No. 22 Stanford Cardinal at California Golden Bears: Preview, prediction, TV Info

No. 22 Stanford (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12) at Cal (3-4, 2-2 Pac-12)

Kickoff: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (Fox)

Spread: Stanford by 2.5

Watchability: High -- but that's only if you or someone you know went to or goes to Cal or Stanford. However, it is the 30th anniversary of "The Play," so it might be worth it to tune in just to see how many times Fox shows it. And no matter how many times Fox shows it, it won't be enough.

Shining Stars: Stanford: RB Stepfan Taylor. The key to Stanford winning or losing this year seems to be how well Taylor is running. The Cardinal are 4-0 this season when Taylor averages over 4 yards per carry, but 0-2 when he goes under. The senior RB has averaged 24.5 carries per game this season. Cal: WR Keenan Allen. Saturday could be a big day for Allen. The junior wide receiver needs only seven catches to reach 203 for his career, which would set the school's all-time receptions record. Allen will break the record easily if QB Zach Maynard targets him like he did last week. In the Bears' 31-17 win over Washington State, 11 of Maynard's 14 completions went to Allen.

Who could steal the show: Stanford: QB Josh Nunes. Nunes has struggled on the road this season, throwing three interceptions, no touchdowns and completing only 48.4 percent of his passes. Nunes needs a big showing in the Big Game to prove he has what it takes to play on the road. Cal: QB Zach Maynard. Maynard came up big in last year's Big Game, throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns while outplaying Andrew Luck. If Maynard has a similar performance on Saturday, Cal should be walking off the field with the Axe.

You going? Ranking the road trip: It doesn't get any bigger than the Big Game. It's the 30th anniversary of the play (video above), it's the first Big Game at the new Memorial Stadium, which means if you have any connection to either school, then you need be in Berkeley on Saturday.

Magic number for Stanford: 0. This isn't a magic number, this is a number Stanford has to avoid. The Cardinal offense has zero touchdowns on the road this season and that's thanks in large part to Nunes, who has thrown three interceptions and zero touchdowns in two road losses. No matter how well the defense plays on Saturday, Stanford most likely won't win the game if the offense doesn't get in the end zone.

Magic number for Cal: 30. Since Jeff Tedford took over in 2002, the Bears are 64-5 when scoring 30 or more points in a game, including all three wins this season. The Bears' record under Tedford falls to 18-47 when they don't score 30.

The game comes down to: Quarterback play. If Nunes and Maynard were playing darts on Saturday, everyone in Berkeley would take cover. That's the way the season has gone for both Bay Area quarterbacks. Both Nunes and Maynard have had games where each of their QB ratings were over 170 this year, but they've also both had two games each where their ratings were below 87. Maynard's been slightly more consistent than Nunes this season, so Cal gets a very, very slight edge.

Prediction: Cal 23, Stanford 20

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