Oregon Ducks at Stanford Cardinal

I can’t say enough great things about their work ethic, their level of commitment, their unselfishness and their character. Stanford leads the all-time “Big Game” series 60-46-11.

It’s not for lack of trying. Last year, the Cardinal beat Cal 38-17 for its fifth straight Big Game victory. “Winning this game, I think, would open it up for the future, the rest of the guys that are coming up, just open it up by showing that you can beat Stanford”.

The Bears will look for a seventh win next Saturday against Arizona State. They both get stellar quarterback play.

The Big Game was supposed to be bigger than this. When he was at Cal, he lined up against them for three years in practice.

He’s very clear, though, that he won’t be fueled by any hatred or animosity towards the program that he left behind – and that he doesn’t expect there to be any particular hatred towards him from the other side.

“This was the best fit for me”, he said. “When we don’t, we’re not as good”. Following the game, Stanford coach David Shaw said he didn’t know the extent of the injury, leaving Harris’ status for this week’s game in question. “We’ve been so excited that he’s been on our team”. Five laterals later – and with Kevin Moen running through Stanford band members who made their way onto the field believing the game was over, the Golden Bears won 25-20. Quarterback Vernon Adams was supposed to become Marcus Mariota 2.0 and keep OR in the Pac-12 drivers’ seat – but we all forgot about the defense. “Show him to me”. “He’s a hard worker”. “It’s here and I’m here, but I didn’t really win it”. He leads the team with two sacks, and has broken up three other passes. “The culture here is definitely different and one that is earned – you earn your respect around here”.

“We’re thin on the defensive line now”, Shaw said. “It’s disappointing for us and disappointing for him because he’s such a good player”.

“This is a tough road we have traveled in our conference”, Shaw said. That much is for sure.

Stanford played without starting cornerback Ronnie Harris, who suffered a sprained ankle in the loss to Oregon.

-S Cody Whitfield tied for the team lead with six tackles in the loss to Oregon.

The second reason is quarterback Seth Russell was lost for the season two weeks ago and true freshman Jarrett Stidham is only making his second start.

ABOUT CAL (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12): After throwing eight interceptions during the Golden Bears’ four-game losing streak, Goff turned in a stellar outing against Oregon State and moved into eighth on the Pac-12 career list with 10,800 passing yards.

Oregon’s victory over USC earlier Saturday had backed Stanford into a must-win situation for the division title.

The game was especially meaningful to graduate transfer defensive lineman Brennan Scarlett, who spent his first four years at Cal before finishing his career with the Cardinal.

It just so happened that the MS&E program at Stanford fit the bill.

“If anybody has seen a running back, a football player, better than Christian McCaffrey, tell me”, said Shaw after McCaffrey personally wrecked the Bears with 389 all-purpose yards. You kind of mark this stuff off as you go along. “Getting a degree from a place like Cal is the best feeling ever”. “I saw more clearly the struggles people went through during that”.

Lasco said academics were the most important factor for him back when he signed his letter of intent in high school.

Whether McCaffrey loses out in the Heisman race to Alabama running back Derrick Henry or Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield or Leonard Fournette of LSU or whomever, he is lighting up Stanford Stadium down the stretch in ways never seen before. Her goal is to help the professors understand what it means to be a student-athlete at Cal, while encouraging the student-athletes to be comfortable enough to approach the professors and develop their relationships directly.

He’s happy to be on a team with as much success as Stanford, but he’s also thrilled that after three tough seasons, his alma mater is once again bowl-eligible.