Back in the early days of this blog, when Stanford football was a fixture not only atop the conference standings but also in the national polls, Big Game was honestly an afterthought. All of the pageantry and tradition was nice, and I loved watching the players hoist the Axe in triumph following the game, but if I'm being honest, there were always several games on the schedule that meant more to me.
In any given year, I was more excited about games against Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington. The Bears? They were down on their luck and down on my list of concerns. It was nice that the win came with a trophy at the end, tangible evidence of a job well done, but from a practical point of view, the game didn't mean much. It was a chance to extend Cal's misery, but the Axe and the festivities surrounding it had begun to feel like holiday lights -- you take them out because tradition says you have to, and then you put them back where they belong once the pageantry is over.
And I wondered about Cal fans and Cal bloggers. What was it like to approach a rivalry game that wasn't much of a rivalry? What was it like to limp through a series of disappointing games before arriving at the one game that could salvage the season, knowing all the while that you had no shot? What would it be like to show up at that game in the role of sacrificial lambs? What would it be like to bring that slim hope to the arena each November only to have it dashed on the rocks of reality? Truly, it was all a mystery to me.
But now, here we are. With the Cardinal sitting at an uncomfortable 3-7 and riding a five-game losing streak, we know what it's like to see the Axe as salvation instead of ordained formality. The cynical among us -- and the cynical are loud and demonstrative -- will say that this game doesn't matter, that this is team doesn't deserve the Axe, that everything should be burned to the ground. I disagree. The handful of you still coming to this space with regularity will not be surprised to read this, but I'll write it anyway -- these players, perhaps more than any group of Stanford players I've had the pleasure of supporting, deserve this Axe.
I'm not saying that they've worked harder than the typical group of Stanford football players, but they have certainly endured more. Two years ago they watched Cal fans dancing on the Stanford Stadium turf, celebrating their first Big Game win in a decade. They won it back a year later, but they did so in an empty stadium, quiet but for their own cheers. What these players deserve is a hard fought win over Cal (well, a hard fought win over anyone), followed by a triumphant trip around Stanford Stadium, holding the Axe aloft.
The good news for Stanford fans, is that things should go well for the Cardinal this evening. The headline is that Tanner McKee will be back under center, but it's also important that E.J. Smith will be available, as well as Tucker Fisk. Elijah Higgins has been practicing, so we could even see him. If Higgins is available, this would be the closest the offense has been to full health in about a month. (Right tackle Branson Bragg is out for the season, and that remains a big loss.)
ESPN's Matchup Predictor has the game as essentially a toss up, giving Cal a 50.5% chance at victory, and that's largely because no one knows what to expect from the Bears. They had an impressive win over Oregon State three weeks ago, but followed that with a humbling 10-3 loss to Arizona, the worst team in the conference (Stanford fans know how much a team can change when it's missing its starting quarterback), and the following week had their game against USC postponed for Covid reasons. They're a mystery, but most of their players are expected to be available today, most notably quarterback Chase Garbers, who single-handedly beat the Cardinal two years ago.
Even so, of these two 3-7 teams, I think it's the Cardinal that is more talented, and I think it's the Cardinal that has more to play for. Newly introduced to the desperation that sometimes accompanies Big Game, Tanner McKee and the Cardinal offense should find the end zone three times on their way to a 27-20 win. I can't wait for the game, but more than that, I can't wait to see them celebrate with the Axe. They deserve it.
