Cal visits Stanford in pivotal Pac-10 affair
Stanford, CA (Sports Network) - The 14th-ranked Stanford Cardinal are one of the hottest teams in college football, and they will play host to the California Golden Bears this weekend in a Pac-10 Conference rivalry bout referred to as the "Big Game".
The Golden Bears have won four of their last five games to move to 7-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Last weekend, they found a way to knock off a strong Arizona squad by a 24-16 final in front of the home crowd.
"We talked all week about the seniors' last opportunity to go down the tunnel and come back up that tunnel and how we wanted to come back into that locker room," said Cal coach Jeff Tedford after the win over Arizona. "Those guys have done a lot for this football program. To see them go out this way at home is very deserving." Stanford extended its current winning streak to three games with a 55-21 romp over USC last weekend, and the 55 points were the most ever scored against a USC team. That victory guaranteed the Cardinal their first winning season since 2001 and a bowl berth. The program hasn't been ranked since 2001, and it will be interesting to see how Jim Harbaugh's team handles the attention on Saturday.
California has won six of the last seven meetings with Stanford, but the Cardinal still owns a 55-45-11 advantage in the all-time series.
The Golden Bears are averaging 30.7 ppg this season to go along with 401.5 total ypg. They have scored 37 offensive touchdowns, 22 of which have come on the ground. Explosive tailback Jahvid Best has accounted for 867 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, but he has suffered two concussions this season and will not be in action this weekend. Best is replaced by Shane Vereen, a talented tailback in his own right who has rushed for 545 yards and seven scores on 105 carries. Without Best, some added pressure falls upon Kevin Riley, the team's quarterback, who has completed 55.8 percent of his passes for 2,186 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions. Marvin Jones, the club's top wideout, has made 28 catches for 455 yards and five scores.
Opponents are scoring 22.4 ppg against California, which is allowing 372.8 total ypg. The Golden Bears have been tough against the run, permitting foes to gain only 104.0 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.1 yards per carry. Against the pass, Cal has struggled a bit, yielding nearly 270 yards per contest. With 26 sacks and 19 takeaways, there have been a decent number of big plays made. Mike Mohamed has made 90 tackles for the Golden Bears, 31 more than his closest teammate.
In the victory over Arizona, Vereen showed that he has featured-back ability, rushing for 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Riley completed 13-of-22 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown, but he was sacked three times and threw a pair of interceptions. Overall, the performance of the quarterback was fair at best.
"Those two interceptions were bad," said Riley after the game. "The first one was worse. It was supposed to be a high-split, but I didn't get everything on it. The second one, they brought pressure, and I was actually throwing it over his head for a throw away, but their safety did a good job of coming off his man right away and getting that." Give Cal plenty of credit for its defensive play against Arizona last weekend. The Golden Bears limited the Wildcats to 274 total yards, including 72 rushing yards on 28 attempts. The pass defense was strong as well, holding the Wildcats to 8.1 yards per completion. With two takeaways and three sacks, Cal made the necessary impact plays to win the game.
Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is the nation's most underrated player and should be in discussion for the Heisman Trophy. He has rushed for 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns and is currently second in the nation in rushing yards per game with 139.5 ypg. The quarterback of the Cardinal is Andrew Luck, and he has completed 58.0 percent of his passes for 2,220 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions to go along with a pair of rushing scores. Ryan Whalen has 46 catches to pace Stanford, and he has racked up 763 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
While Stanford is averaging 36.1 ppg and 445.6 total ypg, the team is allowing 24.2 ppg and 383.4 total ypg to its opponents. The Cardinal are rather average defensively, as they are permitting 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 11.3 yards per pass completion. The fact that opposing quarterbacks have thrown 14 touchdowns against Stanford with only six interceptions is a bit concerning. Thomas Keiser is a player to watch for the Cardinal, as he has 12 TFLs this season, including eight sacks.
Against USC, Gerhart rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, good enough for his second consecutive Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week award. Luck was poised under center, completing 12-of-22 passes for 144 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Stanford finished the game with 24 first downs and 469 total yards.
"To do that against a storied program, a perennial power, it's the greatest feeling in the world," said Gerhart. "It was just will. The offensive line just moved people. We got after them and got downhill, and it was just a good offensive day." "We were just consistent," Luck added. "Starting fast in both halves really helped us. Once we got rolling, we kept doing good things. " Defensively, the Cardinal allowed a mere 334 total yards to a USC offense with plenty of offensive weapons. Stanford came up with three big interceptions and forced a fumble as well. The fact that the USC offenses spent fewer than 24 minutes on the field was extremely impressive.
11/18 11:09:26 ET
