Stanford won the Pac-12 North, the Stanford Axe, and bragging rights for another year with a 63-13 stomping of rival Cal Saturday. Stanford (9-2, 7-2 Pac-12) needed a win and an Oregon loss to take the division title. It got both, and now waits to see whether it will host the title game. Cal (1-11, 0-9 Pac-12) finishes its first season under Sonny Dykes without a conference victory for the first time since 2001.
Cal vs. Stanford 2013 final score: Cardinal stomp rival Golden Bears 63-13 to win Pac-12 North
The Cardinal take home all the spoils from the 2013 edition of the Big Game.
Ezra Shaw
The Cardinal jumped out to a 21-7 lead on three Ty Montgomery touchdowns in the game's first nine minutes. The junior wide receiver started with a 31-yard touchdown run. He hauled in a Kevin Hogan pass for a 50-yard score just three minutes later, then caught a 12-yard touchdown pass to finish a seven-play drive. Hogan hit Montgomery on a 72-yard touchdown pass just seconds into the second quarter to make it a 28-10 game.
Hogan was far from done. He connected with Michael Rector on a 45-yard tochdown pass with 8 minutes left before the half, then went back to Montgomery one more time in the last seconds before halftime. Stanford's lead was 42-13, the backups were in, and the rest of the game was elementary.
Hogan racked up 329 passing yards and five touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter. Both totals were season highs for Hogan, and his ridiculous 235.1 passer rating only further proves his dominance over the Cal defense.
On the other sideline, Cal quarterback Jared Goff completed 10/19 for 194 yards and a touchdown before being taken out of the game. The Golden Bears were able to post 310 yards passing in total, but it was not nearly enough to stay with Stanford's dynamic offense.
Of course, the blowout did not get in the way of tradition. Even down 50, Cal students were forced to stare down Stanford for the game’s final minutes:
This is just humiliating... Stanford goes up 63-13 while Cal's Axe Committee has to hold a straight face pic.twitter.com/VzfnbQU9wM
— David Lombardi (@DavidMLombardi) November 24, 2013 Box Score Hero: As good as Hogan was, the player of the game has to be Ty Montgomery. Stanford’s top wideout caught five passes for 160 yards, and ran twice for an additional 31. Most impressive of all: He was only stopped from scoring twice. Four of Montgomery’s five receptions ended in touchdowns, and he added his first rushing touchown of the year.
Rankings Ramifications: The win won’t do much for Stanford’s BCS ranking -- the Cardinal were heavy favorites and held serve -- but the win, coupled with Oregon’s shocking loss at Arizona, puts Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game. If Arizona State manages to lose against UCLA or Arizona, the Cardinal could host the title game.
But Did They Cover? Stanford was a 31.5-point favorite. They covered with room to spare.
For More On This Game: For more on Golden Bears football, visit Cal community California Golden Blogs. For more on Cardinal football, visit Stanford community Rule Of Tree. Both teams are also covered at Pac-12 community Pacific Takes and SB Nation Bay Area.
Next Week’s Schedule: Stanford closes its season against Notre Dame, while Cal’s season comes to an end.
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