Before the season, I didn’t imagine Stanford would enter the Big Game with a 4-6 record.
I figured KJ Costello would be good enough to lead Stanford to a 7-3 record at this point, and the Cardinal might have an outside chance at winning the PAC-12 North. Instead, Costello has been banged up, and injuries have depleted Stanford. Now, Stanford heads into the Big Game fighting to keep its 10-game bowl streak alive, but this game means so much more than keeping that streak.
Win or lose, Stanford’s bowl streak of 10 consecutive games will end. Stanford can’t possibly beat Notre Dame, who at 8-2 will likely make a New Years’ Six game. Stanford needs to win this game because in a season filled with poor play, unfortunate injuries, and questionable coaching it will give Stanford fans something to be proud of.
I remember my first Big Game like it was yesterday. It was 2009, and Toby Gerhart had been unstoppable the entire game. 10-year-old me was heartbroken when Andrew Luck threw an interception at the end of the game, and my dad is still bitter that Harbaugh didn’t run it in with Gerhart, who could’ve enhanced his chances at the Heisman with a key touchdown.
My second Big Game saw more success. We went to Cal the next year and saw Luck get his revenge over the Bears. Luck literally ran over a defender, and the play became a instant highlight that many Cardinal fans still remember today, representing the fact that Stanford has dominated Cal in recent years.
This Saturday will be my third Big Game ever and my first college football game of the year. It’ll take two planes and over seven hours in the air to get to the Farm, but a Cardinal win will make the trip worthwhile.
For Stanford and for the fans, the Big Game is the team’s biggest game of the year. The season has been a failure, but for one day and one game, we can forget about the past, and a win would propel hope into the program heading into next season.
Imagine another career day from Davis Mills; imagine Cal fans suddenly worried about facing him again next year.
Imagine giving Cal its sixth loss of the year; imagine Cal fans frantic the next week about their must-win game versus UCLA.
Imagine winning the Axe for a tenth consecutive years; imagine the horror for Cal fans.
For the longest time, Stanford fans were accustomed to a losing season that were marked as a failure dependent solely on the Big Game’s outcome. A Stanford win would make this season less of a failure and give us a reason to celebrate. A loss would make this season so unbearable and would officially mark the end of Stanford’s football excellence; a loss would be hard to come back from.
So, Stanford fans, I ask you to make the trip to the Farm to show your support for the Cardinal. For those in the Bay Area, I’m sure it’s no more than an hour drive, and if I can make a seven hour flight, you can certainly make the trip too.
Comments
Means less than usual
I think Big Game means less this year. What would you rather be playing for, the chance to both beat our chief rival and possibly win the Pac-12 North and increase the chances of a major bowl game with a victory, or just the chance to beat the rival to not be considered possibly the worst team in the conference? Clearly it’s easier to get excited about a win leading to opportunities other than avoiding embarrassment.
By brandtjl1 on 11.18.19 3:31pm
This year, Stanford is in the position Cal is usually in
Having to hope for a Big Game win to try to paper over a bad season. It doesn’t feel great.
It’ll feel even less great if Cal wins.
By worldblee on 11.18.19 3:48pm
It's been a horrific year
The only thing left to root for is crushing Cal. Go Cardinal!
By g8tgod on 11.18.19 4:41pm
Been a while since we had a Big Game like this
Big Games are odd, really.
When I was at Stanford in the late 80s we had some lean years where Big Game was basically the only game that ultimately mattered (and we won those) and then we had a decent year where we went 8-3 (11 game schedule then) but lost Big Game to a Bears team that went 2-9. But that was under the "old Stanford pattern" of having a competitively good team once to twice a decade, peppered with other teams that had decent offense and no defense.
The kind of dominance we have had in Big Game over the past decade has been uncommon in the rivalry. By and large since "The Play" in 1982 we have owned Big Game, going 24-11-1 over that stretch (and that includes Cal’s stretch of 7-1 against us from 2002-2009). But the current win streak is the longest in the history of the rivalry.
This feels like an old skool Big Game where both teams are kind of not very good, with one usually being somewhat better than the other, and the game therefore taking on more meaning than in other years individually. 5-5 against 4-6. Both lost to SC and Oregon, both beat UW. I do not love our chances this year, to be honest, because of the specific matchup — Cal has a very good defense, especially against the pass. Although Slovis tore them apart last week, SC has some of the best targets in the conference, and we don’t. This will be a problem for us. Still, it looks as if Garbers is at least iffy for Big Game, having left the SC game in the 2nd quarter where it seemed like he reinjured the shoulder area again. It could be an interesting game — when Cal is on offense its a challenged offense against a challenged defense, and when we are on offense, it’s a one-dimensional offense against a great passing defense. I give the edge to them in light of that, and also in light of the streak needing to end at some point … although to be honest this one really could go either way.
By Brendan Ross on 11.19.19 6:04am
As Someone Whose Allegiance To Stanford Derives From Graduate School
The Big Game has a little less emotional content for me. But I get it.
I have enjoyed the priviledge of watching Big Time football at Stanford games even when the team was weak (1980s). It was and is okay. Stanford’s football program is different, as are its student athletes. They deserve to be supported by us…..almost irrespective of how the team is doing.
Stanford’s renaissance as a football power was a gift from the gods. Not only was I cheering on the "good guys", but the team was WINNING BIG against serious competition. With no visisble diminuation in the status of its student athletes.
We are at a crossroads. I almost feel (from my perspective…..not necessarily that of an undergrad graduate) that elevating the Big Game to a deterninant of whether a season is a success or not relegates Stanford to the world of insignificance. I would like to think that we have moved well beyond that……….particularly when Cal has been pretty miserable over the past decade or so.
This game will be won by the team that wants it most. If Garber is, indeed, out, we stand a very good chance to win this game. I think Mills (I assume he will start) will be able to pick apart the Cal defense enough to put points up on the board. But who knows. A turnover here or there and penalties could change everything.
Does the Stanford football program and its current players really view this as the "Big Game", or have we moved beyond this as a program? Does David Shaw get up for it – or is it just business as usual as we work to "execute Stanford football"?
My expectations as a fan are low for this game. I am not particularly invested. But I will be at the Notre Dame game next week. There is some glory left in sending the Irish home again empty handed from Stanford Stadium.
By hoyaparanoia on 11.19.19 11:00am
Well
David Shaw has pretty much always gotten up for Big Game.
I remember seeing videos of the team in the bowels of Memorial Stadium for the 2012 Big Game and David Shaw was very vocal with the team before and afterward, talking about "tangible evidence of a job well done" and so on. Or in 2013 when he just stepped on the gas, atypically for him, and let the team run up a record 63 on Cal.
Remember, he was a Stanford football player. He played against Cal 4 times. He has the rivalry in his blood, pretty much.
None of that means we win. Cal is very hungry to beat us in Big Game after a series-record 9-game losing streak. But … if they win it won’t be because Shaw treats it like any other game. Even during the glory years he didn’t.
By Brendan Ross on 11.19.19 7:27pm
What to hope for in a not-so-big game
1. Mills shows he can pile up yardage against a good defense.
2. In the hope of saving his job, Tavita Pritchard devises an actual game plan. Playing fast, with a scripted set of plays at the beginning, would be a start.
3. Adebo returns to the field.
4. Stanford can go an entire game (or at least a half) without drive killing penalties.
5. Stanford puts pressure on either an inexperienced or gun shy QB. We know the inside linebackers and safeties can’t cover or tackle, so use them to blitz unmercifully.
6. With no possibility of a post-season game this year, Shaw inserts all the freshmen we haven’t seen all year, particularly on defense. There is no longer any danger of them appearing in more than four games and losing their red shirt year.
Stanford has a better offense than Cal, but a significantly weaker defense. Cal will be fired up, perhaps even more than UCLA, due to their losing streak. However, if Stanford puts three touchdowns on the board in the first half, it wins; if not, the streak ends.
By SU74 on 11.19.19 12:02pm
Cardinal Coaches should take this approach...
On defense just dont give up big plays… Once in the red zone tighten it up and hope for the best. If Cal runs up 600+ yards of offense lets make sure redzone trips end w field goals not TDs .
Offensively, approach this game similar to last Saturday. Pass often, run occasionally. Mills has several targets..we know someone will be open on each play
#GoCardinal
By Slot_Man22 on 11.21.19 2:08pm