Top five teams UCLA Football fans will miss playing

No. 2: Stanford

Though Stanford dominated the rivalry from 2009-2020, there are not many rivalries between Californian universities that are more significant. Still, this rivalry has historically been underappreciated and UCLA has won the last three games against the Cardinals so this rivalry ending is disappointing to many UCLA fans.


Since 1925, the football teams of Stanford and UCLA have faced off against one another. They were among the Pac-12 Conference's oldest and most underappreciated rivalries but with Stanford going to the ACC and UCLA to the Big Ten, this rivalry will more than likely come to an end. 49-43-3 is UCLA's all-time lead in the series.

Over the years, the rivalry has seen some memorable games. UCLA's 38-35 victory over Stanford in 1982 helped the Bruins win the PAC 10 conference that season. When UCLA defeated Stanford 28–24 in 1998, the Bruins also won a PAC 10 championship.

The rivalry has been more lopsided than usual in recent years. Stanford defeated UCLA in an astounding 11 straight games beginning in 2009. But since 2019, the Bruins have triumphed in four of the previous five meetings with the Cardinals.

In terms of history, the football rivalry between Stanford and UCLA had been among the most fierce and underappreciated in college football. They were in-conference and in-state rivals, so the games were typically close, competitive affairs throughout the years. Students and alumni from both schools took great pride in their rivalry, especially since their final meeting for a while took place last year.

In Summary

The Cardinals have triumphed 11 times in the last 15 meetings between these two in-state rivals in this rivalry. In the last ten games between these two schools, Stanford has prevailed six times. UCLA has defeated Stanford in four of the previous five meetings. The 2012 PAC 12 Championship Game, in which Stanford defeated UCLA by just three points after defeating the Bruins by eighteen the week prior, stands as the best matchup between these two universities throughout the history of their rivalry.

Not only is Stanford an in-state rivalry, they were an in-conference rivalry as well. It doesn't appear that the two teams will schedule each other in a non-conference game anytime soon. UCLA has in-state schools like Fresno State, San Diego State, and even UC Davis but not Stanford schedule in non-conference play in the future. These schools are likely to still play one another in Olympic sports but not football unfortunately.