Stanford Football: Can disappointing 2018 season be salvaged vs. Cal?

Stanford football hits the road to take on the California Golden Bears in what has been historically named “The Big Game” in Week 12.

Ah “The Big Game” is back in town and if you haven’t seen the video of the band running out on the field as Mariet Ford runs into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown while also taking out a saxophone player in the process then you may view it here.

The Big Game is one of the oldest rivalries in college football and the 1982 installment is probably the most famous matchup between the two. Stanford owns the rivalry with a 53-48-10 record against the Golden Bears since the rivalries inaugural meeting in 1892. The Cardinal currently hold an eight-game win streak over the Golden Bears but the Bears proved last week that they are in the business to break streaks.

Cal is coming off a huge win over the USC Trojans in which it snapped the Trojans 14-game winning streak over the Golden Bears. An early safety helped the Golden Bears create some momentum in the third quarter against the Trojans and they followed it up with two touchdown drives and a failed two-point conversion to take a 15-14 lead. A lead that would hold for the rest of the game.

The Golden Bear defense has kept them in games all season long and even won them their game against Washington when their offense was unable to score a touchdown. The most impressive of their feats came against Washington State two weeks ago when they held the nation’s No. 1 passing attack under 350 passing yards and only allowed one score. They also have a solid run defense that allows 134 yards per game on the ground to opposing teams (34th nationally).

Stanford hasn’t had the greatest of seasons and after coming back to defeat the Oregon Ducks earlier in the season disappointed many with four losses in their next six games. The Cardinal looked stellar last week against the Oregon State Beavers behind a four-touchdown performance from KJ Costello. Costello found Colby Parkinson for all four of his scores and Parkinson would go on to finish with 166 yards and four scores on six receptions.

The Stanford receivers continue to be a major matchup problem considering their massive size. JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Kaden Smith, and Colby Parkinson are all 6-foot-3 or larger and all play prominent roles in the offense. Costello may not have the greatest of arms but it’s not hard to hit guys that are a full foot taller than most defensive backs in the NCAA.

Can the Cardinal keep the ball rolling against Cal or will the Bears snap yet another streak?

Date: Saturday, Nov. 17
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Berkely, Calif.
Venue: Memorial Stadium
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac 12 Network Live or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

California seems to have the code cracked to beat most teams in the Pac-12 and its just needs to keep on rolling with it. Go out there and play dominantly on defense and do just enough on offense to stay in the game. Chase Garber hasn’t exactly been a superstar but he doesn’t give the ball away much either and that’s exactly the kinds of game they will need out of him once again.

The Golden Bears’ defense can’t get beat downfield by these big bodied receivers so they need to double up on Whiteside or Parkinson and play them aggressively.

I shouldn’t even have to explain this but Stanford has to use these big guys. It’s got three talented receivers that are all really tall and athletic and should be the main part in most game-plans. California has a great defensive unit but of Stanford can score more than 20 points against this mess of an offense that Cal has then they should win the ball game.

Betting Odds

Courtesy of OddsShark

Points Spread: Stanford -2
Over/Under: 45.5

Prediction

This one is going to play very slow and will be very competitive for most of the game. The size advantage of the Stanford receivers will help boost the Cardinal to a win as they look to secure an eight-win season in the final two weeks. Stanford leads for most of the game and scores a late touchdown to make the

Final Score: Stanford 23, Cal 13