Stanford Cardinal eager to play Cal in final Big Game of Pac-12 era in front of sellout crowd

Stanford football marks the end of its Pac-12 era on Saturday, and the Cardinal will do it in front of a packed house. Cardinal officials announced this week that Saturday’s Big Game is a sellout, with more than 50,000 tickets sold – a sign that the Cal-Stanford rivalry is special no matter where the teams are in the standings. “It’s probably the most energy I’ve seen surrounding a game during my four seasons here,” Cardinal senior offensive lineman Connor McLaughlin said.

None of Stanford’s first five home games drew more than 32,000 to Stanford Stadium. Those home dates included some buzz-worthy matchups: the final Pac-12 games against AP Top 10 teams Oregon and Washington and Heisman candidates Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. ; the last scheduled visit from in-state rival UCLA as well as the opening game of the Troy Taylor era.

But the 126th Big Game — the final meeting before both teams move to the Atlantic Coast Conference next season — will receive a worthy sendoff. Cal still has one more Pac-12 regular-season game remaining — at UCLA — but this is the end of the Pac-12 road for Stanford. The Cardinal ends the season on Nov.

25 with a non-conference game against Notre Dame at Stanford Stadium. Tickets still remain for that game. “It’s important to so many people in the Bay Area and across the country,” Taylor said, who will be leading Stanford into the Big Game after facing the Cardinal twice as Cal’s quarterback – a tie in 1988 and a loss in 1989.

“So I think you feed off of that and you feel that energy and the importance of it. What we talked about is just enjoy the week, enjoy the energy, and it will feel a little bit different. ” The stake aren’t as high as both schools had hoped.

Stanford (3-7, 2-6 Pac-12) has taken its lumps in its first season under Taylor. Cal (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) got off to a 3-2 start, but needs to win its final two games to become bowl eligible. Stanford has lost three of the past four Big Games, including last season’s heartbreaking 27-20 setback at Cal that saw the Cardinal’s 17-6 fourth quarter lead wiped out by 21 straight Bears points.

The Stanford Axe Committee conducted a “Bearial” at noon on Monday and has blown a train whistle every hour since then to celebrate the rivalry, while the seniors were recognized at a Big Game Rally on Wednesday night. But McLaughlin said it’s important not to lose focus on the most important thing – beating Cal. “It can be a little distracting at times,” McLaughlin said.

“But you just have to keep the main thing the main thing, and ultimately it’s about the game so we just have to stay locked in. ” Stanford is looking for its first home win of the season. At 0-5, they and Connecticut are the only FBC teams without a home win .

In last week’s 62-17 loss at Oregon State, Stanford allowed more than 60 points for the first time since Arizona State’s 65-24 win in 2002. “Our coaches really talked about being able to flush last week down the drain and being able to look forward,” linebacker Gaethen Bernadel said. He said that won’t be a problem because of this week’s opponent.

“It’s Big Game week, man,” Bernadel said. “Everyone is excited, everyone around campus is hyped up and ready to go. ” The Cardinal is 126th out of 130 FBS teams in scoring defense (36.

9) – one spot ahead of Cal (37. 0). A big key to bouncing back for Stanford’s defense will be slowing down Jaydn Ott, who leads the Pac-12 in rushing yards (112.

9 a game, eighth in the NCAA) and total touchdowns (12). “He’s a physical runner, he’s very elusive and then he has breakaway speed, which is hard to have (all) those things,” Taylor said. “A lot of times you’ll have a guy that’s very elusive but can’t take it to the house and is not a home run hitter.

He’s one of the top players — not just backs — but one of the top players in the Pac-12. ” Related Articles Ott has five TD runs of at least 40 yards in his 21 career games. The Beavers had 40 carries for 277 yards and six TDs last week.

Barrett Miller was a four-year starter on the offensive line at Stanford before transferring to Cal after the 2022 season. He has started every game at left tackle for the Bears this season. “I love Barrett,” McLaughlin said.

“I’ll definitely talk to him after this week. Just 51 weeks out of the year he’s a great guy, just this is the wrong week. He’s a great guy, really good offensive lineman, really good mentor for me when he was here, but unfortunately he’s on the wrong side of the ball this week.

” Miller is believed to be the only scholarship football player to transfer from Stanford to Cal. In 2015, defensive end Brennan Scarlett became the only known scholarship football player to transfer from Cal to Stanford. .