Nov 22nd, 2009
You will hear all about Mike Mohamed’s game-saving interception that finalized Cal’s 34-28 upset of Stanford on Saturday, and how that ruined the Cardinal’s chances to get to the Rose Bowl, so we will forgo the analysis and the emotional response and get to the cold, hard numbers worth noting:
59 – Number of years since Cal beat ranked opponents in consecutive weeks (Cal beat Arizona last Saturday when Arizona was No. 18 in the Associated Press poll, and beat Stanford on Saturday when the Cardinal was 14th). In 1950, Cal beat No. 12 Washington and No. 19 UCLA in consecutive weeks in Pappy Waldorf’s fourth season as the Bears head coach. Cal finished the regular season unbeaten and ranked No. 5 that season, but tied Stanford and lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Shane Vereen -- Photo Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
42 – Number of rushing attempts by Cal’s Shane Vereen. That is four carries shy of the Cal record set by Paul Jones in 1978, back when players routinely had 30 carries a game. Carrying the ball 42 times these days is practically unheard of, especially for a 5-10, 198-pounder who has been a backup all his career. Last week against Arizona, Vereen carried the ball 30 times, which was the most by a Cal back this season, giving him 72 carries in two games. He will be sore Sunday morning.
3 — Number of times Toby Gerhart ran the ball in the fourth quarter. Gerhart led the nation in rushing attempts coming into the game, and he had 108 rushing yards entering the final quarter. Stanford got behind by 10 points early in the quarter and coach Jim Harbaugh chose to rely on the passing of fredshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck.
0 — Number of carries Gerhart had on the Cardinal’s final possession, and Harbaugh admitted that may have been a mistake. Stanford did not have any timeouts left when it got the ball at its own 42-yard line with 2:39 remaining, but there was still 1:52 left when Stanford had a first down at the Cal 13-yard line. Harbaugh called for two pass plays, the second of which was intercepted. “Maybe we should have come back with the run at the end when we got inside the 15 (yard line),” Harbaugh said.
193 – Rushing yards for Vereen
136 — Rushing yards for Gerhart, although 61 came on the third play from scrimmage.
20 — Percentage chance of Gerhart winning the Heisman before Saturday’s Big Game
1 — Percentage chance of Gerhart winning the Heisman now.
24 — The number of consecutive points Cal scored after getting behind 14-0.
62 — The number of yards covered on the shortest of Cal’s six consecutive drives midway through the game. Five resulted in touchdowns, and the other ended with an interception after Cal got to the Stanford 16-yard line. Five of the six possessions were 10 plays or more.
7-1 — Jeff Tedford Big Game record
33 – Andrew Luck’s completion percentage against Cal, his lowest of the season. His previous low was 40 percent against Oregon State. Entering the game, Luck led the Pac-10 in passing efficiency and was 11th nationally in that category.
39 — Cal’s minutes of possession during the game, compared with 21 for Stanford, which relied on ball possession all season.
3 – Number of interceptions Luck had thrown this season before getting picked off by Cal’s Mike Mohamed with 1:36 left in the game, ending Stanford’s final threat.
100 – Number of games Tedford has coached at Cal
67 – Number of games Tedford has won at Cal, tying Pappy Waldorf for the most wins by a Cal coach since 1925.
10 – The number of wins Cal will wind up with if it beats Washington in its final regular-season game on Dec. 5 and wins its bowl game, which would tie the Cal record for most wins a season.
0-2 — Cal’s record after two Pac-10 games, getting outscored 72-6. The Bears are now 5-3 in the conference and would finish tied with Stanford if they beat Washington.
0 — Chance of Stanford getting to the Rose Bowl. Stanford had to win, and Oregon needed to lose on Saturday, and neither happened. The winner of the game between Oregon and Oregon State will go to the Rose Bowl.
60 — Approximate percentage chance of Stanford winding up in the Emerald Bowl or Las Vegas Bowl.
20 – Approximate percentage chance of Stanford winding up in the Sun Bowl.
5 – Approximate percentage chance of Stanford winding up in the Holiday Bowl
60 — The approximate percentage chance of Cal winding up in the Sun Bowl.
25 – Approximate percentage chance of Cal winding up in the Las Vegas or Emerrald Bowl.
15 – Approximate percentage chance of Cal winding up in the Holiday Bowl.
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10 — The number of points Stanford would have needed to overcome in the final 3:30 if Tedford had any guts and had gone for a touchdown on third down on Cal's final possession. Stanford dodged its first bullet there.
60 — The percent chance BEFORE Saturday that Harbaugh would receive an offer from Michigan within the year.
10 — The percent chance AFTER Saturday that Harbaugh would receive an offer from Michigan within the year. As a Stanford fan, this is the best silver lining I can find after last night.