Does the Frank Reich experiment hinge on a Big Game victory?

For the fifth straight year, Stanford enters the Big Game with three wins, hoping to get a fourth win. For the last four years, it’s been Cal that has hoisted the Stanford Axe at the end of the game. Two of the losses have been by single digits and only one of the games was a true blowout (41-11 in 2021). Still, a win is a win and a loss is a loss. This is a game where what matters more than anything is the end result. Not how you got it done.

What makes this year’s Big Game unique is that Stanford is in search of their permanent head coach as Frank Reich is only an interim for the season (Check out our coaching search thread on the message boards for updates on how that is coming along). As for Cal, head coach Justin Wilcox’s status has been questioned all season long. And even with bowl eligibility secured after a huge win at Louisville, Cal general manager Ron Rivera was still asked about Wilcox’s future earlier this week. A question he totally sidestepped (which I totally understand).

I’ll get some thoughts out on the Wilcox side of things, but I first wanted to address the Stanford side with Reich. During his press conference earlier this week, he was asked whether or not, regardless of record, that he feels the program is in a better place than it was when he first got here (9:35 mark of the video).

VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference: Cal Week-Frank Reich

“Yeah, I’m very confident that that’s the case,” Reich affirmed. “Obviously not, for a lot of reasons. A lot of people, you know, starting with Andrew Luck first and foremost. Starting with our players secondly. Starting with the great job that this current coaching staff did in a very tough and difficult situation for them. And then like I said before, most of the credit goes to the players. The players in a tough position, you know?

“Getting an interim head coach and a lot of uncertainty, but just them committing and seeing the progress that we’ve made, you know, on the field, you know, and just the culture that those guys have, you know, created and continued to build, the leadership that we’ve got from those guys, you know like a Sam Roush and a Collin Wright, our captains and there’s a lot of other guys as well and we still got two games left. You know, we still got two games left. So, are we happy where we’re at? No we’re not. You know, but we still have two opportunities left and you know, we aim to try to take full advantage of those opportunities.”

On the one hand, I think Reich is correct that it does feel like a positive cultural shift from last year. The guys are happier, more positive, etc. I don’t want to air dirty laundry from last year, but suffice to say, a lot of players were happy with Troy Taylor departing. Reich has brought in a positive energy as has Andrew Luck as general manager. If you’re just talking building good vibes and establishing a positive culture for the future, I think this season has already been a success given the circumstances and cards they were dealt.

On the flip side, this isn’t pee wee football. This isn’t about getting a participation trophy and orange slices for everybody. This is FBS/Power Four football. You are what your record says you are and that’s ultimately what matters. While all the things Reich said I think are true, the harsh reality of this sport is that it comes down to the wins and losses. Losing the Big Game to Cal for a fifth straight season en route to another 3-9 season would just be disappointing. From the outside looking in, one could ask what was it all for? You don’t fire your coach and bring in an interim to have the same result you’ve been having. You hope to have an improved season in terms of wins and so for that to not happen would be beyond disappointing.

So, to answer the question that is asked as the title of this article, in many ways the Frank Reich experiment and its success hinges on this year’s Big Game. It is what it is. I felt coming into the season that a successful season relative to the cards they were dealt would be a 4-8 record that included a Big Game win. That opportunity is still there. But if they don’t get that result, barring a miraculous win against Notre Dame, it’ll be another long offseason on The Farm even with the energy that a new head coach will bring.

Note: Cardinal Sports Report has you covered for all the latest news on Stanford as they begin the Andrew Luck era.

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