Saturday night’s performance was a major letdown for Stanford football (1-3, 1-1 ACC), who was coming off an inspiring win against Boston College. Offense was plentiful in a game with 68 combined points, although it was Virginia (3-1, 1-0 ACC) who did the heavy lifting in a 48-20 loss for the Cardinal.
The Cardinal defense could not contain a Cavaliers offense that is averaging just over 45 points and 564 yards per game this season. Boosted by a 21-point first quarter, Virginia moved up and down the field throughout the contest to the tune of 384 passing yards and 206 rushing yards. Interim head coach Frank Reich gave kudos to Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris, but knows the Stanford defense can do better.
“I thought their quarterback really played an impressive game,” said Reich. “He made plays, he extended plays and made some big time throws. It wasn’t our best outing defensively. I know we’re better than that.”
After the Stanford offense opened the game with a three-and-out, Virginia began their offensive onslaught with a 65-yard touchdown drive. Redshirt senior quarterback Ben Gulbranson, who was coming off his best performance as a Cardinal, orchestrated a 76-yard touchdown drive in response.
The highlight of the scoring drive was a 60-yard pass to sixth-year wide receiver Bryce Farrell, who finished the game with 135 receiving yards. The big chunk plays were an encouraging sign for an offense that has been far from dynamic. Farrell was also at the receiving end of a 68-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. Reich was not surprised by these deep connections.
“We got opportunities to make big plays down the field, and we have to capitalize when we get those. And I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” said Reich. “And that wasn’t a surprise to me because [Gulbranson] has been throwing the deep ball great in practice.”
Despite the blowout loss, Gulbranson recorded his second consecutive solid outing. The former Beaver completed 20 of his 29 passes while throwing for 286 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The running attack provided very little as Stanford produced just 35 total yards, with Gulbranson’s -45 rushing yards bringing the total down. Sophomore Micah Ford collected 44 yards on 13 carries while redshirt freshman Cole Tabb ran for 27 yards on seven carries.
The Cardinal will now return to The Farm as they look to remain undefeated at home. They will welcome in South Bay rivals San Jose State (1-2, 0-0 MW) next Saturday night, who are coming off a 31-28 win over the Idaho Vandals.
The Stanford defense will need to determine what went wrong against Virginia and prepare for a Spartans offense that is averaging 27 points per game.
“We just got to look at the tape, figure out ways to get back on track defensively and then build on the positive things,” Reich said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium.