Stanford's biggest home game since.....

Stanford football hosts the 7th ranked Oregon Ducks on Saturday on the Farm in what is the biggest home game since….

Stanford is 5-3 and they are one win away from bowl eligibility, something the Cardinal has not had since 2001. The Buddy Teevens and Walt Harris years were statistically insignificant as Stanford did not feel like a contender during any of those years.

But as this Stanford squad leads the turn around this game features a number of very important factors that really makes this a huge game:

** Stanford is one win shy of bowl eligibility.
** Stanford is an up and coming team in the Pac-10.
** Oregon is 5-0 in the Pac-10 and coming off a huge win over USC that has put them in the Pac-10 driver’s seat.
** Oregon is 7th in the AP poll and 8th in the USA Today/Coaches poll and BCS poll
**There is widespread belief that Stanford CAN win this game. Not that they will, but they can.

If you add all those factors together, this is a very big game on the Farm. When was the last time a game loomed so large?

An argument could certainly be made for the USC game last year. Again, Stanford needed just one win be bowl eligible. Stanford had beaten USC the year before in Los Angeles. USC came to town as a top-10 team. But did anyone think Stanford would win the game? They had clearly proved in 2007 that anything can happen, but a fired up USC team seemed no match for last year’s Stanford team.

The rest of the 2008 home schedule certainly did not match up with Oregon State, San Jose State, Arizona and Washington State.

The 2007 Big Game was certainly a big game. The win proved to be a real turn around win for the program. It was a 4-8 season but it featured two huge wins against USC and Cal. But leading into the game did it offer much intrigue other than just being a Big Game? It was a Big Game, and an opportunity to snap a five-game losing streak to Cal.

In 2005, Walt Harris ended his first season as coach with a 5-6 record. The Cardinal again needed one win in its final two home games to secure a bowl win. Stanford got drubbed by Cal 27-3 and then lost to Notre Dame 38-31. Both of those games were clearly big for Stanford with a lot riding on the line, and arguably one win in those games may had changed Walt harris’ eventual fate.

When looking back at the Buddy Teevens era it is really difficult to find a big game played at Stanford, or anywhere else for that matter.

That takes us back to the Tyrone Willingham era. That was a 9-3 team that had some big time games to play on its way to the Seattle Bowl. Home games against Cal and Notre Dame near the end of the season where big and filled with lots of meaning. It was clearly a time with Stanford football was relevant both in the Pac-10 and on a national stage. There was “excitement in the air” if you will for those final two games.

As Stanford lines up against the 7th ranked Ducks tomorrow, this will clearly be a big game for both teams. The results my indicate otherwise after the fact. But as kickoff nears, so does the anticipation. There is a lot of on the line, which is just how college football should be. Is it the biggest game at Stanford since 2001? 2005? 2007? 2008? The one thing we should all agree on is that it is a very big game.

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