Cal 2021 Football Opponent Previews: Bears Face Stanford in Week 11
* Eleventh in a series of stories taking an early look at Cal's 2021 football opponents
GAME 11: CAL AT STANFORD
Date: Saturday, Nov. 20
STANFORD 2020 record: 4-2 overall; 4-2/2nd in Pac-12 North
Series record: Stanford leads the alltime series 60-44-10. Stanford won last year’s Big Game 24-23 when the Cardinal’s Thomas Booker blocked Cal’s extra-point attempts with 58 seconds left. Stanford has won 10 of the last 11 games against Cal, the Bears’ lone win in the span coming in 2019, a 24-20 victory at Stanford that was the last time the teams met on the Cardinal’s home field.
Cardinal coach: David Shaw (90-36, 11th season)
Top players: Junior RB Austin Jones (averaged 91.7 rushing yards per game in 2020, rushed for 100-plus yards in three of six games); junior RB Nathaniel Peat (averaged 7.0 yards per carry in 2021, second-team all-Pac-12 kick returner); senior WR Michael Wilson (19 catches for 261 yards in four games in 2020, team-leading 56 receptions for 672 yards, five TDs in 2019); senior DE Thomas Booker (second-team all-Pac-12 in 2020, 21 tackles, three tackles for loss, two blocked PATs); junior OT Walter Rouse (starter as a freshman and sophomore); junior CB Kyu Blu Kelly (starter as a freshman and sophomore, 20 tackles, one pass breakup in 2020); senior ILB Ricky Miezan (shows great potential each spring, but injuries ruined his 2019 and 2020 seasons).
Strengths: The Cardinal’s offensive line might be one of the best in the Pac-12, at least that’s what coach David Shaw believes. Anchored by tackle Walter Rouse and guard Branson Bragg, the line should provide running room for Stanford’s backs. And the Cardinal running backs are another area of strength. Starting running back Austin Jones rushed for 100 yards or more in three of Stanford’s six games last season. His backup, Nathaniel Peat, averaged 7.0 yards per carry as a big-play threat. Although Stanford lost several of its best receivers, including all-conference selection Simi Fehoko, the Cardinal has two good receivers returning: Michael Wilson and versatile Elijah Higgins, who could also be used at tight end.
Weaknesses: Quarterback is the biggest concern. Davis Mills, the 2020 starter, is gone after being a third-round NFL draft choice, leaving Jack West and Tanner McKee to compete for the starting job. West has started two games in his career, including the 2020 opener when he was 13-for-19 for 154 yards. But Stanford lost that game to Oregon 35-14. He made one other start, in 2019, and the Cardinal lost that game to UCLA 34-16. The 6-foot-6 McKee has more quarterbacks skills than West, but his only playing time since returning from his two-year Mormon mission came in the closing minutes against Oregon last season, when he was 3-for-7 for 62 yards. . . . Stanford’s defense as a whole could have problems even though it returns eight starters. The Cardinal ranked ninth in the conference last year in both total defense and scoring defense, and Stanford’s defense might be less talented in 2021. Defensive end Thomas Booker and cornerback Kyu Blue Kelly are solid, but there are questions about the Cardinal’s depth on the defensive front and its talent among its linebacker corp. The Cardinal ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in rushing defense in 2020.
What you should know about Stanford: All four Stanford wins in 2020 were by five points or fewer and two were by one point. . . Stanford’s only losing season in the past 12 years came in 2019, when the Cardinal went 4-8. Stanford was eligible to play in a bowl game last season but decided not play a postseason game . . . Stanford has finished seven of the past 11 seasons ranked in the top 25. The Cardinal finished ranked in the top seven in four of those seasons, with a high of No. 3 in 2015 . . . David Shaw has taken Stanford to the Rose Bowl three times – the 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons . . Shaw criticized FOX television for giving the Cardinal a noon ET/9 a.m. PT kickoff time for their season opener on Sept. 4 against Kansas State in Arlington, Texas. . . . Once again the Cal-Stanford game will not be the final game of the regular season. Only once since 2013 has the Big Game been the final regular-season game for Cal. The exception was 2018, when the Big Game was scheduled to be played on Nov. 16 but was postponed until Dec. 1 because of smoke that resulted from wild fires.
Stanford spring football status: The Cardinal delayed the start its spring drills until April 28, when the impact of the pandemic was decreased. Stanford played its spring game on May 22. . . . Jack West was the first quarterback to take the field in the spring game, and he played four series, completing 4 of 8 passes for just 4 yards. Redshirt freshman Tanner McKee was the quarterback for the next three offensive possessions and completed 6 of 8 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. The general assessment was that McKee outplayed West and is a good bet to be the Cardinal’s starting quarterback when the 2021 season begins. However, Stanford did not name a starting quarterback following the spring, and that competition will continue into the fall. . . Coach David Shaw singled out linebackers Jacob Mangum-Farrar and Tristan Sinclair as players who will add to the athleticism of the defense after missing most of last season with injuries. . . . Quarterback Ari Patu and defensive back Jaden Slocum became the first early enrollees in the history of Stanford football. Both freshmen enrolled in January and took part in spring ball, but Patu is unlikely to win the starting quarterback job for 2021.
Stanford 2021 season projection: The Cardinal is projected to finish somewhere between third and fifth in the Pac-12 North, with the optimistic predictions pointing to David Shaw’s success as a coach. Draft Kings posted the Stanford over/under at 3.5 victories, which suggests it expects the Cardinal to go 3-9 or 4-8. Stanford has a difficult 2021 schedule. Its nonconference schedule includes Notre Dame, Kansas State and Vanderbilt, and the Cardinal does not face the two worst teams in the Pac-12 South -- Arizona and Colorado -- in its conference slate. Instead, Stanford has to play USC, Arizona State, UCLA and Utah, with the USC and Arizona State games being on the road.
Cal-Stanford prediction: Cal 31, Stanford 17
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Click here for preview of Game 1: Nevada
Click here for preview of Game 2: TCU
Click here for preview of Game 3: Sacramento State
Click here for preview of Game 4: Washington
Click here for preview of Game 5: Washington State
Click here for preview of Game 6: Oregon
Click here for preview of Game 7: Colorado
Click here for preview of Game 8: Oregon State
Click here for preview of Game 9: Arizona
Click here for preview of Game 10: USC
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Cover photo of Stanford’s 2020 Big Game celebration by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
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