Saturday, November 19, 2005

Sports Network: Big Game Preview

California (6-4) At Stanford (5-4)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Stanford Stadium (85,500) -- Stanford, California. Television: ABC Regional. Home Record: California 4-2, Stanford 1-3. Away Record: California 2-2, Stanford 4-1. Neutral Record: California 0-0, Stanford 0-0. Conference Record: California 3-4, Stanford 4-3. Series Record: Stanford leads, 54-42-11.

GAME NOTES: In one of the longest rivalries in all of college football, the California Golden Bears will battle the Stanford Cardinal for the 108th time this Saturday night at Stanford Stadium. The Golden Bears opened the season with five straight victories, but since then the team has fallen apart, losing four of its last five games, including a 35-10 setback to top-ranked USC last weekend. Since taking over at Cal, coach Jeff Tedford is 3-0 against the Cardinal. As for the Cardinal, they snapped a two-game losing streak last weekend with a thrilling 20-17 victory over Oregon State. Stanford would become bowl eligible for the first time since the 2001 season if the Cardinal can post a victory this week against Cal or next week against Notre Dame. In regards to the all-time series between the two schools, the Cardinal hold a solid 54-42-11 advantage over Cal. Despite being on the short end of the series, the Bears have won the last three meetings against Stanford, including a dominating 41-6 victory last season.  Last week the Golden Bears struggled tremendously against USC, finishing the game with just 10 points while collecting just 299 total yards, including just a meager 132 yards through the air. The horrendous passing attack should not be a surprise considering Cal is averaging just 194.5 ypg through the air on the season. Joe Ayoob was extremely ineffective against the top-ranked Trojans, completing just 9-of-19 passes for only 98 yards while tossing four interceptions in the loss. Ayoob has struggled this season for the Bears, completing just 49.2 percent of his passes for only 1,707 yards and has just 15 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. While the aerial assault struggled last week, the rushing attack was once again successful, as the Bears churned out 167 yards on the ground. Throughout the season Cal has produced solid numbers on the ground, averaging 235.6 ypg, which is the ninth best ground attack in the nation. Against USC, Marshawn Lynch rushed for 87 yards on just 13 carries. Lynch is leading the Bears with 929 yards thus far and has found the end zone six times.

Last week the Bears' defensive unit had to deal with the high powered USC offense and like every other team this year, Cal struggled tremendously, allowing 35 points on 434 total yards. The defense had trouble against both the run and pass, allowing 188 yards on the ground, while permitting 246 yards through the air. Cal allowed the Trojans to rack up 26 first downs and convert 8-of-14 third down attempts. The Bears forced only one turnover in the contest and struggled inside their own twenty, allowing the Trojans to score on all five red zone chances. Desmond Bishop, who leads the squad with 75 tackles, recorded 12 stops against USC last week. Daymeion Hughes added 10 tackles in the loss, while Harrison Smith tallied nine tackles.

Stanford is posting just 322.0 total ypg this season, but despite the team's lack of production on the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinal is averaging 26.1 ppg. The team has struggled to find consistency on the ground this season, churning out just 112.2 ypg, which ranks the squad 98th in the nation. Last week the Cardinal collected just 302 total yards, including just 68 yards on 40 carries, but despite the lack of offense the team was able to post a three-point victory. The offense struggled on third down, converting just 5-of-17 chances, however the unit was successful inside the red zone, converting on all four opportunities. Trent Edwards had a solid performance despite throwing two interceptions, finishing the contest with 196 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing. Edwards has done a solid job under center this season, completing 62.8 percent of his passes for 1,708 yards and has 15 touchdowns against just seven interceptions.

Defensively, the Cardinal have been simply atrocious, allowing 30.2 ppg behind a terrible 425.9 ypg. The unit has had an extremely tough time defending the pass this season, permitting 286.0 ypg. In the team's last contest, the Stanford defense put forth a solid performance, holding the Beaver offense to just 312 total yards, including just 68 yards on the ground. The Cardinal held Oregon State to just 5-of-19 on third down attempts and 1-of-3 inside their own twenty. Brandon Sanchez led the defensive unit with seven tackles, while Brandon Harrison added six stops in the victory. Kevin Schimmelmann, who leads the squad with 71 tackles, finished the contest with five stops.

The Bears have only won twice at Stanford since the 1983 season and have not won back to back contests at Stanford since 1949-1951. With that said, Tedford should move to 4-0 against the Cardinal since taking over at the helm for Cal considering his team is much better on both sides of the ball.  Sports Network Predicted Outcome: California 38, Stanford 34

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