youngster Mendis playing an absolutely unbelievable innings and getting that hundred

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Stanfords midseason slump is becoming a distant memory now that Christian McCaffrey is healthy once again and the Cardinal are finishing the season in typical fashion with another Big Game win.McCaffreys 90-yard touchdown run highlighted a record-setting 284-yard rushing performance that led Stanford to its seventh straight win in the rivalry game, 45-31 over California on Saturday.After struggling to move the ball at all during a stretch of three losses in four games back in October when McCaffrey was slowed by an undisclosed injury, the Cardinal (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12) have hit their stride late in the season.Weve definitely had some ups and downs, McCaffrey said. To see where we are now gives us a lot of hope going into each week knowing that we can play and get into a rhythm and really hurt some people in the run game.McCaffrey broke his own single-game rushing record at Stanford of 243 yards and the Big Game record of 226 yards set by Cals Joe Igber in 2002 to help the Cardinal (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12) keep the coveted Axe with yet another win over their rival.Stanford matched the longest win streak in the rivalry that dates back to 1892. The Cardinal also won seven straight against Cal (4-7, 2-6) from 1995-2001.Any time you win the Big Game, its a fun one, not only for this team but for this school, quarterback Keller Chryst saidDavis Webb threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Watson ran for two scores for the Golden Bears, who are assured of a fifth losing season in the past six years and will miss out on a bowl bid unless there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the slots.Our margin of error is very slim, Webb said. The games we win we dont really mess up, and the games we lose we mess up. Its not that hard. We just have to get better.The game started well for Cal, which stopped Stanford on the opening drive and then scored on its first offensive play on a 70-yard pass from Webb to Chad Hansen.Stanford tied the game two plays later on a 16-yard run by Chryst and took control early in the third quarter when McCaffrey burst through the middle for his long touchdown run that was one of his three scoring runs in the game.That was the big momentum thing at that point, Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. Stanford had the momentum and we just never seemed to be able to get it back.THE TAKEAWAYStanford: The biggest reasons for Stanfords turnaround have been a healthy McCaffrey, who has rushed for 787 yards and scored 10 TDs in a four-game winning streak, and Chryst. After struggling early on as Ryan Burns replacement, Chryst has been much improved of late. He threw for 198 yards and two TDs against Cal, giving him 456 yards passing and five touchdowns the past two weeks.California: After a promising start to the season with two wins over ranked teams, the Bears are headed for another losing campaign because of the same problems that have plagued the program ever since Dykes took over as coach in 2013. The defense has struggled to stop anyone, allowing 51.3 points per game while losing five of the past six contests. The run defense, which came into the game ranked second to last in FBS allowing 283.4 yards per game, was even worse against McCaffrey and the Cardinal. Stanford finished with 357 yards.LONG RUNSMcCaffrey has scored on long runs the past two weeks, following up his 61-yarder at Oregon with the 90-yarder this week as Stanford has taken advantage of defenses stacking the box to stop the run.If we can secure those guys and get him through the first level, hes got a clear path to the end zone, Coach David Shaw said. Strike up the band and bring on the PAT.BIG RECEIVERCals 310-pound fullback Malik McMorris got involved in the passing game for the first time. He caught a short pass and rumbled for a 20-yard gain to set up one TD and added a 6-yard catch later in the game.UP NEXTStanford: Host Rice on Saturday to finish the regular season.California: Host UCLA on Saturday to finish the regular season.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Air Max 97 Australia Cheap . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Air Max 97 Womens Australia . 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Usman Khawaja is putting off the awkward questions raised by his horrid Sri Lanka tour in order to shore up his place in Australian cricket on home soil - starting with the Matador Cup next month.The dilemma faced by Australias Test cricketers, coaches and selectors this summer was summed up by how Khawaja stated he did not wish to dwell on failings against spin in Asia lest it cloud his preparations for a season in which South Africa and Pakistan loom as strong opponents on faster surfaces.Having lost his Test spot as a result of an unsettling pattern of dismissals to finger spin in Pallekele and Galle, Khawaja must now start the season with runs if he is to resume the No. 3 spot from which he was so prolific last summer. The challenges to be posed by India will have to wait until the new year - if the selectors deem him worthy of the task.I will look at that but...I want to concentrate on this summer in Australia ahead, Khawaja said in Sydney while marking the 10th anniversary of the Basil Sellars scholarship for young cricketers. There is no point looking at India if I dont score any runs in the summer here and if we dont win games against the current opposition weve got coming. If that bridge comes or when it comes, Ill look at it.Ive already sort of assessed Sri Lanka, Im sure all of us have. We have as a group. But us moving forward we need to win at home first. Were playing against two quality attacks. Theyre very good teams so first and foremost we need to do well there and once we can tick those boxes off we can start looking at India again. Im sure everyone will have a think about it over the summer.Like other members of the tour party, Khawaja looked most ruefully at the first Test, when a productive day one in the field was squandered by a poor first innings. Kusal Mendis then made the tourists pay with an innings out of the box, and Khawaja and others were soon floundering under scoreboard and series pressure.As a whole, we probably just didnt adapt to the wickets quickly enough, Khawaja said. I honestly think we should have won that first Test match. If iit wasnt for the little fella, the youngster Mendis playing an absolutely unbelievable innings and getting that hundred … that sort of took the game away from us.ddddddddddddI firmly believe that if we won that first Test everything would have been a lot different. We obviously didnt, then Galle happened, and Sri Lanka just outplayed us.Khawajas return was a measly 55 runs in the first two Tests, and he looked increasingly troubled against spin. His nadir arrived in the second innings at Galle, when he courteously allowed Dilruwan Perera to skid a ball into off stump from around the wicket. The selectors axe fell, undoing much of his progress the previous season. A new bat sponsor, Kookaburra, will look on nervously for what happens next.It was tough to not play that last Test match, Khawaja said. Its never easy being dropped, no matter what the circumstances are. But theres so much cricket still to come. I dont feel like Ive lost touch or Im out of it.Hopefully for me right now its just about going back to Matador Cup and doing well for Queensland. Hopefully we can win a trophy, and then hopefully I can be there for the first Test in Perth.There was caginess from Khawaja about the conversations he had with the tour selectors Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmann, who have flagged a need to rethink the composition of the team for India next year but also denied Sri Lankan failures would count against selection at home. A hundred for Shaun Marsh on his recall in Colombo complicated matters.I dont particularly want to chat about it because it was between myself and the selectors and the coach, Khawaja said. Im sure if they want to say something, they can. It didnt seem like it was the end of the world.I can understand where they were coming from, even though it was disappointing and I didnt fully agree with it. At the end of the day its out of your hands. Youve just got to roll with the punches and hopefully when you get another chance you score runs. ' ' '