Axe On the LineAxe On the Line
Football

Axe On the Line

Stanford Cardinal (6-4, 4-3)
Cal Bears (6-4, 3-4)

Nov. 17, 2018 • 4:30 p.m. PT
Memorial Stadium (63,000) • Berkeley, Calif.

Notes Depth ChartUpdated History and Records Media Guide Live Stats

TelevisionLive national broadcast on Pac-12 Network with Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Chad Brown (analyst) and Cindy Brunson (sideline).

RadioLive coverage on Stanford's flagship station -- KNBR 1050 AM -- with Scott Reiss '93 (play-by-play), Todd Husak '00 (analyst) and John Platz '84 (sideline). The broadcast begins one hour before kickoff with the Cardinal Tailgate Show and concludes with the postgame Cardinal Locker Room Report. The game can be heard on Stanford student radio -- KZSU 90.1 FM -- and online at kzsulive.stanford.edu.

On the WebGoStanford.comCalBears.com#GoStanford

What You Need to Know

  • 1 • Stanford is 6-0 this season when forcing at least one turnover, and 0-4 when not forcing a turnover.
  • 3 • Stanford football players have conducted interviews in three foreign languages this season—JJ Arcega-Whiteside (Spanish), Jesse Burkett (Japanese) and Osiris St. Brown (German). All other Stanford football interviews this year have been done in English. 
  • 4 • Stanford's four losses this season have come against the AP's curent No. 3, No. 8, No. 17 and No. 21st-ranked teams in the nation (Notre Dame, Washington State, Washington, Utah). Those four teams have a combined record of 33-7 (.825) this season.
  • 4 • Sophomore tight end Colby Parkinson tied a school single-game record with four touchown receptions against Oregon State on Nov. 10. The only other Cardinal to pull off that feat was Ty Montgomery against Cal in 2013 and Ken Margerum against the Beavers in 1980. Parkinson is the first FBS tight end with four touchdown catches in a game since 2011 (Northwestern's Drake Dunsmore), and just the fifth to do so since 1996. Parkinson also finished with a career-high six receptions and 166 receiving yards— the most receiving yards by a Cardinal tight end since Coby Fleener's 173-yard game in the 2011 Orange Bowl.
  • 7 • The last time a Cardinal had 7+ receptions in three straight games was DeRonnie Pitts in 2000. This season, Trent Irwin and JJ Arcega-Whitside each had 7+ receptions in the same three-game span (Utah, Arizona State and Washington).
  • 8 • Parkinson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday. Since it was established in 1983, Parkinson is just the eighth tight end to win the conference's weekly offensive award, and the first since Stanford's Zach Ertz in 2012.
  • 8 • Stanford has won a series-record eight consecutive Big Games.
  • 11 • Senior wide receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside ranks fourth nationally -- and first among Pac-12 players -- with 11 receiving touchdowns. That's the second-most in a season in Stanford history and the most receiving touchdowns for a Cardinal in 38 years—Ken Margerum had 11 in 1980, while James Lofton set the school record with 14 in 1978.
  • 13 • In addition to his 49 receptions and 754 receiving yards this season, Arcega-Whiteside has drawn 14 penalties this year—12 pass interference and two holding calls for 190 penalty yards (1.6 penalties/game and 21.1 penalty yards/game).
  • 15 • Sophomore cornerback Paulson Adebo ranks second nationally with 16 pass breakups and fourth in the NCAA with 17 passes defended. He ranks atop the Pac-12 in both categories.
  • 20 • Junior quarterback K.J. Costello ranks among the Top 20 nationally in completion percentage (15th), completions per game (17th), passing efficiency (19th), passing touchdowns (14th), passing yards (12th), passing yards per game (16th) and yards per attempt (15th). He leads the Pac-12 in efficiency (156.9) and yards per attempt (8.65), and is second in the conference in passing yards (2,854).
  • 20 • Stanford's seniors finished their careers 20-5 (.800) at Stanford Stadium. In the last four years, the Cardinal has won 37 games, three Big Games, two Pac-12 North titles, a conference championship, and has played in the Rose Bowl, Sun Bowl and Alamo Bowl.
  • 25 • Don't expect many points immediately after halftime. Stanford has allowed just one touchdown and never more than seven points in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal has only allowed 25 third-quarter points in its first 10 games (2.5/game). The only touchdown allowed was vs. Washington State. 
  • 37 • Sure-handed senior wide receiver Trenton Irwin has at least one reception in 38 consecutive games, a streak that ranks sixth nationally.
  • 43.64 • Senior Jake Bailey's 43.64 career punting average ranks first in program history. Bailey posted the second-best punting season in school history last year, averaging 45.4 yards/punt. He led the Pac-12 and ranked seventh nationally. 
  • 121 • This will be the 121st Big Game. Cal is Stanford's most common opponent (next is USC with 98 all-time meetings). Stanford's 63 wins over the Bears are also the most against any opponent.
  • 387 • Costello's 387 yards of total offense (45 rush, 342 pass) against Oregon State last week were the most for a Cardinal since Josh Nunes had 393 against Arizona in 2012, and 14th-most in school history.