A Big Game with a small contender

Cal needs a more worthy opponent

By James Fullmer
From the November 2006 Print Edition

The November issue of the Patriot usually revolves around two main themes. First, the upcoming GOP triumph in the elections, and second, the unmerciful trouncing that Cal will administer to Stanfurd in the Big Game. This year, however, we’ve been forced to stray from the formula a little bit. For one thing, optimist though I am, I’m not fully willing to put my name to a guarantee of total Republican victory this year. And for another, the Big Game is actually in December.

November still has plenty of football fireworks, though. We’ve got a home game against UCLA, a game that hopefully will give us a chance at avenging last year’s tough loss. And then, on November 18, comes the showdown against USC at the Coliseum. Our December 2 game against Stanfurd seems almost an afterthought. One can almost imagine the PAC-10 schedule planners gleefully rubbing their hands together in anticipation of all the great match-ups in November and then remembering, as they grabbed their coats and headed home, that they needed to find some weekend for the Cal/Stanfurd rivalry.

In all honesty, I’m not so sure I blame them. Yes, Stanfurd is our rival, and always will be. Yes, we still look suspiciously at anyone wearing anything red. Yes, we still hiss at the occasional graduate student instructor with the guts to admit he went to Stanford for his undergraduate education. But as far as football goes, I don’t know that we can consider them our top rival any more.

To put it bluntly, we seem to have outgrown them, at least in terms of football. The best rivalries in college football have a tendency of manifesting themselves in very meaningful games. Take a look at the Ohio State–Michigan rivalry. People without a connection to either state may not realize just how intense this rivalry is. (Don’t believe me? Look up H. Res. 460, from the 108th Congress.) But more than just being intense, it also lends itself to some amazing games. In all likelihood, the Buckeye-Wolverine match-up on November 18 will decide not only the Big-10 champion but the No. 1 ranking in the country and a spot in the BCS Championship.

When was the last time a Cal-Stanford game was truly meaningful? Stanford is, as of this writing, 0-7. Looking at the team’s remaining schedule, its best shot at even getting a win before playing us is at home against Oregon State, but I wouldn’t put any money on it. Don’t get me wrong — we definitely shouldn’t take them for granted. (Same way they shouldn’t have taken UC Davis for granted last year.) Anything can happen in a rivalry game, and even an 0-10 Stanford team could defeat us if we’re not careful. But even if it did, could it really still claim Bay Area bragging rights? I think not. We’d still be heading to a good bowl, and they’d be 1-10. And what kind of rivalry is it if there aren’t bragging rights at stake?

All this leads to one inexorable conclusion, one which I’ve been in the process of coming to this entire year. While the preseason question used to be, "Are we going to beat Stanford this year?" it’s now more likely, "Are we going to beat USC this year?" Your classmate in discussion used to talk about how much he hated all that Stanford stood for; now USC is the target of that hatred.

Guys, forget Stanford. We’re not vying for Bay Area supremacy anymore; we’re going for the PAC-10. And our rival in that quest is ’SC.

In 2003, we derailed their perfect season with a 34-31 triple-overtime thriller in Strawberry Canyon. In 2004, they returned the favor, holding out against Aaron Rodgers’ heroics and beating us 23-17. There’s a good chance that we would have played for the national championship had we won that game.

This year, the game proves to be every bit as meaningful. There are only two unbeaten teams left in the PAC-10 — us and the Trojans. If both teams remain undefeated until then — which is looking highly probable — the game will decide the conference title. I can’t wait to see John David Booty and Dwayne Jarrett try their passing game against Daymeion Hughes, the best cornerback in the nation. Let’s see the USC defense — which could barely hold back Washington, Washington State, and Arizona State — try to stop Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett. Bring it on, USC!

The Big Game is being held this year on December 2, at Memorial Stadium. But where is the big game in the true sense of the phrase? That’s November 18, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. See you there as we show USC that its field is bear territory. Go Bears!

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