Complete Preview of Saturday's Cal-Stanford Football Game

Cal will play the 128th Big Game at Stanford on Saturday.

This past summer, The Athletic rated Cal-Stanford the 29th-best rivalry in college football.

The preview for Saturday’s Big Game:

CAL (6-4, 3-3 ACC) vs. STANFORD (3-7, 2-5 ACC)

SITE: Stanford Stadium, Stanford California

WHEN: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

TV: ACC Network -- Chris Cotter (Play-by-Play), Max Browne (Analyst), Kendra Douglas (Sideline Reporter)

RADIO: KSFO (810 AM) -- Justin Allegri (Play-By-Play), Mike Pawlawski (Analyst), Ben Ross (Sideline Reporter)

BETTING LINE: Cal is favored by 4.5 points as of Saturday afternoon. Over/Under is 47.5 points.

WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday afternoon will be sunny with a temperature of around 62 degrees when the game starts, dropping down to about 50 degrees by the time the game ends. There is only a 6% chance of rain.

CAL-STANFORD HISTORY: The Cal-Stanford series is the sixth-most-played rivalry among FBS schools with 127 games played. The Cardinal leads the alltime series 65-51-11, but Cal has won the last four games against Stanford. Cal won last year’s Big Game in Berkeley when the Bears rallied from a 21-10 deficit entering the fourth quarter to win 24-21. Fernando Mendoza led the game-winning, 98-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady with 2:40 remaining. Cal has won the past three games played at Stanford, including a 27-15 victory over the Cardinal in 2023. Starting safety Aiden Manutai has missed the past two games, but he is not on the injury report so presumably he will play against Stanford.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Lineacker Cade Uluave, who missed the past two games with a hand injury, probably will play Saturday, although that is not certain. Wide receiver Mark Hamper, who started five games this season, will not play against Stanford, and starting nickel back Cam Sidney is questionable for the game, giving him a 50-50 shot of playing Saturday. Running back LJ Johnson Jr. was listed as probable on Thursday but was downgraded to questionable on Friday. Starting defensive tackle T.J. Bollers, who missed the previous Cal game, is listed as probable, so he is likely to play.

STANFORD PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Starting defensive end Wilfredo Aybar has been ruled out for Saturday's game. Starting cornerback Collin Wright, one of Stanford's top defensive players, is listed as probable. Starting linebacker Tevarua Tafiti and starting offensive lineman Kahlil House were listed as probable on Thursday, but were taken off the injury list on Friday, so both are expected to play against Cal.

CAL STORYLINES:

---Cal is seeking its fifth straight win over the Cardinal, and the Bears have not defeated Stanford five times in a row since 2002 through 2006. The Bears have never defeated Stanford more than five times in a row, although Cal had an eight-game unbeaten streak against Stanford from 1947 to 1954 when two of the games in that span ended in ties. Stanford owns the longest winning streak in this rivalry when the Cardinal won nine consecutive Big Games from 2010 to 2018.

---Cal needs one win in its final three games (including a bowl game) to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2019. The Bears need a win in one of their two final ACC games against Stanford and SMU to finish with a winning percentage of .500 or better in conference play for the first time since 2009.

---The Golden Bears had a bye last weekend and had their best performance of the season in their previous game against then-No. 15 Louisville. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus in overtime to complete the 29-26 road win over the Cardinals, who were favored by 18.5 points.

--Cal is in 10th place in the ACC standings, but the Bears could finish as high as tied for third place if it wins their final two games and a number of results in other ACC games fall in the Bears’ favor.

---Cal true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was named ACC quarterback of the week after his performance against Louisville, when he threw for a career-high 323 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His 13 touchdown passes are tied with BYU’s Bear Bachmeier for the most by a true freshman this season.

---Cal is already bowl-eligible for the third straight year, but is hoping to earn a berth in a more prestigious bowl by winning its final two games against Stanford and SMU.

---Bears slot receiver Jacob De Jesus had 16 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown against Louisville and was named ACC receiver of the week. He has 73 receptions for the season, which ranks second in the ACC and fourth in the country.

---Cal linebacker Cade Uluave, who missed the past two games with a hand injury, might return this week. His 9.0 tackles per game rank second in the ACC.

---Bears cornerback Hezekiah Masses is tied for the national lead in interceptions with five and leads the country in passes defended with 16 (five interceptions, 11 pass breakups). Cal cornerback Paco Austin is tied for national lead in pass breakups with 13.

---Cal running back Kendrick Raphael has scored 12 touchdowns this season, and that ranks third in the ACC.

---Cal defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina is the most underrated player on the team. Every opposing coach notes how effective he is at controlling the line of scrimmage. His 43 tackles don’t rank among the conference leaders but are a lot for an interior lineman. His 10 tackles against Virginia were a remarkable number for a player at his position.

---A Bears win against Stanford might secure Justin Wilcox’s job as Cal’s head coach for next season, a decision general manager Ron Rivera will make at the end of the season. Wilcox has won three straight road games against Stanford, and is one three Cal head coaches to do that, joining Andy Smith (1919-1922) and Pappy Waldorf (1847-51). Wilcox is trying to become the first Cal head coach to win four consecutive Big Games on the road. Wilcox has a 5-3 overall record against Stanford as the Bears’ head coach.

STANFORD STORYLINES:

---If Stanford gets its fourth win by beating Cal on Saturday it would give the Cardinal its most wins in a season since 2020, when Stanford went 4-2 in the shortened pandemic season. Stanford has won three games each of the past four seasons.

---Stanford is 3-1 in home games this season, with victories over Boston College, San Jose State and Florida State. The Cardinal’s only home defeat came against Pittsburgh. Stanford has two home games left after finishing 0-6 in road games this season.

---Redshirt freshman quarterback Elijah Brown is expected to make his second start of the season on Saturday, after making his first 2025 start in the Cardinal’s previous game, a 20-15 loss to North Carolina. He led two Stanford touchdown drives in the fourth quarter of that game. Brown also started a game in 2024 and is 0-2 for his career in his college starts.

---Stanford inside linebacker Hunter Barth will be playing in his fifth Big Game, but his previous four Big Games were as a member of Cal’s team. He was a starter for the Golden Bears last year against Stanford and recorded seven tackles in the Bears’ victory. Barth had four tackles for Cal in the Bears’ 2023 Big Game win, one tackle in Cal’s 2022 Big Game victory and played but recorded no tackles in the Bears’ 2021 Big Game triumph.

Hunter Barth makes a tackle as a starting linebacker for Cal in the 2024 Big Game | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Barth transferred to Stanford following the 2024 season. He has played in all 10 games for Stanford this season and has recorded 38 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He started five games for the Cardinal early in the 2025 season, but has been coming off the bench in the second half of this season.

---The Cardinal is coming off a bye and hopes to end Cal’s four-game winning streak in Big Games. Stanford has not defeated Cal at Stanford Stadium since 2017.

---Stanford’s Sam Rousch leads all ACC tight ends in receiving yards with 458, and his 43 receptions rank tied for fourth in the nation among tight ends.

---Stanford ranks last in the ACC and 127th of 134 FBS schools in scoring offense, averaging 17.5 point per game. But the Cardinal offense has been more effective at home, averaging 25.0 points in its four games at Stanford Stadium. Stanford averaged 12.5 points in its six road games.

---Frank Reich has two games left as Stanford’s interim head coach. He is not expected to remain in that capacity next season, and general manager Andrew Luck is expected to name a permanent head coach after the 2025 season ends.

---Stanford will not play in a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season. That bowl drought comes immediately after Stanford played in bowl games in 10 straight seasons, winning six of them. The Cardinal finished two of those 10 seasons ranked in the top four in the final AP poll – No. 4 in 2010 and No. 3 in 2015.

---Five questions to a Stanford beat writer about the Cardinal football team---

CAL PLAYERS TO WATCH:

QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (13 TD passes, 9 interceptions); LB Cade Uluave (81 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss); WR/PR Jacob De Jesus (73 catches, 10.7 yards per punt return); CB Hezekiah Masses (5 interceptions); TE Mason Mini (team-leading 4 TD receptions); WR Jordan King (16 catches past 5 games); RB Kendrick Raphael (695 yards rushing); DT Aidan Keanaaina (10 tackles vs. Virginia).

STANFORD PLAYERS TO WATCH:

QB Elijah Brown (65.7% completion percentage, 2 TDs, 1 interception, 2 career starts); RB Micah Ford (493 rushing yards, 10 receptions); RB Cole Tabb (411 yards rushing); WR CJ Williams (53 receptions, 5 TDs); TE Sam Roush (33 catches over the past 5 games); LB Matt Rose (83 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, 3 QB hurries, 1 forced fumble); LB Tevarua Tafiti (6.5 tackles for loss); CB Collin Wright (5 career interceptions).

CAL STATISTICS: Click here

CAL GAME NOTES, DEPTH CHART: Click here

STANFORD STATISTICS: Click here

STANFORD GAME NOTES: Click here

JAKE'S PICK: Cal 31, Stanford 21

JEFF'S PICK: Cal 24, Stanford 17

JON WILNER’S PICK (San Jose Mercury News): Stanford 16, Cal 13

TICKETS: Click here StubHub: Click here. SeatGeek: Click here

PARKING: Click here

Recent articles:

Quarterback decommits from Cal for class of 2026

Freshman leads Cal women to victory over previously unbeaten Saint Mary's