Chase Garbers ran himself into Cal history.

In a game where Garbers was named the starter (to the press) hours before, the redshirt sophomore QB avoided pass rushers all night and ended a decade of collective misery to Stanford in the 24-20 win. That win makes Cal:

-12-3 when Garbers plays the majority of the quarterback reps

- 6-0 in 2019 when they score more than 20 points

- Bowl eligible for the second consecutive year

- Happy enough that the Cal Rally Committee fell down in the 'Nerd Staredown' as the Axe was transferred.

The Axe eventually made its way to the locker room, to Justin Wilcox and company, who got to celebrate with a prize that has long eluded them.

Remigio

While Chase Garbers will get plenty of deserved credit, Nikko Remigio had the most success a wideout has had in the Big Game since Geoff McArthur. The sophomore wideout had 9 receptions for 157 yards and a score, setting up the tying touchdown with a beautifully run inside fade. Remigio took advantage of man coverage on a couple occasions, while also finding open space on a couple passes on the final drive.

Remigio looked poised to break out in the offseason, but quarterback injuries and injuries to Remigio had prevented it. He couldn't have picked a better game.

Defense

Cal had a coverage bust on their first defensive drive. They had a handful of issues the rest of the way through, trusting their DBs in one on one coverage on the outside to varying levels of success, but they held up just enough, punctuated by the Lone Toailoa stop to end Stanford's final drive.

The Bears did a handful of things defensively in the second half, not limited to:

- Bringing in Daniel Scott and putting him in the box against heavy packages

- Using Traveon Beck to cover the deep middle third in the zone, getting bigger safeties on Stanford's bigger receivers

- Rotating on the defensive line more, with Aaron Maldonado and Lone Toailoa coming in together in certain packages.

It all led to Stanford averaging 4.1 yards per play in the second half, as Cal's offense put up 7.4 (mostly due to the final two drives)

A Myriad of Factors

Wilcox alluded to Valentino Daltoso and Evan Weaver both being sick in the leadup to the game. Daltoso had to come out during the game because of it, with Henry Bazakas coming in at left tackle. McKade Mettauer also came out for a bit, with Erick Nisich filling in. Weaver didn't miss a snap.

Clark

While Trevon Clark's stats aren't big (3 receptions for 47 yards), he made the biggest play to set up the final score, just making a fantastic catch against 1 on 1 coverage

Clark, who along with Remigio had struggled with drops over the prior weeks, kept the toes in and gave Garbers the opportunity to convert and become a legend in the Big Game mythos.

Special Teams:

The Bears still have a myriad of issues to deal with on defense, as Steven Coutts struggled, kickoff return coverage was not good early, a field goal was blocked, and the punt team got called for a penalty late in the game. Injuries affect special teams units more than any other, because it's usually the backups among that group, but some of the principal players in Coutts and Greg Thomas have repeatedly had issues.

Thomas did knock down a 49 yard field goal, his career long, and Slater Zellers has been excellent as a snapper this year.

Garbers

Finally, it all comes back to Chase, as the Bears are 5-0 this year when the Cal QB plays the entire game. Garbers escaped the pocket on a number of would-be negative plays, leading the Bears in rushing (72 yards on 13 carries). He extended plays, with a 39 yard pass to Remigio on a scramble drill play. He had been the more successful QB for the Bears all year, and he will be remembered for this performance for a lifetime.

What This Means:

- Cal is bowl eligible for the second consecutive year, the first time that's been done in a decade. Stanford, with the loss, is no longer bowl eligible

- The Bears are .500 or better on the road for the second consecutive year.

- Evan Weaver is four tackles away from breaking Hardy Nickerson's single season record for tackles (Weaver sits at 164 to Nickerson's 167)

Wilcox noted after the game that they're giving the players 36 hours to celebrate this contest. Weaver noted they'll be back in film tomorrow anyway. This may be the sweetest win yet for the group, who got to see firsthand what the Axe means.