Stanford has what could be a valuable spy in defensive end Brennan Scarlett, a fifth-year transfer from Cal. Scarlett could play a vital role when the Cardinal hosts the Bears in the 118th Big Game on Saturday at Stanford Stadium at 7:30 p.m. After all, the 6-foot-4, 264-pound Scarlett may know a thing or two about how to slow Bears star quarterback Jared Goff.

“I haven’t asked Brennan anything about Cal,” Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez said. “The only thing I asked him this week is if anyone on the Cal team has been giving him crap. It’s not that important. You’re going to do the things you do each week, like look at film. They’ll have certain looks they’ll show. Everyone has showed everything at this point in the season, except one or two plays.”

Martinez had to give Scarlett a good vetting when he took his official visits to Stanford.

“At first, I kind of went, ‘Cal guy? Stay away from him,’ ” Martinez said. “I went to dinner with him. It was cool to see his type of personality. He is a cool guy. In the offseason, he was a hard worker. He was one of those guys always there weight-lifting, doing extra things. He showed us he was here to work and wanted to be the best he can be. When Harrison Phillips went down, Brennan’s role jumped up, tremendously. We needed him because of our low depth in the defensive line.”

Scarlett had 2.5 sacks in Saturday’s 38-36 defeat to Oregon, contributing five tackles. Scarlett has 3.5 sacks on the season, tied for second on the team. Stanford coach David Shaw called Scarlett’s arrival a godsend.

“We’re thin on the defensive line now,” Shaw said. “We’d be extremely thin if Brennan Scarlett hadn’t come over. He has brought his energy and passion. He lifts up the defensive line with the plays he makes. It would be tough to say where we would be without Brennan being on the team.”

Scarlett, who had a recovered fumble against Central Florida, is listed as a defensive end. However, he spends a great deal of time at defensive tackle, lined up on the offensive guard.

“The transition has been tough,” Shaw said. “It hasn’t been easy. He had a lot to learn technique-wise. He has been a trooper about it with a great attitude. He wants to do it right.”

Shaw played at Stanford from 1991 to 1994. Shaw’s Cardinal won the first two Big Games, but lost the next two. “Every rivalry has its own history,” Shaw said. “The best rivalries have proximity. You go to the mall and someone is wearing a Cal shirt that says, ‘Go Bears.’ Then there is someone from Stanford with a shirt that says, ‘Go Stanford.’ We want to have bragging rights. You look at the history of The Axe, going back and forth. The people that live in the area have seen some great Big Games over the years.” It takes the experience of playing in your first Big Game to actually know what the rivalry means. “You don’t know until you play in your first Big Game,” Shaw said. “You come from Louisiana, Georgia, Washington, D.C. They’ll feel it during the week. The campus is involved and excited about this game. Once our guys step out on the field, it will feel like a bowl game atmosphere. That’s the way you should feel. I have to be conscious of the warm-ups before the game because guys go too hard.” The annual Big Game bonfire at Lake Lagunita was terminated during Shaw’s tenure because of a protest to preserve the habitat of the California tiger salamander. “We had the bonfire until we had the Save the Salamanders,” Shaw said. “Then we had to stop the bonfire.”

Shaw praised Cal coach Sonny Dykes for having a successful third season after a dismal first two seasons in which he went a combined 6-18. The Bears are 6-4, 3-4 in the Pac-12. “I was excited when Sonny was hired there,” Shaw said. “I want all Bay Area football teams to do well. I knew what he was going to do there. You see the results. He came in with a passing attack you knew was going to be good. They did a good job of rebuilding the defense. They’re going to a bowl game. That’s good for our conference. It’s good for our area. It’s not a surprise. They are working to up the graduate rate, as well.”

Oregon struck Stanford for a handful of big plays, one a 47-yard TD pass from Vernon Adams Jr. to Darren Carrington, who got behind Cardinal safety Kodi Whitfield. It didn’t help Whitfield that Adams had all day to throw as the Cardinal failed to put on any pressure. There were two players rushing Adams with two other defenders hanging out at the line of scrimmage. “We wanted to contain Adams in the pocket,” Martinez said. “A lot of teams were allowing him to do that, allowing his extremely talented receivers to get open. We thought we had it down. One guy was out of position and they took advantage of it. We kept him in the pocket, but we had to hold them later in the coverage.”