BERKELEY, Calif. — Scoring three touchdowns felt good. Keeping Stanford out of a bowl game felt better.

And for California tailback Jahvid Best, lifting the Axe for the first time was the biggest moment of his burgeoning career.

Best rushed for 201 yards and scored three times in the second half, and Cal ensured Stanford's seventh straight losing season with a 37-16 victory yesterday in the 111th Big Game.

Kevin Riley threw three touchdown passes for the Golden Bears (7-4, 5-3 Pac-10), who scored 27 consecutive points after halftime to beat the Cardinal for the sixth time in seven meetings under coach Jeff Tedford.

Best, who had scoring runs of 45 and 3 yards, was a spectator at Tedford's only Big Game loss last season, sidelined by a serious hip injury while the Cardinal beat Cal, 20-13, across the Bay.

"I was so mad last year, seeing a whole bunch of their players taking the Axe when there was nothing I could do about it," Best said of Stanford's 20-13 win last season. "That's never going to happen again. I really looked forward to this time."

Neither school is shy about celebrating the other's misfortune, which explains the Cal players' extra pleasure in a win that clinched another early winter for Stanford (5-7, 4-5).

"I'm not one to be big-headed or anything like that, but we don't belong on the same field as those guys," Cal linebacker Worrell Williams said. "We have way more athletes than those guys, and we're more fundamentally sound than those guys. We're better than those guys. ... When we go out and play our game, they can't compete with us, and it showed today."

ACC

Clemson 13, Virginia 3: C.J. Spiller threw the first touchdown and the Tigers (6-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored all their points after two interceptions and a fumble recovery to defeat the Cavaliers (5-6, 3-4) at Charlottesville, Va.

Boston College 24, Wake Forest 21: Backup quarterback Dominique Davis sneaked 1 yard for a touchdown with 1:12 remaining to lift the Eagles (8-3, 4-3) over the Demon Deacons (6-5, 4-4) at Winston-Salem, N.C. to keep their Atlantic Coast Conference title hopes alive.

Virginia Tech 14, Duke 3: Sean Glennon threw for a touchdown and Macho Harris returned an interception 23 yards for another as the Hokies (7-4, 4-3) beat the Blue Devils (4-7, 1-6) at Blacksburg, Va., and can clinch the Coastal Division title if they beat Virginia next week.

BIG 12

Kansas State 38, Iowa State 30: Josh Freeman threw four touchdown passes and Ron Prince went out a winner, beating the Cyclones (2-10, 0-8 Big 12) at Manhattan, Kan., three weeks after he was fired as the Wildcats' (5-7, 2-6) coach.

BIG EAST

West Virginia 35, Louisville 21: Pat White broke the NCAA record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback, rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns to give him 4,292 yards for his career, as the visiting Mountaineers (7-3, 4-1 Big East) handed the Cardinals (5-6, 1-5) their fourth straight loss.

Rutgers 30, Army 3: Mike Teel threw for 359 yards and safety Joe Lefeged returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown on the fourth play from scrimmage as the Scarlet Knights (6-5) routed the Black Knights (3-8) at Piscataway, N.J., to became bowl eligible with their fifth straight win.

BIG TEN

Purdue 62, Indiana 10: Curtis Painter threw for 448 yards and five touchdowns, and the Boilermakers (4-8, 2-6 Big Ten) scored on their first 10 possessions to help coach Joe Tiller go out a winner with a rout of the Hoosiers (3-9, 1-7) at West Lafayette, Ind.

Northwestern 27, Illinois 10: C.J. Bacher threw two touchdown passes, one to Eric Peterman in the fourth quarter after a 51-yard punt return by Brendan Smith, as the host Wildcats (9-3, 5-3) beat the Illini (5-7, 3-5) at Evanston, Ill.

Wisconsin 36, Cal Poly 35: John Clay's second touchdown of the game, a 6-yard run in overtime, and Philip Welch's PAT kick lifted the Badgers (7-5) over the Mustangs (8-2), who scored first, but missed the extra point at Madison, Wis.

Iowa 55, Minnesota 0: Shonn Greene rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns as the Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) held the Gophers (7-5, 3-5) to just seven yards rushing to spoil Minnesota's last game at the Metrodome and retain possession of the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy.

CONFERENCE USA

Central Florida 28, Memphis 21: Rob Calabrese threw two touchdown passes and Latavius Murray rushed for another to help the Knights (4-7, 3-4 CUSA) beat the Tigers (5-6, 3-4) at Memphis, Tenn.

Tulsa 56, Tulane 7: Tarrion Adams ran for a school-record 323 yards and a touchdown as the Golden Hurricane (9-2, 6-1 Conference USA) ended a two-game losing streak by beating the Green Wave (2-9, 1-6) at Tulsa, Okla.

Rice 35, Marshall 10: Chase Clement threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns, becoming Conference USA's all-time leader in total touchdowns (114) and touchdown passes (89), as the Owls (8-3, 6-1 in CUSA) beat the Thundering Heard (4-7, 3-4) at Houston.

Houston 42, UTEP 37: Case Keenum threw for 480 yards and scored on a 1-yard run with 41 seconds left as the host Cougars (7-4, 6-1 CUSA) rallied to beat the Miners (5-6, 4-3) in Houston.

East Carolina 17, UAB 13: Brandon Simmons scored on a 2-yard run with 2:20 remaining in the game to lift the Pirates (7-4, 5-2 CUSA) over the Blazers (3-8, 2-5) at Birmingham, Ala.

IA INDEPENDENTS

Syracuse 24, Notre Dame 23: Cameron Dantley — son of one of Notre Dame's all-time basketball greats, Adrian Dantley — threw an 11-yard TD pass to Donte Davis with 42 seconds left as the Orange (3-8) rallied from a 23-10 fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Irish (6-5) at South Bend, ind.

MID-AMERICAN

Temple 55, Eastern Michigan 52: Adam DiMichele threw for 370 yards and a school-record six touchdown passes, including a school-record four TDs to Bruce Francis, and also rushed for another score to lead the Owls (4-7, 3-4 Mid-American) over the Eagles (2-9, 1-6) in Philadelphia.

Ohio 49, Akron 42: Boo Jackson threw five touchdown passes, including a 1-yarder to David Carter with 32 seconds left, as the host Bobcats (3-8, 2-5 Mid-American) blew a 35-21 lead, then rallied past the Zips (5-6, 3-4) at Athens, Ohio.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Colorado State 31, Wyoming 20: Billy Farris threw touchdown passes of 31, 43 and 51 yards to Dion Morton and the Rams (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West) rallied from a 20-17 deficit with two fourth-quarter TDs to beat the Cowboys (4-8, 1-7) at Laramie, Wyo.

San Diego State 42, UNLV 21: Ryan Lindley completed 35 of 50 passes for 387 yards and two touchdowns, and the Aztecs (2-10, 1-7) broke it open with 21 fourth-quarter points to beat the Rebels (5-7, 2-6) at San Diego and snap a seven game losing streak.

SEC

Tennessee 20, Vanderbilt 10: Eric Berry returned his seventh interception of the season for a touchdown late in the second quarter en route to a 17-0 halftime lead as the visiting Vols (4-7, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) beat the Commodores (6-5, 4-4) at Nashville, Tenn.

Mississippi State 31, Arkansas 28: Anthony Dixon rushed for 179 yards and scored three touchdowns to help the Bulldogs (4-7, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) to a victory at Starkville, Miss., ending a nine-game losing streak to the Razorbacks (4-7, 1-6).

ELSEWHERE

HARVARD 10, YALE 0: Gino Gordon ran for 177 yards and a touchdown to lead the Crimson (9-1, 6-1 Ivy League) over the Bulldogs (6-4, 4-3) at Cambridge, Mass., for a share of the Ivy League championship with Brown and victory in the 125th edition of "The Game."

Brown 41, Columbia 10: Michael Dougherty passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Bears (7-3, 6-1 Ivy League) routed the Lions (2-8, 2-5) at Providence, R.I., for a share of the league championship with Harvard.

Abilene Christian 93, West Texas A&M 68: Bernard Scott rushed for 292 yards and scored seven touchdowns, both playoff records, and Charly Martin caught 14 passes for 323 yards and scored five times as the Buffaloes (11-0) gained 810 yards in beating the Wildcats (11-2) at Abiline, Texas, in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.