After taking back the Axe in his first season as the Cal football team's coach in 2002, Jeff Tedford will try on Saturday to repeat that feat for the first time since his arrival. Through 2006, the Bears were 5-0 against Stanford under Tedford after dropping their previous seven. All of that changed on Dec. 1, 2007, when the Cardinal topped Cal with a 20-13 win. "It becomes more special when you lose the Axe," Tedford said. "I feel that after having it five years straight, you really can feel its loss. You feel the pain that comes with not having it and the pride that goes along with it." Following the Bears' 34-21 defeat against Oregon State last week, senior linebacker Zack Follett claimed that he was "not going to lose this game." Others made it clear how bitter it's been to live with a Big Game loss for a year. "It definitely means a lot to me," senior offensive guard Noris Malele said. "I take a lot of pride in every game, especially a rivalry game. We've been living without the Axe for a whole year now, so we still have that sour taste in our mouths. We're going to come out and do what we can and this being my last run at it, I'm going to make it a special one for me."
But it's not as if Cal didn't want to win last year. Following a 1-5 slide, the Bears could have gone a long way toward salvaging the 2007 season with a triumph over the Cardinal. "We came into that (2007) wanting to win it," senior linebacker Worrell Williams said. "But intent to win is not good enough if you are not doing the little things or focusing on what you need to do to get the job done. "Everybody wants to be successful in life, but if you don't get out of bed in the morning, trying to be successful isn't going to cut it. It was a big letdown, but now we get a chance to get at them again, so let's hope we can get back on track."
Tale of Two Runners
The weather forecast sees clear skies for Saturday afternoon, but the Big Game is set to feature a lot of thunder and lightning-in Stanford's Toby Gerhart and Cal's Jahvid Best. The 228-pound Cardinal bruiser has emerged as one of the Pac-10's premier tailbacks, tallying 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground in 11 games. The Bears' speedster, meanwhile, has 882 yards and seven rushing scores in nine games. Tedford seemed wary of the challenge that Gerhart poses to a stout Cal defense. "You really need to gang tackle him," Tedford said. "He's a big, physical back with great balance. He runs at good pad level. He has surprising speed for a big guy when he gets into the open field, and he can take it the distance. "It's going to be very important that we wrap him up and that we get more than one hat to him to make sure we bring him down because it's very hard to tackle him one-on-one." Perhaps it's comparing apples to oranges in juxtaposing Gerhart and Best-two backs with two very different styles. The guys blocking in front of them, however, share a clear distinction-healthy and injured.
The Bears lost tackle Mike Tepper to a torn pectoral muscle in the preseason, guard Chris Guarnero to a broken toe several weeks ago, and then tackle Chet Teofilo to an injury before the Oregon game. All of them had been first-team starters coming out of fall camp. "We've lost five scholarship linemen this year, but the guys are competing hard," Tedford said. "They'll give it their best effort this week I'm sure. They'll prepare well through the week and go out there and cut it loose."
Johnson Doubtful
Brett Johnson, who has started the last eight games for Cal at strong safety, is doubtful for the Big Game, Tedford said on Tuesday. Johnson has been wearing a red jersey in practice and has a sore shoulder. Senior Bernard Hicks, who lost the starting job after week two, will definitely play against Stanford, Tedford said.
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