California Wins One for Seniors, 46-17 : Pacific 10: Rout of Stanford ends four-game losing streak for Bears against the Cardinal.

There may be many places where people don’t even know what the Big Game is, or even where it is played.

But in the Bay Area they know, and they don’t forget. Especially if you went to one school for four years and never won a Big Game.

That was the situation facing California Saturday before 82,500 at Stanford Stadium. Twenty-two Cal players were playing in it for the last time and never had won it.

It was with much anger and considerable spirit that the Bears, led by senior running back Lindsey Chapman, rolled to a 46-17 victory over Stanford.

In ending its four-game losing streak against Stanford, Cal won for only the second time in its last 10 games against the Cardinal.

Chapman scored four touchdowns, three on short runs and the other on a 17-yard pass play.

While boosting their overall record to 7-4 and completing Pacific 10 Conference play with a 4-4 record, the Bears had the satisfaction of ending Stanford Coach Bill Walsh’s worst season on a sour note.

Not only did the Cardinal finish 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Pac-10, but this was one of the few games all season Steve Stenstrom and the Stanford offense were stopped cold.

The one-sided victory gives the Bears a shot at a bowl game, but if Arizona State beats Arizona on Friday, the Bears might not get a bid.

It was not really unexpected that Cal was able to move the ball at will against the worst defense in the Pac-10, but it was surprising that the Cal defense, ninth in the conference, stopped the Cardinal.

Stenstrom’s statistics were deceiving. Although he completed 27 of 51 passes for 346 yards, he was never a major factor. He was harassed on almost every play, throwing two interceptions and not accounting for a touchdown until the final five minutes after Cal built a 36-point lead.

Stenstrom has had an impressive season, easily breaking the Pac-10 record for passing yards in a season. He won’t remember this as one of the highlights. The big yardage total gave him 3,627 for the season, but it was a play by the much-maligned defense that kept the Cardinal from getting run out of its own stadium early.

Halfway through the first quarter, cornerback Vaughn Bryant stepped in front of a pass by Dave Barr at the California 32, did a toe dance on the sideline, than ran into the end zone to give Stanford a short-lived 7-3 lead.

Cal scored on six of its next seven possessions to take a 32-7 lead only four minutes into the second half.

Although Bear Coach Keith Gilbertson had tried to play this as “just another game,” the seniors were having none of it.

“We knew this was our last chance,” said Chapman, clutching a piece of the turf. “I know it’s what motivated me all week. I knew I had to be focused and I was. I had no idea we would win this easily, but I thought we would win.”

Chapman saved his best game for the last. Running over people when he didn’t have gaping holes, he rushed for 141 yards in 28 carries. His touchdown runs were for two, five and four yards and he caught two passes for 36 yards.

Barr, using mostly the short pass, had another strong game. The Pac-10’s most efficient passer completed 17 for 25 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. It was when Barr hurt his shoulder that the Bears went into their tailspin. With him fit, they have returned to top form.

Gilbertson said he knew the key to victory was to put pressure on Stenstrom and stop Walsh’s trick plays.

“We did both,” he said. “Stenstrom is a great player, but I was happy the way we pressured him.”

Chapman said the Bears were able to move the ball at will. “I knew we were going to have a good day right away,” he said.