STANFORD – The series-record nine-game winning streak in the Big Game and the school-record 10-year bowl streak all came crashing down for Stanford on Saturday.

The Cardinal was unable to convert a fourth-and-1 from its 34 with 41 seconds left and lost 24-20 in the 122nd Big Game, which ended with the Axe back in Cal’s possession and Bears fans storming the Stanford Stadium field.

“It’s not good,” redshirt junior linebacker Curtis Robinson said. “We let down nine senior classes that have won this before, 10 including this one. So it’s definitely not a good feeling.”

In a back-and-forth game, Stanford (4-7, 3-6 Pac-12) had taken the lead on a 44-yard field goal with 2:23 remaining, but Chase Garbers scrambled for a 16-yard TD with 1:19 to play and the Bears (6-5, 3-5) only allowed nine yards on the Cardinal’s final drive in front of an announced crowd of 48,904.

“I’m hurting for our seniors,” said Shaw, who lost to Cal and lost to UCLA for the first time in his 9-year tenure at Stanford. “I feel like the rest of us let our seniors down, didn’t allow them to finish their careers here with the Axe. Told them that there should be some pain involved. If you care, you hurt. That’s something we’ll have to live with for 364 days.”

Here were the biggest takeaways for Stanford’s most devastating loss in a year full of them:

Representative first play

After a season full of injuries, perhaps it was no surprise that Connor Wedington, the team’s leading receiver, was injured after returning the game’s opening kickoff and did not return. In his place, Elijah Higgins became the eighth true freshman to start for the Cardinal this season.

“We have never at any point in the season made an excuse and we won’t for the rest of the season,” Robinson said. “You have to go into every game with the next-man-up mentality. You have to treat it like you were supposed to be the guy.”

It didn’t seem to affect the offense at the start. Davis Mills completed his first seven passes, including a 39-yard pass to Donald Stewart on a busted coverage that was the junior’s first collegiate touchdown.

But Wedington typically plays 75-80 percent of the team’s snaps, besides handling return duties, and his absence came more pronounced as the game went on.

Osiris St. Brown, often filling in for Wedington, caught the ball a yard short of the first down on Stanford’s final drive and went sideways instead of forward. After an incomplete pass and a run stuff on fourth-and-1, the outcome was sealed.

Typical last play

Coming off a program-record 504-yard passing day, Mills completed 26 of 35 passes for 283 yards. But the running game put up just 61 yards on 24 carries, so the failure to pick up the yard on fourth-and-1 at the end also wasn’t unexpected.

The running backs only carried three times for 14 yards in the first half – partly a result of Stanford’s success in the air, but also an indication of Shaw’s lack of confidence in the ground game and a rebuilt line that is starting three true freshmen because of injuries.

Mill also had two third-quarter interceptions that kept Stanford from pulling away. After scoring on its opening possession two minutes into the game, the only other Cardinal TD drive came on a short field after Cal’s punt went out of bounds at its 30.

Otherwise, the only points came from one of the few bright spots for Stanford – kicker Ryan Sanborn, who made a career-long 48-yard field goal and then the go-ahead 44-yarder with 2:23 remaining.

Mobile quarterbacks

After being dissected by dual-threat quarterbacks earlier this season, Garbers completed 67 percent of his passes for 285 yards and also had a game-high 72 yards on 13 carries. When Stanford went up 20-17, Cal needed just 64 seconds to go 75 yards for the winning TD, including a 37-yard throw and then the game-winning scramble from Garbers, who was a game-time decision to start.

“This was Chase Garbers’ game,” Shaw said. “I commend him. We couldn’t stop him. The athletic quarterbacks have been a difficult thing for us all year.”

That doesn’t bode well for next week, when Stanford will face Notre Dame’s Ian Book.

What next?

About next week – for the first time since 2008, Stanford will be playing a game without a bowl appearance in its future. All expectations are that the 15th-ranked Fighting Irish, likely playing for a New Year’s Day bowl, will be the fourth visiting team to win on The Farm.

“Coach Shaw after the game said that this next week is all going to be about how strong our character is,” junior tight end Colby Parkinson said. “If we just want to tap out and get ready in the offseason, try to come back next year strong, it’s going to show poor character. But that’s not what we have here. We have a group of guys that are all strong and willing to fight. And that’s what we’re going to do next week.”