On Saturday, Stanford football fell to Cal in the 127th Big Game by a final score of 24-21. Below are five takeaways that I have from the game and also the recap in case you missed that.
RECAP: Stanford gives up late lead to Cal in 127th Big Game
#1. Stanford needs to be able to mix things up more: Stanford got off to a very strong start in this game, leading 14-0 before Cal answered with a touchdown. The first two drives for the Cardinal were great as they had the Golden Bears defense on their heels. Quarterback Justin Lamson had two rushing touchdowns to cap off the drives and things were looking good. But then, Cal made some good adjustments and stifled the Cardinal offensive attack with the exception of one more touchdown drive.
This is a game where Stanford should feel like they could have done a better job of mixing things up and adjusting to what Cal was doing. Some of that I’m sure is coaching, but some of that I’m also sure is just due to the personnel. It will certainly be interesting to see if Stanford can do a better job of mixing things up next year after teams adjust to their initial game plan.
#2. Stanford brought the fight: While Big Game matters more than anything else to Cal, which I’ll get into later on in this piece, this game matters a heck of a lot to Stanford, too. Obviously, Stanford hopes to be competing for ACC championships down the road, but they played like a team that desperately wanted to bring The Axe back to The Farm. They battled hard the entire game and actually played Cal tougher than expected. In that sense, Stanford can hold their heads high. They do seem to be playing a lot better than they were at the beginning of the season and that’s something they can be pleased with even if they didn’t get the result they wanted in the end.
#3. Stanford’s pass rush has a lot of potential: Stanford had six sacks against Cal, three of which came by defensive lineman Zach Buckey. Stanford did a great job of putting pressure on Cal all afternoon long and while Cal did ultimately score a touchdown on a 98 yard drive to win the game, there were some key sacks by Stanford to make it tough on Cal. A year ago, Cal would have had a much easier time on that drive. Hopefully for Stanford, they can continue to bring a fierce pass rush.
#4. Ashton Daniels’ decision making has improved: If you had told me before the game that Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels wouldn’t throw an interception all game, I would have said Stanford probably wins. And hey, they almost did. Cal came into the game with 17+ interceptions on the season with ball hawking being a major strength of theirs. Daniels not throwing a pick against that Cal defense speaks to his decision making improving. A few weeks back, he probably would have thrown a pick or two and Cal would have won by 20 points. If Daniels can continue to improve his decision making, that would be huge for Stanford in year three of the Troy Taylor era.
#5. Cal’s season can now be called a success: Despite all the ups and downs of their season, it’s clear that by beating Stanford and clinching bowl eligibility in the process, Cal is deeming their first season in the ACC a success. The emotion that was shown after the game by Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza said it all. He went 98 yards with his boys against a Stanford defense that had been playing great to win The Axe for a fourth consecutive season. A slogan that is now being printed on shirts for Cal fans.
Personally, I feel like Cal should be feeling more of a sense of a relief after winning this game and that they shouldn’t be happy with a six win season in year eight of the Justin Wilcox era. But after seeing the raw emotion that has been displayed by the fans, players, and university at large after this year’s Big Game, I’d say Justin Wilcox should be feeling like his football team is living up to if not exceeding the expectations that have been set for his program by the university. Especially after what Cal AD Jim Knowlton said in his latest newsletter: “My head is still spinning with excitement after watching our team’s breathtaking comeback to win the Big Game on Saturday!”
I’ve been criticized for making it sound like I don’t think Cal and their fans should be happy for winning Big Game. At the end of the day, I think those criticisms are fair. It’s not my place to determine what makes other people happy or what they determine to be a success. If the fans, university, and players are happy with the game and season, that’s all that really matters. Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
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