Stanford Cuts Down Cal, Brings Axe Back Home

This win means a lot to the Stanford football program

Nov 22, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal players take possession of the axe after the game against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Stanford Axe is back home.

On Saturday night on The Farm, Stanford ripped a few gorillas off the program's back, and boy does it feel good. Coming into this one, Stanford had finished with a 3-9 record for four straight years, and had also lost the Big Game to Cal the past four seasons.

Stanford hadn't won a Big Game at home since 2017. In one night, all of that history was wiped away, and the Cardinal are now set up for a brighter future.

Cal dominated the time of possession battle in the first half 20:33 to just 8:27, but it was actually Stanford that led at the break thanks to their defense, which put two touchdowns on the board in the second quarter on a pair of Cal fumbles.

Emmet Kenney would add a field goal in the third quarter, making it 17-10, and then the Cardinal offense would get going in the fourth, putting up 14 points and 120 total yards (75 rushing). Micah Ford rushed one in from four yards out for the first score, and CJ Williams caught a pass from Elijah Brown for a 34-yard touchdown to put them up 31-10, which ended up being the final.

THE CARDINAL DEFENSE WANTS TO SNAP THIS STREAK

— Stanford on SI (@StanfordonSI) November 23, 2025

Without Stanford really being in control of this one for most of the game, they sure took off with this one in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter, which is a welcome departure from last year's contest where they squandered the lead late.

With the win, here are the big takeaways for Stanford.

Program-Changing Victory

Nov 22, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Frank Reich looks on during the second quarter against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

While this one loss won't mean a ton to Cal in the grand scheme of things, the victory means a lot for Stanford. The win snaps those two separate four-year streaks, and that is going to be huge heading into the offseason.

With Frank Reich being the interim head coach for the Cardinal, he'll have one week left in command of the football program before Stanford announces their next head coach.

That announcement is coming no matter how the Cardinal finished this season, but for the program to finally reach the four-win mark and bring the axe back to Stanford, there will be a bit less pressure built up for whomever steps in as the next head coach.

This win against Cal takes a lot of the pressure off of the program heading into the offseason, and the new coaching staff will be given more leeway by the fanbase than they would have otherwise.

Micah Ford is a Beast

Nov 22, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Micah Ford (20) runs past California Golden Bears defensive back Aiden Manutai (14) during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Running back Micah Ford is just a truck when he's on his game. He carried the ball 29 times for 150 yards rushing with one touchdown. He also added a catch for seven yards to his totals.

He missed the games against Miami and Pittsburgh, and has still managed to put up 145 carries for 643 yards this season in nine games. This was his second 150+ yard rushing game, with the other coming against Boston College in the team's first win of the season.

This looked like the first game where he was fully back and healthy since missing a couple of weeks, and he just showed what he could do. He was consistently rushing for four or more yards on first down, which has been the Cardinal's key for success all season. When they win games, they keep themselves in second and third down and manageable. Ford is a key to making the offense work.

Stanford is Close to a Bowl Game

After Stanford's Week 0 loss to Hawaii, I wrote that their season may already be over. The thought being that with that loss to a team they needed to beat, that they would no longer have a chance at a bowl game. Turns out that was the right call, but they've shown enough to prove that they're not far off from getting into a bowl game as early as next year.

RIght now, their record is 4-7, with one left to play against a mighty Notre Dame team. It's unlikely they pull that one off, but still, 4-8 is two wins away from bowl contention. If they win that game against Hawaii, then they need to figure out how to win just one more game.

That difference could be in finding a new QB, or coaching up Elijah Brown. That could come from a boost at head coach. It could come from improvements to the offensive line. There are fairly straightforward fixes to be made that could get the program to the precipice of bowl contention in 2026.

Perhaps one of those improvements leads to a win over a team like UNC next season, instead of falling 20-15 on the road. There is a path forward for the program now, and the future is a lot brighter for the Cardinal.