Bill Walsh Legacy Game

The Bill Walsh Legacy Game is the name given to the San Jose State–Stanford football rivalry.^[2][3] It is a college football rivalry between the San Jose State Spartans football team of San José State University and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. The two teams have played each other 67 times since 1900. The rivalry is currently on hiatus due to non-conference scheduling conflicts, with the next game due to be played in 2024. Stanford leads the series 52–14–1.

Bill Walsh Legacy Game

James Jones scores a touchdown against Stanford in '06; San José won 35–34.
San Jose State Spartans Stanford Cardinal
Sport	American football
Type	Collegiate
First meeting	October 11, 1900 Stanford, 35–0
Latest meeting	September 7, 2013 Stanford, 34–13
Next meeting	November 29, 2024
Stadiums	CEFCU and Stanford
Statistics
Meetings total	67
All-time series	Stanford leads, 52–14–1[1]
Largest victory	Stanford, 54–0 (1953) and 57–3 (2011)
Longest win streak	Stanford, 11 (1900–1953)
Current win streak	Stanford, 6 (2007–present)
Stadium locations
8km 5miles Stanford San Jose State

Historical overview

The series between San Jose State and Stanford began in 1900 with a home-and-home series between the two schools in the same season. Stanford won both games, 35–0 on October 11, 1900, in San Jose and 24–0 on October 24, 1900, at Stanford. Stanford won the first eleven games of the series.

On November 13, 1954, San Jose State defeated Stanford for the first time by a final score of 19–14.^[4]

Throughout the over-100-year history of the series, most games in this series have been played at Stanford. Only the 1900, 1995, 2001 and 2006 games have been played in San Jose.

Stanford's longest winning streak in this series is 11, beginning in 1900 and ending in 1953. This win streak covered the first 11 games in the series. San Jose State's longest winning streak is three, achieved from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1998 to 2000.

The games from 1979 to 1982 pitted Stanford star quarterback John Elway against his father, Jack Elway, who served as the SJSU head football coach from 1979 to 1983. The two teams split the series 2–2, with the younger Elway defeating his father's team in 1979 and 1980, and the elder Jack Elway defeating his son's team in 1981 and 1982.^[5]

In 2007, following the death of San Jose State alumnus and former Stanford coach Bill Walsh, the near-annual game played between the two schools was renamed the Bill Walsh Legacy Game.^[6]

The 2013 game, a 34–13 win for Stanford, was the final scheduled game between the two schools, reportedly due to the two schools' inability to agree on a home-and-home arrangement for future games.^[7][8][9]

On July 23, 2014, at the Mountain West Conference football media days event, San Jose State coach Ron Caragher revealed that the two schools were having "initial conversations about resuming their football series by moving to a neutral site at the new Levi's Stadium."^[10] San Jose State athletic director Gene Bleymaier later stated: "Even if we have to look out to 2020 and beyond, I'd like to get a long-term agreement in place with Stanford."^[11]

On June 22, 2022, Stanford and San Jose State announced an agreement to renew the series with four games: At San Jose State on September 13, 2025; at Stanford on November 28, 2026; at Stanford on November 25, 2028; and at San Jose State on September 1, 2035. ^[12][13] On November 1, 2023, Stanford and San Jose State announced two further additional games to the four already scheduled. They will meet on November 30, 2024, and at Stanford on September 2, 2034.^[14] The September 13, 2025, game will now be played at Stanford and the 2026 game was moved up a week to November 21 and will now be played at San Jose.^[15]

Statistics

	San José State	Stanford
Games played	67
Wins	14	52
Ties	1
Home wins	1	49
Road wins	13	3
Consecutive wins	3	11
Most total points in a game	92
Most points in a win	44	68
Most points in a loss	38	39
Fewest total points in a game	18
Largest margin of victory	22	54
Smallest margin of victory	1	1
Total points scored in series	1,119	2,226
Shut-outs of opposing team	0	9
Source: "San Jose State Spartans vs. Stanford Cardinal football series history". Winsipedia.

Game results

San Jose State victories

Stanford victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 October 11, 1900 San Jose, CA Stanford 35–0 2 October 24, 1900 Stanford, CA Stanford 24–0 3 September 23, 1933 Stanford, CA Stanford 27–0 4 September 22, 1934 Stanford, CA Stanford 48–0 5 September 28, 1935 Stanford, CA Stanford 35–0 6 September 18, 1948 Stanford, CA Stanford 26–20 7 September 17, 1949 Stanford, CA Stanford 49–0 8 September 23, 1950 Stanford, CA #7 Stanford 33–16 9 September 22, 1951 Stanford, CA Stanford 26–13 10 November 1, 1952 Stanford, CA Stanford 35–13 11 November 14, 1953 Stanford, CA #16 Stanford 54–0 12 November 13, 1954 Stanford, CA San Jose State 19–14 13 October 29, 1955 Stanford, CA Stanford 34–18 14 October 13, 1956 Stanford, CA Stanford 40–20 15 September 21, 1957 Stanford, CA Stanford 46–7 16 October 31, 1959 Stanford, CA Stanford 54–38 17 October 15, 1960 Stanford, CA San Jose State 34–20 18 October 14, 1961 Stanford, CA Stanford 17–6 19 November 17, 1962 Stanford, CA Stanford 21–9 20 September 21, 1963 Stanford, CA Stanford 29–13 21 September 19, 1964 Stanford, CA Stanford 10–8 22 September 17, 1965 Stanford, CA Stanford 26–6 23 September 17, 1966 Stanford, CA Stanford 25–21 24 September 30, 1967 Stanford, CA Stanford 28–14 25 September 21, 1968 Stanford, CA Stanford 68–20 26 September 20, 1969 Stanford, CA #16 Stanford 63–21 27 September 19, 1970 Stanford, CA #4 Stanford 34–3 28 November 13, 1971 Stanford, CA San Jose State 13–12 29 September 16, 1972 Stanford, CA Stanford 44–0 30 September 29, 1973 Stanford, CA Stanford 23–12 31 September 28, 1974 Stanford, CA Tie 21–21 32 September 27, 1975 Stanford, CA San Jose State 36–34 33 September 25, 1976 Stanford, CA Stanford 28–23 34 November 12, 1977 Stanford, CA Stanford 31–26 35 September 16, 1978 Stanford, CA Stanford 38–9 No. Date Location Winner Score 36 September 15, 1979 Stanford, CA Stanford 45–29 37 October 4, 1980 Stanford, CA #15 Stanford 35–21 38 September 19, 1981 Stanford, CA San Jose State 28–6 39 September 18, 1982 Stanford, CA San Jose State 35–31 40 September 24, 1983 Stanford, CA San Jose State 23–10 41 September 22, 1984 Stanford, CA Stanford 28–27 42 September 14, 1985 Stanford, CA Stanford 41–7 43 September 20, 1986 Stanford, CA Stanford 28–10 44 September 26, 1987 Stanford, CA San Jose State 24–17 45 October 8, 1988 Stanford, CA Stanford 44–12 46 September 30, 1989 Stanford, CA San Jose State 40–33 47 September 29, 1990 Stanford, CA San Jose State 29–23 48 September 26, 1992 Stanford, CA #19 Stanford 37–13 49 September 11, 1993 Stanford, CA #23 Stanford 31–28 50 September 17, 1994 Stanford, CA Stanford 51–20 51 September 2, 1995 San Jose, CA Stanford 47–33 52 September 14, 1996 Stanford, CA Stanford 25–2 53 September 6, 1997 Stanford, CA #17 Stanford 28–12 54 September 5, 1998 Stanford, CA San Jose State 35–23 55 October 2, 1999 Stanford, CA San Jose State 44–39 56 September 9, 2000 Stanford, CA San Jose State 40–27 57 December 1, 2001 San Jose, CA #12 Stanford 41–14 58 September 14, 2002 Stanford, CA Stanford 63–26 59 September 6, 2003 Stanford, CA Stanford 31–10 60 September 4, 2004 Stanford, CA Stanford 43–3 61 September 9, 2006 San Jose, CA San Jose State 35–34 62 September 15, 2007 Stanford, CA Stanford 37–0 63 September 20, 2008 Stanford, CA Stanford 23–10 64 September 19, 2009 Stanford, CA Stanford 42–17 65 September 3, 2011 Stanford, CA #7 Stanford 57–3 66 August 31, 2012 Stanford, CA #21 Stanford 20–17 67 September 7, 2013 Stanford, CA #5 Stanford 34–13 68 November 30, 2024 San Jose, CA Series: Stanford leads 52–14–1[1]

See also

• San Francisco Bay Area portal

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "San Jose State Spartans vs. Stanford Cardinal football series history". Winsipedia. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020.
2. Miller, D. "Week Three in Sparta: The Bill Walsh Legacy Game". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018.
3. "Bill Walsh Legacy Game holds special significance for Shaw". The Stanford Daily. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018.
4. "Rivalry Finder: Stanford versus San Jose State". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
5. Curtis, Jake (April 17, 2001). "Jack Elway Dies at Age 69 / John Elway's dad coached Stanford, San Jose State". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020.
6. Smith, Michelle (September 12, 2007). "Walsh's legacy all over this game". SFGate. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
7. Durkin, Jimmy (September 4, 2013). "Stanford, San Jose State football series coming to an end". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
8. Kroichick, Ron (September 5, 2013). "Stanford Sports - Shaw fires back on imminent end of Stanford-San Jose State series". SFGate. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
9. Wilner, Jon (September 12, 2013). "Stanford and San Jose State: The end of the Bill Walsh Legacy Game series (at least for now) - College Hotline". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
10. Durkin, Jimmy (July 24, 2014). "Stanford, SJSU game might move to Levi's Stadium". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
11. Durkin, Jimmy (August 23, 2014). "San Jose State football: Bleymaier says school adjusting to NCAA changes". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
12. "Bill Walsh Legacy Game Returns".
13. "SJSU Announces Return of Bill Walsh Legacy Game Against Stanford".
14. Group, Jon Becker | Bay Area News (November 1, 2023). "Stanford, San Jose State to renew football series in 2024". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 2, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
15. Kelley, Kevin (November 1, 2023). "Stanford, San Jose State add two contests, make changes to Bill Walsh Legacy Game series". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved November 1, 2023.