SF Chronicle: It's Levy, and a bevy

New QB, Lynch and defense Bear the load in fourth straight win over Cardinal
Jake Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer
Give 'Em The Axe!
Best start by a Cal coach against Stanford:
1. Andy Smith (1918-23) 6-0
2. Jeff Tedford (2002-05) 4-0
3. Pappy Waldorf (1947-54) 6-0-2
Worst home defeats for Stanford in the Big Game:
1921: Cal, 42-7
1975: Cal, 48-15
1993: Cal, 46-17
1922: Cal, 28-0
2005: Cal, 27-3
By the numbers:
1,741: Points scored by Cal in 108 Big Games
1,728: Points scored by Stanford in 108 Big Games
226: Cal rushing yards
16: Stanford rushing yards
12: Number of Cal duplicate jersey numbers
9: Number of Bear sacks of Cardinal QBs
6: Number of Stanford duplicate jersey numbers
Cal quarterback Steve Levy wasn't exactly the star of the Big Game on Saturday, but he did more than enough in his first collegiate start to give Cal a 27-3 victory over Stanford. The Cal defense, which had a season-high nine sacks and knocked Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards out of the game early in the second half, was the real star of the 108th Big Game, played before a crowd of 71,743 at Stanford Stadium. It was the fourth straight Big Game victory for Cal, and head coach Jeff Tedford improved to 4-0 against Stanford. With the win, Cal (7-4, 4-4 Pac-10) assured itself a bowl berth. The Bears probably will play in the Insight Bowl if Arizona State loses to Arizona on Friday, and would be a good bet to play in the Las Vegas Bowl if ASU beats Arizona. Stanford (5-5, 4-4) must beat Notre Dame Saturday at Stanford to become bowl-eligible.
Levy, a junior who played fullback last season, made his first collegiate start at quarterback, replacing Joe Ayoob, who had been ineffective in recent games. Levy had thrown only 11 passes in his career before Saturday, but against Stanford, he was 10-for-18 for 125 yards, plus he rushed for another 36 yards. His 56-yard touchdown pass to freshman DeSean Jackson in the first quarter was the big play of the game, and gave Cal's defense enough to work with. Ayoob, who had started the previous nine games, did not play until the final two minutes. Stanford played nearly the entire second half without Edwards, who left the game with a bruised left shoulder after being sacked on the fourth play of the third quarter. He was 10-for-15 for 87 yards before the injury and was replaced by T.C. Ostrander. Cal sophomore Marshawn Lynch rushed 24 times for 123 yards, giving him 1,052 yards for the season. He scored one of the Bears' two rushing touchdowns. The other was scored by his backup, Justin Forsett, on a 21-yard run in the third period. Forsett had 50 yards on Saturday and has 962 yards for the season. Neither team did much offensively in the first half. Stanford had 104 yards before the break, with no play longer than 15 yards. Cal had 117 yards before halftime, and nearly half of those came on one play.
The only thing the offenses did well was avoid mistakes; neither team committed a first-half turnover. Cal scored first when Levy hit Jackson with a 56-yard touchdown pass. Levy's pass was underthown a bit, but Jackson wrestled the ball from Stanford defensive back T.J. Rushing and ran the remaining 10 yards for the score with 9:05 left in the first quarter. The point-after kick was blocked, leaving Cal with a 6-0 lead. Stanford made it a 6-3 game at the 9:54 mark of the second quarter when Michael Sgroi kicked a 37-yard field goal. The Cardinal began the drive at the Cal 47-yard line following a Cal punt and got as far as the Cal 18 before settling for three points. Levy completed 5 of 9 passes in the first half, but, aside from the 56-yard scoring pass, he had just 17 passing yards. Levy contributed significantly in the Bears' first scoring drive of the second half, although he did it more by running than passing. He had scrambles of 21 and 10 yards to help get the ball to the Stanford 21-yard line, and Forsett ran it in from there on an option play, putting Cal ahead 13-3 with 9:33 left in the third period. Forsett entered the game on that play because Lynch was having trouble with his shoe. Cal put together a 77-yard drive midway through the fourth period that ended with a 3-yard Lynch touchdown run, giving the Bears a comfortable 20-3 cushion. And backup tailback Terrell Williams threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Craig Stevens for the Bears' final points.