California-Stanford Preview Capsule

On one level, Brennan Scarlett is just happy that he’s healthy enough to suit up Saturday. “We still have three games left with the big one against Stanford and ASU, but it’s awesome right now”. The game is sold out.

“Can’t write it any better than that”, Scarlett said. “I haven’t made it this far in a long time”. Lasco looked good while rushing for 38 yards on four carries in the win over Oregon State before leaving the game with an ankle injury, a frustrating setback for a player who had struggled since returning from a hip injury earlier in the season. After being on the losing side for four years at Cal, Scarlett has joined the team with the upper hand in the rivalry. The last transfer between the two schools before Scarlett was Dale Rubin, who played for Cal in 1962 and then with the Cardinal in 1964-65. This week has been typical in a few ways and atypical in other ways. The Golden Bears are seeking their first Big Game win since 2009 and can improve their bowl position after becoming eligible last week. “I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing my alma mater. It’s going to be a great experience”.

Stanford (8-2 overall, 7-1 Pac-12) will advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game with a victory over the Bears, while California (6-4, 3-4) can advance its bowl opportunities and kick the Cardinal out of the title game with a victory.

Postgame oration: Guard Josh Garnett, an All-America candidate, did his best to get his teammates steered toward the Big Game in the aftermath of Saturday night’s bitter loss.

After spending his first four years at California, defensive lineman Brennan Scarlett will finally get his chance to play in the Big Game.

No. 15 Stanford is coming off a devastating 38-36 loss to OR that dealt a serious blow to the Cardinal’s hopes of being selected for the College Football Playoff.

-QB Jared Goff (No. 2 quarterback, 10th overall) – Goff threw for a season-high 453 yards and six touchdowns in the win over Oregon State, increasing his school records to 10,805 career passing yards and 83 career touchdowns. Scarlett’s father ran track at BYU and his brother Cam is now a student at Stanford.

While Goff owns the more glitzy numbers, Hogan has what he wants more – the Axe that goes to the victor. “We want him back for the Notre Dame game”. He said the program is a “perfect” mix of business and technical aspects, and he valued a one-year program that would still allow him to explore his National Football League aspirations in the spring. The first time I visited I walked into the weight room.

“So far, I think he’s doing a good job on all three of them”.

“It’s going to hurt a lot not having Ronnie”, Stanford inside linebacker Blake Martinez said. “The answer is yes, I do expect him to be here next year”. In the offseason, he was a hard worker. When Harrison went down, his role jumped up. He showed us he was here to work and wanted to be the best he can be.

“It’s been tough”, said Stanford head coach Davis Shaw. “He had a lot to learn from the playbook and had a lot to learn technique-wise once he could play”. He’s willing to learn. “He wants to do it right”.

The teams will meet again in Week 12 and although the game lost a few luster with Stanford’s loss to OR last week and Cal dropping four of their last five, it still remains an important Pac-12 North duel.

“There’s speculation out there he wasn’t my guy because I didn’t hire him”, Williams said. I was the new guy, I was the older guy. But it was cool.

Goff and Hogan are on the short list of the most effective quarterbacks in the country, even if they go about it in somewhat different ways.

“It’s a conference with a lot of good quarterbacks”, Shaw said. “We needed to come out and play really well so we could recall that we are a good football team”. “It’s easy to root for a guy like him”. Hogan also connected with receiver Michael Rector in the second quarter on a 45-yard touchdown pass. By halftime Stanford was up 42-13, and the Cardinal did not take their foot off the gas, scoring three more touchdowns in the second half. Most of those came around World War II when several players who were in Berkeley for a Navy training program played for Cal and then went to Stanford after the war.