Cal vs. Stanford 2025 Preview: Who Wins The Big Game?

One of the best things about college football is tradition. And, one of the biggest traditions in all of college football is The Big Game. The California Golden Bears versus the Stanford Cardinal; two programs that have clashed against one another 127 times, and this weekend will be the 128th time. This time, The Big Game will take place at Stanford, with Cal looking to win their fifth straight against the Cardinal. Nearly every one of these games has been an instant classic, usually decided by one score. Even though Cal is the better team this year, don’t expect anything different this Saturday. Fans from both teams are expecting this to go down to the wire.

California Golden Bears vs. Stanford Cardinal: 2025 College Football Preview

This historic rivalry dates all the way back to 1892. More recently, Cal has dominated the past four matches, with the last game ending in a 98-yard drive touchdown that sealed Stanford’s fate. Now, the Golden Bears are tasked with getting a win on the road against their arch-rival to make it five straight wins. That would match Cal’s longest win streak against Stanford since the 2002-2006 seasons. If there was ever a game that Justin Wilcox’s squad shows up for, it’s this one.

Keys, Players, and Predictions

Key Players for Cal

Is there anyone who has shown up more in this game than Cal wide receiver Trond Grizzell? Every single time he straps on his helmet to play this school, he balls out. And don’t expect anything different this time around.

Grizzell hasn’t really been a scoring threat this season, with only one touchdown on the year. However, he’s only 25 yards away from matching his career best of 590 yards back in 2023. He can easily surpass that number this weekend, and may nab a touchdown or two as well.

With it being The Big Game, expect Cade Uluave to play like a chicken with its head cut off. This is the game he was made for, but he must play smart.

No doubt, he will have the defense fired up for this game, and expect him to try and make a statement early. If he can channel that energy into making a big play, he can easily change the outcome of this game. This is his defense, and they played well against Louisville in their previous game. Now, can they show up in the biggest game of the year? We will definitely find out.

Key Players for Stanford

After their disastrous start to the season under quarterback Ben Gulbranson, The Cardinal are turning to redshirt freshman Elijah Brown for this game. There isn’t much film on Brown, but he’s played better than Gulbranson this year. Brown has played in four games this season, but only thrown 70 passes total. That’s not enough to tell how good he is right now, but it also means that he’s a bit harder to scheme against. Still, much like Cal’s young quarterback, this will be his first ever appearance in this game. That could either end up being very good or very bad, depending on how he handles the pressure.

Much like Cal, Stanford also has a beast at their inside linebacker position. Matt Rose is a solid linebacker, and by far has the most tackles on their team. On the season, Rose has 83 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble. He has good sideline to sideline speed, and it feels like he’s everywhere at once. There’s no doubt that someone of his caliber wans to win this game bad. And, with Stanford playing at home, he’s going to try his hardest to keep this Cal offense at bay.

2025 Game Preview: Can Cal Make it Five Straight?

Plain and simple, Cal needs to win this game. They’ve done it the past four seasons, and they can do it again. They are the better team in this matchup; but as we all know, records and stats get thrown out of the game when it comes to rivalries. These two programs hate each other, and Stanford really wants this one bad.

Justin Wilcox has been phenomenal in these games as of late. And after their big upset win against Louisville, getting to their seventh win with one more game to play would be huge. Your best players have to play their best games in these scenarios, and Cal has the advantage in terms of star power. Can Cal build off their huge win to beat another Cardinal team?

Prediction: Cal 24 Stanford 21