Kent Ninomiya. This year marks the 25th anniversary of "The Play." It was an immortal moment in sports when Kevin Moen crossed the goal line with no time on the clock and clobbered that Stanford trumbone player. The Cal Bears web site breaks down the play.

In the 85th Big Game played in Memorial Stadium, Cal was already out of contention for a postseason bowl game. However, the implications of the game were far more important to Stanford, who were led by quarterback John Elway, playing in his last regular season game. The Cardinal football squad was in the midst of an exciting season--they were 5-5 but had victories over highly ranked Ohio State and Washington--and needed a win to be invited to a bowl game. In fact, representatives of the Hall of Fame Classic committee were in attendance, ostensibly to extend an invitation to Stanford, should the Cardinal win. With Cal leading 19-17 late in the fourth quarter, Elway and the Cardinal overcame a 4th-and-17 on their own 13-yard line with a 29-yard completion, then managed to get the ball within field goal range for placekicker Mark Harmon, prompting Elway to call a timeout with eight seconds left on the clock. Harmon made good on his 35-yard kick to put Stanford ahead 20-19. However, a costly 15-yard celebration penalty by Stanford would be enforced on the ensuing kickoff. At that point, Cal announcer Joe Starkey praised Stanford and Elway for their efforts, and added, "Only a miracle can save the Bears now!" With four seconds left, Stanford special teams coach Fred von Appen called for a squib kick on the kickoff. Harmon squibbed the kick and Cal's Kevin Moen received the ball inside the Cal 45 near the left hash mark. After some ineffective scrambling, Moen lateraled the ball leftward to Richard Rodgers. Rodgers was very quickly surrounded, gaining only one yard before looking behind him for Dwight Garner, who caught the ball around the Cal 45. Garner ran straight ahead for five yards, but was swallowed up by five Stanford players. While Garner was being tackled, however, he managed to pitch the ball back to Rodgers. It was at this moment, believing that Garner had been tackled and the game was over, that several Stanford players on the sideline and the entire Stanford band (which had been waiting behind the south end zone) ran onto the field in celebration. Rodgers dodged another Stanford player and took the ball to his right, toward the middle of the field, where at least four other Cal players were ready for the next pitch. Around the Stanford 45, Rodgers pitched the ball to Mariet Ford, who caught it in stride. Meanwhile, the Stanford band, all 144 members, had run out past the south end zone--the one the Cal players were trying to get to--and had advanced as far as twenty yards downfield. The scrum of players was moving towards them. Ford avoided a Stanford player and sprinted up the field while moving to the right of the right hash mark. Around the Stanford 25, three Stanford players smothered Ford, but he threw a blind lateral over his right shoulder. Moen caught it and charged toward the end zone. One Stanford player missed him, and another could not catch him from behind. Moen ran through the scattering Stanford band members for the touchdown, which he famously completed by running into unaware trombone player Gary Tyrrell. The Cal players celebrated wildly--but the officials had not signaled the touchdown. Stanford coach Paul Wiggin and his players argued to the officials that Dwight Garner's knee had been down, rendering what had happened during the rest of the play moot. But the officials huddled and agreed that none of them had ruled Garner down or blown his whistle, and after a few moments, the touchdown was signaled by referee Charles Moffett and a penalty was called on Stanford for illegal participation (for too many Stanford players and the band being on the field), which the officials declined for Cal automatically.