Through 3 Quarters
A great path to victory is to simply outgain your opponent on the field, and that’s working so far for the California Golden Bears (with 537 yards vs. 240 yards). After three quarters it’s looking more and more like their high-powered offense is just too much for the Stanford Cardinal as the Golden Bears lead 27-3. This contest looks like it will end up very different from the tight one-point margin of Stanford’s win over California in their previous head-to-head November of last year.
California has enjoyed the tag-team combination of RB Christopher Brown Jr. and QB Chase Garbers. The former has picked up 130 yards on the ground on 12 carries in addition to snatching one receiving TD, while the latter has passed for two TDs and 258 yards on 26 attempts in addition to picking up 63 yards on the ground. Brown Jr. hadn’t helped his team much against the Arizona Wildcats two weeks ago, so this is a nice turnaround for him.
Both California and Stanford suffered losses in their previous contests, but California is closer to making up for it this week. The Golden Bears just need to hang on one more quarter to get back on their feet.
Who’s Playing
California @ Stanford
Current Records: California 3-6; Stanford 3-7
What to Know
The California Golden Bears have had a week off and are no doubt ready to get back on the field. They will hit the road for the second straight week as they head to Stanford Stadium at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. Given that these two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.
It was all tied up nothing to nothing at halftime, but the Golden Bears were not quite the Arizona Wildcats’ equal in the second half when they met two weeks ago. California fell to the Wildcats 10-3. California didn’t live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the 7-point advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game. QB Ryan Glover had a memorable game, but not in the way you want to be remembered: he passed for only 94 yards on 29 attempts.
Meanwhile, the Stanford Cardinal were expected to have a tough go of it last week, and that’s exactly how things played out. Things couldn’t have gone much worse for them as they lost 35-14 to the Oregon State Beavers. The Cardinal were down 28-7 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. No one had a standout game offensively for Stanford, but they got scores from RB Nathaniel Peat, TE Benjamin Yurosek, and QB Ari Patu.
California is now 3-6 while Stanford sits at 3-7. Two defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The Golden Bears are stumbling into the matchup with the 175th most passing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 15 on the season. The Cardinal have experienced some struggles of their own as they are 237th worst in the nation in rushing touchdowns allowed, with 26 on the season. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
How To Watch
- When: Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Stanford Stadium — Stanford, California
- TV: Pac 12 Networks
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket Cost: $31.00
Odds
The Golden Bears are a slight 2.5-point favorite against the Cardinal, according to the latest college football odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Golden Bears as a 3.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -111
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Series History
Stanford have won five out of their last six games against California.
- Nov 27, 2020 – Stanford 24 vs. California 23
- Nov 23, 2019 – California 24 vs. Stanford 20
- Dec 01, 2018 – Stanford 23 vs. California 13
- Nov 18, 2017 – Stanford 17 vs. California 14
- Nov 19, 2016 – Stanford 45 vs. California 31
- Nov 21, 2015 – Stanford 35 vs. California 22
