It was a tale of two halves Saturday night for Stanford football (2-2, 1-2 ACC) as the Cardinal rallied from a 10-point deficit to defeat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1 ACC) in an exhilarating 34-27 win. Sixth-year quarterback Davis Warren led the comeback, throwing for a career-high 396 yards and three touchdowns. 

After a sharp first offensive drive by the Yellow Jackets, Stanford fell behind 3-0. The Cardinal answered on the next drive, capped by a seven-yard rush into the end zone by junior running back Micah Ford.  

The Cardinal’s first offensive drive got a big boost when a roughing-the-passer call on 4th & 7 at the Georgia Tech 43-yard line extended the possession. This attempt would set the tone for Stanford’s success on 4th down, as they went three of four on fourth-down conversions.

“We are data and analytics guided… so, we are certainly aware of what the numbers are telling us to help inform some of those decisions,” said head coach Tavita Pritchard in the postgame conference. 

However, the Yellow Jackets largely owned the rest of the half, outscoring the Cardinal to make it 20-10. While Georgia Tech won the total yards battle slightly, 277-229, in the first half, Stanford struggled to execute in scoring position, including an intentional grounding penalty on Warren at the end of the half which cost them a possible field goal.

Coming out of the half, the Cardinal looked like a completely different team, scoring 24 unanswered points. Stanford had four straight scoring drives, three of which found Warren connecting with senior wide receiver Marcus Brown once and with senior wide receiver Caden High twice for touchdowns.

“The proof is in the pudding. He’s been doing what he’s been doing every week. He’s consistent,” High said about his quarterback.

Warren spread the ball among his wide receiver core, with Brown catching five passes for 98 yards and High catching four for 91. Also effective downfield, freshman wide receiver Zion Robinson hauled in a 61-yard reception, the longest completed pass of Warren’s career. 

Although the Yellow Jackets answered with a fourth-quarter touchdown to keep the game competitive, the Cardinal slammed the door shut on any comeback. The Stanford defense forced two back-to-back turnovers in the last two Georgia Tech drives, including an interception by junior cornerback Brandon Nicholson and a fumble recovery by fifth-year linebacker Tevarua Tafiti to end the game in victory formation. 

“I thought our guys just did a better job of executing the fundamentals of what we were doing,” said Pritchard. 

Stanford will look to bring this second-half execution and rhythm into this week’s away game against Wake Forest (3-1, 1-1 ACC). The Demon Deacons are fresh off a 30-27 upset win against the No. 16-ranked Louisville Cardinals (2-2, 1-1 ACC). Kickoff is set for 9 a.m. PT this Saturday at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.