With nothing to gain or lose, Cal came up with a lackluster performance, while Stanford came out highly motivated to knock off their archrivals for the first time in 5 years. Stanford kept things close, but in the end it was the Golden Bears who came out on top in their 5th consecutive Big Game win, Cal's longest such streak since the 1920's. Stanford's record of 1-11 is clearly not what they expected after a 5-6 season last year under first year head coach Walt Harris. Cal finishes 9-3, and undefeated at home. Without a hiccup at Arizona, Cal would have been sent to the Rose Bowl via UCLA's upset over USC. Unfortunately, Cal will have to wait at least one more year until they can return to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1959.

Cal PP's:

Marshawn Lynch, RB, Cal- In what was probably Marshawn's last collegiate game, he rushed for just 67 yards on 15 carries with 1 fumble. Not the typical Marshawn Lynch running day as we've gotten used to, but he did split carries with Forsett, and it just didn't seem like he was too worried about his stats or carries: C+

Desmond Bishop, LB, Cal- Finished with 10 tackles. Desmond is really quite a linebacker and great competitor, however I keep seeing him having problems with wrapping up. He needs to learn how to finish some tackles and not leave his feet too soon on the tackle: B-

Andrew Cameron, OT, Cal- A better day for him than I've seen in the past. He did fantastic run blocking and good in pass blocking. However, not much can be said about the Stanford defensive line: B

Daymeion Hughes, CB, Cal- He was just recently named a finalist for the Lott Trophy, and can someone tell me why he was left out of the Thorpe Award finalist list? He finished with 5 tackles, and once again his side of the field was almost never thrown to. He is the closest thing I have ever seen to a shutdown corner at the college level and finishes the year with 8 interceptions: A-

Brandon Mebane, DT, Cal- Stanford had 2-3 guys on him at all times, heck they may have even thrown the band at him. As he was all year, Mebane was again faced with the double and triple teams. He finished 9 tackles. 2.5 TFL, and .5 a sack. At this point for me, he'd be a steal in the 2nd round, where's he predicted to go: A

Tim Mixon, CB, Cal- DNP

Stanford PP's:

Trent Edwards, QB,Stanford- DNP

Nick Frank, FB, Stanford- DNP

Trevor Hooper, S, Stanford- Finished with 7 tackles, .5 TFL, and .5 sacks. I was impressed with him and the entire Stanford defense as a whole: B-

Evan Moore, WR, Stanford- 3 receptions for 63 yards and 1 touchdown. Not a huge play Wide Receiver but did have a 51 yard catch and runs good routes: B-

Ismail Simpson, OG, Stanford- DNP

Matt Traverso, TE, Stanford- DNP

Cal now heads for the Holiday Bowl against Texas A&M, and Stanford heads for, well, a long offseason full of big decisions.

How can you give Lynch a C+? That was the worst game that I've seen him play this year. I would have given him a D at most. His fumble almost cost Cal the game.

It wasn't a good game for Marshawn at all, you're right. He seemed like a ghost out there, however grading him a D isn't right at all. I don't base my grades on just one single game, more on his stock, how he's played recently and then how he played in this particular game. To give him a D or even an F as you're suggesting is ludicrous.

I thought the grade was for that game only.
I would never rate Lynch that low for the year. If anything your not giving him enough credit with a C+.