Monday, November 17, 2008

San Jose Mercury: Finally a Big Game that feels big

Ann Killion

Link.

What a relief.  Finally a Big Game that means something. On both sides. We capitalize this game. We circle it on the calendar. We interrupt our perpetual hand-wringing over the local NFL teams. So it's nice when the Big Game means something more than just legacy. When the moniker isn't tinged with irony. When there's something actually at stake. With a win Saturday in Berkeley, Stanford becomes bowl-eligible for the first time in seven seasons. With a loss, the Cardinal season ends with a thud.  "It's like a NFL playoff game," said Toby Gerhart, the Cardinal's junior running back. "It's do or die. This is by far the biggest game of the year." With a win Saturday, Cal re-establishes itself as the alpha dog in Bay Area college football. Last year's loss at Stanford was a final insult to a team that once held BCS aspirations. "They can psyche themselves out," Cal senior linebacker Worrell Williams said about the Cardinal's motivation, "but they don't have the edge. We don't have the Axe right now, so if there's any edge, we have it. "We lost the pride and respect that comes with it. If anything, it evens out." This game is more evened out. Both teams are motivated and hungry. Both teams are competitive. It has been a long time since the teams were on such equal footing, and it's refreshing.

The recent history of this rivalry is that one team is more talented and dominates while the other meekly rolls over. From 1995-2001, Stanford — under Ty Willingham — won seven straight Big Games while Cal fell into chaos. Then, under Jeff Tedford, the Bears won five straight Big Games while Stanford went through its hapless Buddy Teevens/Walt Harris stage. Last year was the exception to the rule that the better team typically dominates. Cal fancied itself elite yet lost to a Stanford team that managed to win just three other games. It was a wakeup call for both teams.  For Cal it was a realization that there's no coasting in the Big Game. "It weighs heavily on the players," Tedford said Monday. "I think it becomes more special when you lose the Axe. We had it five years straight. Then you learn what it's like not to have it and the pain that goes along with not having it." For Stanford, the 2007 win was a huge confidence-booster. "We feel like we can play with anybody this year," Gerhart said. "I would definitely say we're their equal. I feel like our confidence is better than maybe it was in the past. We would want to win, but, to be realistic, our chances were smaller than they are now. Now we feel that we're the better team." Cal's Williams would beg to differ. "I think we have a better team than they do," he said. Cal has more wins and is the favorite (by nine points). Cal already is bowl eligible. The Bears still haven't gotten to the promised land — the Rose Bowl — and won't again this year. But Tedford has made a bowl berth an annual event.

For Stanford, a bowl berth would punctuate the Cardinal's newfound confidence. "It means the program is going in the right direction," Gerhart said. "That the culture of Stanford is changing. Stanford football is on its way back. It feels like the program is starting to get some respect again." Recently the Big Game has been a matchup of the respected vs. the afterthought. This Saturday's game is a little more equal. "I don't think there's anything equal about us," Williams bristled. "They wear red and we wear blue. They say they're blue collar, but I don't know how." Yes, yes, it's still the Big Game with all the perceived cultural and traditional differences. But even Williams will concede that there are more similarities this season than in the recent past. "It is more competitive," Williams said. "They're definitely not the same Stanford team when I first came in, when we felt we'd blow those guys out. "It feels a lot better when there are two good teams on the field. It makes the game that much sweeter."

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