California has more at stake than just rivalry pride when it hosts Stanford in their first Big Game as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif.
Coming off a 33-25 home loss to Syracuse, Cal (5-5, 1-5 ACC) remains one win shy of bowl eligibility. The Golden Bears complete the regular season next Saturday at No. 13 SMU.
Stanford (3-7, 2-5) already is assured of its sixth straight campaign without postseason play despite a surprising 38-35 home win over then-No. 19 Louisville last week. The Cardinal finish with a non-conference matchup at San Jose State next Friday.
Cal hopes to unleash star running back Jaydn Ott on the Cardinal like it did in last year’s 27-15 road win, when the then-sophomore dominated the game with 166 yards rushing.
But the All-American candidate hasn’t come close to duplicating those kinds of numbers this year after suffering a sprained ankle in Cal’s season-opening win over UC Davis. He hasn’t rushed for more than 78 yards in any game this year, with his season high coming last week against Syracuse.
Ott isn’t the only Big Game performer who is coming off his best effort of the season. Stanford’s Ashton Daniels earned ACC Quarterback of the Week for his 298-yard, three-touchdown showing against Louisville.
Cal safety Craig Woodson said he and his teammates saw Daniels’ performance on tape and weren’t impressed.
“We still feel the same way about them. We’re coming out Saturday to dominate them,” Woodson boasted. “With them beating Louisville, it doesn’t change anything. It just makes us even more (determined) to show them y’all’s the little dogs and we’re the Bears.”
The best Stanford can do this year is finish with five wins. Cardinal coach Troy Taylor noted any season, regardless of the total number of wins, contains a lifetime memory if it includes a win over the Northern California rival.
“The games are usually decided by a touchdown, so teams do typically rise to the occasion regardless of the records and no matter what’s going on,” he observed. “It’s really what is great about college sports. Hopefully it’ll be another great one for Stanford folk.”
Cal has won the last three Big Games.
–Field Level Media
