# Bill Walsh Legacy Game

The Bill Walsh Legacy Game is the name given to the San Jose State–Stanford football rivalry. 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 68 times since 1900.

## 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.
Throughout the over-100-year history of the series, most games in this series have been played at Stanford. Only the 1900, 1995, 2001, 2006, and 2024 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.
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.
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.
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." 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."
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. On November 1, 2023, Stanford and San Jose State announced two further additional games to the four already scheduled. They will meet on November 29, 2024, and at Stanford on September 2, 2034. The September 27, 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.

## Statistics

| | San José State | Stanford |
| Games played | 68 | 68 |
| Wins | 15 | 52 |
| Ties | 1 | 1 |
| Home wins | 2 | 49 |
| Road wins | 13 | 3 |
| Consecutive wins | 3 | 11 |
| Most total points in a game | 92 | 92 |
| Most points in a win | 44 | 68 |
| Most points in a loss | 38 | 39 |
| Fewest total points in a game | 18 | 18 |
| Largest margin of victory | 22 | 54 |
| Smallest margin of victory | 1 | 1 |
| Total points scored in series | 1,153 | 2,257 |
| 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 29, 2024 | San Jose, CA | San Jose State | 34–31 |
| 69 | September 27, 2025 | Stanford, CA |
| Series: Stanford leads 52–15–1 |||||