their in-state rival, the No. 17 Stanford Cardinal, on Saturday in what is now known as “The Big Game.”
Stanford destroyed Southern California at the Coliseum last week, and the Cardinal didn’t need the help of Lady Luck. Well, sort of. Freshman quarterback Andrew Luck was able to manage a Trojan defense by throwing for two touchdowns and 144 yards. The Houston native has been solid in his first year of play for Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh.
However, it was running back Toby Gerhart who stole the show and fueled the Cardinal’s big win. The senior racked up three touchdowns for 178 yards, earning himself the title of Pac- 10 Player of the Week. Gerhart is third in the nation in total rushing yards, surpassing one of the Heisman frontrunners, Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
Stanford has shown tremendous improvement over the past three years in the Harbaugh era, and the Cardinal is in a position to possibly become the Pac-10 champion if Oregon drops another game. Harbaugh has his offense clicking on all cylinders and boasts an offense that averages 36.1 points per game.
Cal will still be without its best player, running back Jahvid Best, who is out with a concussion. Best, one of the most dynamic running backs in the country and a preseason Heisman Trophy contender, has 16 touchdowns and 867 yards rushing this season.
Sophomore Bears running back Shane Vereen is trying to do the “best” he can to replace the injured running back. Vereen ran for a career-high 159 yards and scored a touchdown against the Wildcats.
“Everyone had No. 4 in their heads all game,” said Vereen of Best. “He was riding with us, and we needed to pick him up.”
Cal quarterback Kevin Riley continued with another steady performance, throwing for 181 yards and a touchdown against Arizona.
The Golden Bears’ defense played huge against the Wildcats, limiting them to 274 yards of total offense. Arizona came into the game averaging 450 yards of offense per game.
The Bears have picked things up recently, winning four of their last five games after getting trounced in back-to-back blowouts by Oregon and USC.
Cal versus Stanford is the first of many great rivalry games to follow in the next week.
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