Late Afternoon Start Set for the Cal-Stanford Big Game

Cal and Stanford fans are always worried that the starting time for the Big Game between Cal (3-6, 2-4 ACC) and Stanford (4-5, 2-4 ACC) will be set at an odd time to accommodate television.

On Monday, the ACC announced the starting time for the November 21 Big Game at Cal, and it won't start at night, but it won't start in the early afternoon either. The game will start at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, which fits into the convenient 7:30 p.m. Eastern time slot.

The Cal-Stanford game will be televised on the ACC Network and will be part of an ACC Network tripleheader that day, starting with the Syracuse at Boston College at 9 a.m. Pacific time, followed by the North Carolina State at Florida State game at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time. Then comes the Big Game at 4:30 p.m. Berkeley time.

Both Cal and Stanford play a game this weekend before the Big Game in two weeks. Cal plays a road game against Virginia (4-5, 2-4 ACC) on Saturday, while Stanford faces Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-3 ACC) in a road game on Saturday.

It's unclear how people who plan to attend this year's Big Game feel about a game that starts late in the afternoon. It will provide plenty of time for pregame tailgating, but the game will not be finished until about 8 p.m., when it's completely dark.

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This year's Big Game will be the 129th meeting between Cal and Stanford, with Stanford holding a 66-51-11 lead in the series that began in1892.

Stanford defeated Cal 31-10 last year in a result that was so disappointing to Cal fans and general manager Ron Rivera that head coach Justin Wilcox was fired the next day with one regular-season game and a bowl game remaining. Cal had won four Big Games in a row before losing last year and relinquishing The Axe.

This year's Big Game will feature first-time head coaches for both teams. Tavita Pritchard had never been a head coach at any level before being named Stanford's head coach for the 2026 season. Likewise, Tosh Lupoi had never been a head coach at any level before being named the Golden Bears head coach following the 2025 season.

The Big Game is usually a sellout or close to a sellout, and it will be interesting to see how big the crowd will be for this year's Big Game in Berkeley, with both teams having losing records heading into games this weekend.

As has been the case in recent years, the Cal-Staford game will not be the final regular-season game for either team. Cal plays a home game against Pitt the following week on November 28, while Stanford will host SMU that same day.

Cal needs to win all three of its remaining games to become bowl-eligible for the fourth straight season and have a chance for a winning overall record. Stanford must win at least two of its last three games to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2018.

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