116th Big Game

Stanford is currently ranked as the #10 football team in the nation. Cal might be one of the ten worst football teams in the nation. On paper, Stanford is a 31 1/2-point favorite in the 116th Big Game. Some of the most memorable games of this remarkable rivalry have come in similar situations. No matter how superior one team is supposed to be, nothing is certain.

Stanford leads the all-time series, 58-46-11. The game has been decided by a touchdown or less 52 times. Only 70 points separate Stanford (1,899) and Cal (1,829). Incredible stuff for a series that started in 1892.

As a student at Cal, I saw one Big Game victory. One! The 1986 Big Game was a shocker. The decision to fire Cal head coach Joe Kapp had been made three weeks earlier. His team was 1-9. Stanford was 7-2 and Gator Bowl-bound. Sound familiar? Motivated to send their beloved coach out with a win, Cal stunned Stanford, 17-11. Kapp's first year as Cal's coach ended with "The Play" in 1982. His last year ended with one of the greatest upsets in the history of the rivalry.

Excluding this season, Cal fans have been spoiled in recent years. Jeff Tedford had an unprecedented run of football success. Certainly unprecedented by Berkeley standards. He was 7-4 against Stanford. He won his first five Big Games, 2002-06.  A typical Tedford season included as many wins as I saw in my three years at Cal. The Tedford years changed the way that Cal fans felt about their football team. Through nearly all of the '80s and much of the '90s, a successful football season was one that included a win over Stanford. That was it. Cal could win one game all season. If that one win was against Stanford, all was peachy. That one big win didn't happen often. Stanford had a 14-5-1 record against Cal from 1981-2000. Most of those five wins were upsets. Stanford shocked Cal a couple of times. The most shocking came in 1991. Cal finished the season ranked #7 in the nation. They routed Clemson in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. That 1991 Cal football team was one of the best in school history. They entered the Big Game with only one loss. That one loss was to eventual Nation Champion Washington and they nearly took that game. Stanford sent Cal to the Citrus Bowl with a second loss. Stanford probably kept Cal from a top-5 final season ranking. Cal can return that favor today.

There's always surprises in the Big Game. If today's game takes the unexpected path, it will be a greater upset than that of the 89th Big Game in 1986. You just never know when Cal and Stanford get together.

Go Bears!