Why Stanford Football's Matchup Against Cal is the Only Game that Matters in 2025

Stanford football is once again on a bye week, but this time the week off comes at a very vital moment on the schedule. Coming off of a road loss to North Carolina, the 3-7 Cardinal are out of the mix for a bowl game, but they still have their most important and biggest game of the season still left to play—a matchup against their most bitter rivals, the California Golden Bears.

Set to face off for the 128th time in a matchup dubbed 'Big Game,' this game means more to the Cardinal than just playing against their Bay Area rivals. In fact, going into the season, this game was circled on the calendar as the most important game for the Cardinal.

Already facing low expectations heading into the campaign, the Cardinal made things even harder for themselves when they fired head coach Troy Taylor right before spring practice and brought in interim head coach, Frank Reich.

While Reich has a very good track record as a coach, it is hard to find success under an interim coach. But while the Cardinal knew that they would have a tough season, facing Cal was a game that they knew they had to win regardless of how the rest of the season would end up playing out.

Losing to Cal in heartbreak fashion last season, the loss showed just how much work Stanford still has to do, facing a Cal team that notoriously lost a ton of stars to the transfer portal. But losing to Cal also signified that the Cardinal are far behind their rival in many ways, which could be detrimental when trying to land recruits, as the two schools are similar in location and academics.

And while the Cardinal are facing another 3-9, beating Cal this year will not only give the Cardinal a sense of pride in being able to take home their first Stanford Axe since 2020, but it will make offseason recruiting a little easier, especially with recruits choosing between Cal and Stanford.

In a season that has been full of tribulations, a win over Cal will mark a high point in a year full of transition while also giving Stanford fans something to cheer and brag about as they prepare for another long offseason.

Since Andrew Luck took over as the general manager, excitement about the direction of the program has been high, with many viewing Luck as the guy who can bring Stanford back to the promised land. The game against Cal is essentially Stanford's Super Bowl, and if they win, the confidence surrounding the program going into the offseason will be much higher.

Currently searching for a full-time head coach to take over the program once the season ends, beating Cal will provide a major selling point for Luck to use when looking for the next coach.

Whoever takes over the program will be tasked with having Stanford return to dominating the Big Game rivalry so a win this year could provide confidence that the program has what it takes to beat Cal for years to come.

This season has been another rough one for Stanford, but if it can pull out a win over Cal, it will bring some sunshine to an otherwise gloomy and cloudy season.