Packed with opportunities for both teams -- a bowl bid for Cal, a possible Rose Bowl berth for Stanford -- the 113th Big Game is also a chance for Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh to balance the scales personally.
Harbaugh has a losing record against only two current Pac-10 coaches: He's 1-2 against both Cal's Jeff Tedford and next week's opponent, Oregon State's Mike Riley.
Against the other seven, he's a combined 14-5.
Could he possibly be keeping track?
"I don't want to get in trouble for saying this,'' Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck said with a laugh, "but I think that's safe to say.''
Defensive tackle Sione Fua, sitting a few feet from Luck at Monday's Big Game news conference in San Francisco, smiled and nodded in agreement.
They know Harbaugh well.
Asked if the head-to-head record against Tedford was on his mind, Harbaugh said:
"We're keeping track, no question about it. I have great respect for Jeff, but we're adversaries.''
Of Harbaugh's 15 league losses during his Stanford tenure, all but one came with the Cardinal as an underdog or slight favorite.
The only coach to record a true upset against the Harbaugh-led Cardinal is Tedford. Cal was a seven-point underdog last year at Stanford Stadium and won by six.
And you can bet Harbaugh's aware of that fact, too.
Harbaugh has a losing record against only two current Pac-10 coaches: He's 1-2 against both Cal's Jeff Tedford and next week's opponent, Oregon State's Mike Riley.
Against the other seven, he's a combined 14-5.
Could he possibly be keeping track?
"I don't want to get in trouble for saying this,'' Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck said with a laugh, "but I think that's safe to say.''
Defensive tackle Sione Fua, sitting a few feet from Luck at Monday's Big Game news conference in San Francisco, smiled and nodded in agreement.
They know Harbaugh well.
Asked if the head-to-head record against Tedford was on his mind, Harbaugh said:
"We're keeping track, no question about it. I have great respect for Jeff, but we're adversaries.''
Of Harbaugh's 15 league losses during his Stanford tenure, all but one came with the Cardinal as an underdog or slight favorite.
The only coach to record a true upset against the Harbaugh-led Cardinal is Tedford. Cal was a seven-point underdog last year at Stanford Stadium and won by six.
And you can bet Harbaugh's aware of that fact, too.