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PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- "The Big Game" produced a "Big Scare." Chris Lewis overcame three interceptions by throwing four touchdown passes as 15th-ranked Stanford kept Pac-10 Conference foe California winless wih a 35-28 victory. In the 10th longest rivalary in college football that bares the nickhame "The Big Game," Stanford improved to 54-39-11 in the series, including seven straight wins. A huge favorite, the Cardinal had to work hard for their latest win in the series as California played one of its best games of the season. "We knew coming into this ballgame that California would come in here and play their best football game," Stanford coach Tyrone Willingham said. "We have the utmost respect for coach (Tom) Holmoe and his staff. We know they have a lot of character and how this has always been a closely contested series." Lewis, who took over for the injured Randy Fasani earlier this season, made the game's biggest play, throwing a 79-yard touchdown pass to Luke Powell with 7:08 left in the third quarter, giving the Cardinal a 28-20 lead. He threw his fourth TD pass of the day, a 31-yarder to Teyo Johnson early in the final quarter, stretching the advantage to 15 points. Lewis finished 17-of-35 for 370 yards and also had TD passes of 29 and 45 yards in the first half. "This was one where you're just really glad that you came away with the victory," Lewis said. "We made some mistakes that I haven't seen us make all year. Turnovers were big in this game and you just can't have that." Kenneth Tolon II added a 30-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for Stanford (7-2, 6-2 Pac-10), which has two games remaining. Enduring its worst season ever and with Holmoe stepping down at the end of the season, California (0-10, 0-8) had its school-record losing streak extended to 13 games. The Golden Bears close their season on November 23 at Rutgers. "We played hard today," Holmoe said. "They (California) played like we thought they were capable of playing all year. We played very well. We gave up some plays, but we never gave up." One of Lewis' mistakes proved costly, when Nnamdi Asomugha brought back an interception 18 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to give California a 10-7 advantage. Tolon put the Cardinal in front for good 1:29 in the second quarter, scoring on his 30-yard run. Tolon carried eight times for 67 yards. Mark Christian and Brett Pierce traded field goals in the final 7:46 of the half as Stanford held a 21-13 advantage at intermission. The Golden Bears pulled within 21-20 with 8:05 left in the third quarter following a one-yard TD run by Terrell Williams. But Holmoe decided against a two-point conversion, leaving the deficit at one. Less than a minute later, Lewis provided a crushing blow with his 79-yard touchdown pass to Powell. Powell had five catches for 153 yards. Just 36 seconds into the fourth quarter, Lewis found Johnson for a 31-yard TD pass, extending the lead to 35-20. "Our team is just fortunate that our defense came to play," Lewis said. "If we think we can do that against Notre Dame, then we've got something coming to us." Kyle Boller threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to LaShaun Ward with 13:01 left, pulling the Golden Bears within 35-28. Boller went just 18-of-42 for 247 yards and two interceptions. California advanced just past midfield in the game's final minute, but could not get even.
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