Cal vs. Stanford 2017 live stream: Time and how to watch the ‘Big Game’ online

The No. 22 Stanford Cardinal are coming off an impressive win over the Washington Huskies and look to stay in the Pac-12 North race when they take on the Cal Golden Bears (5-5) in the Big Game at 8 p.m. ET on FOX (live stream at Fox Sports Go).

The Big Game is one of the most storied rivalries in the country with many incredible moments, most famously the “Stanford Band” game in 1982. However, the Cardinal have dominated this rivalry in recent years, winning the last seven contests. They have an overall 57-43-10 record againstCal.

The Cardinal (7-3) are well out of the College Football Playoff race, but they’re still in the hunt for the Pac-12 title after stunning Washington last week in a 30-22 win. Bryce Love had a heroic performance, playing through a painful ankle injury to rush for 166 yards and three touchdowns. It will almost certainly go on his Heisman candidate highlight reel if he’s invited to New York this year.

Washington’s loss creates a bit of a logjam at the top of the Pac-12 North standings. Right now Washington State has first place with a 6-2 conference record, holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over Stanford (also 6-2) and is set to play Washington (5-2) in the Apple Cup next week. The Cougars control their own destiny, but it’s been a wildly unpredictable race that’s far from over, so we’ll see what happens. The division winner faces No. 11 USC in Santa Clara for the Pac-12 Championship.

Still sitting at .500, the Golden Bears (5-5) have largely beaten expectations to this point and have an outside shot at bowl eligibility. They’ve had a rough go of it in conference play, going just 2-5 against Pac-12 opponents, but they own a shockingly dominant 37-3 win over Washington State, part of the reason why the standings are so close right now.

Cal has already played spoiler once and will be extra motivated to get one over on their Bay Area rivals, making this a more interesting matchup than it appears at first glance. Overall, it’s been a successful season for first-year head coach Justin Wilcox.

With their status among the greatest universities in the world and the geographic proximity that the schools share, staring at each other from opposite sides of the San Francisco Bay, a natural rivalry developed between Stanford and UC Berkeley that goes back nearly to the founding of both institutions. The sporting rivalry is a natural extension of this academic competition. In every sponsored and club sport that Stanford and Cal play, they consider each other their traditional and greatest rival. Still, the Big Game stands out as first among equals in all of the various sporting events between these schools. It is the absolute, must win game every year. No Stanford football season is truly successful without beating Cal, and our archrivals share the exact same feelings.

Stanford runs the ball 63% of the time. Cal remains poor in the way it stops the efficient run. Yet, it can shut down the big play capacity that the Furd run game leads the nation with Love carrying the rock. If Cal can limit Love’s explosive production and force Furd to keep driving the ball without depending on a big play, there is a chance Cal can force Furd to play out of its scheme. Especially considering the fact that Furd isn’t not efficient on the ground.

Cal is a feisty team that rarely lies down for opponents (it gave USC a good scare in late September), so don’t be surprised if this is a one-possession game in the fourth quarter. Still, Stanford is the better team and should pull away late — perhaps with a little begrudging respect for Wilcox and his boys.