The 124th Big Game will take place Nov. 20, but there are other highlights to the Cal and Stanford football schedules in 2021.
The Pac-12 Conference on Tuesday announced the complete schedules for all 12 teams, with the Golden Bears and Cardinal battling for the Axe at Stanford Stadium the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Stanford, coming off a 4-2 season, might have one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Cardinal are the only team to have all 12 games against Power 5 schools. Five of the first seven games are away from home, including the Sept. 4 season opener against Kansas State in the Allstate Kickoff Classic at Arlington, Texas. The opening stretch also features a Sept. 18 game at Vanderbilt. A Pac-12 game at USC is sandwiched in between.
After that, it is a gauntlet of Pac-12 games before wrapping up the season at home against Notre Dame. There are two Friday night games: Oct. 8 at Arizona State and Nov. 5 at home vs. Utah.
For Cal, all three of its nonconference games come at the start of the season. The Golden Bears, coming off a 1-3 season, open at home Sept. 4 against Nevada, followed by a trip to TCU on Sept. 11 before returning home to face Sacramento State on Sept. 18. Cal’s Pac-12 opener is Sept. 25 at Washington.
The only Friday night game on Cal’s schedule is Oct. 15 at Oregon.
Cal schedule
Sept. 4: vs. Nevada
Sept. 11: at TCU
Sept. 18: vs. Sacramento State
Sept. 25: at Washington
Oct. 2: vs. Washington State
Oct. 9: Bye
Oct. 15: at Oregon
Oct. 23: vs. Colorado
Oct. 30: vs. Oregon State
Nov. 6: at Arizona
Nov. 13: vs. USC
Nov. 20: at Stanford
Nov. 27: at UCLA
Stanford schedule
Sept. 4: vs. Kansas State (at Arlington, Texas)
Sept. 11: at USC
Sept. 18: at Vanderbilt
Sept. 25: vs. UCLA
Oct. 2: vs. Oregon
Oct. 8: at Arizona State
Oct. 16: at Washington State
Oct. 30: vs. Washington
Nov. 5: vs. Utah
Nov. 13: at Oregon State
Nov. 20: vs. Cal
Nov. 27: vs. Notre Dame
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