After two disappointing road losses, Stanford (2-4, 1-3 ACC) returns home for the first of two consecutive games at Stanford Stadium. This week’s opponent for reunion homecoming weekend is Elon University (4-3, 2-2 CAA). After being outscored 115-10 in the past two outings against Wake Forest (5-1, 3-1 ACC) and No. 2 Notre Dame (6-0), the Cardinal will have to shake things up on both sides of the ball as they go into the second half of the season.
Elon, who plays at the lower Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, comes in as 35.5-point underdogs. Their primary offensive weapon is true freshman running back Kamerin McDowell-Moore, who has averaged 6.7 yards per carry on 137 rushes so far this season.
This is a favorable matchup for the Stanford defense. Though Stanford gave up 598 yards last week and gives up 481.5 yards per game on average, their strength rests primarily in the ability to stop the run. Senior linebacker Matt Rose and junior linebacker Sam Mattingly, as well as senior safety Jay Green, lead the team defensively, combining for 111 tackles. Mattingly had a career-high game last week with 11 tackles, one of which was for a loss, and a pass breakup that was nearly an interception.
When asked about defensive improvements from last week, defensive line coach James Mosley said, “It’s not just what you do one time; it’s what you do consistently.”
Mosley continues to push the defense day after day, starting with the individual players. “Whether that’s extra film [or] that’s extra time during individual drills, … that’s how I help them prepare.” He is confident that the Cardinal defense can tighten the coordination between the front seven and the secondary to help generate more turnovers and sacks. So far this season, Stanford has forced six turnovers, with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. The defense has only made four sacks.
On the offensive side of the ball, Cardinal quarterback Davis Warren said the group has taken the consecutive tough losses “in stride.”
“It’s been productive … We talk about competition in practice and being the type of group where we come out here and [give] our all,” Warren said, stressing that while lessons are carried forward from previous games, their process remains the same week to week. “Whether it was a win or a loss, always being able to look in the mirror and say, ‘hey, what did I do well? What are some things I can do better?”
On a more technical note, Warren said he has been preparing for how Elon “[does] a lot of different things defensively … they present some different looks coverage-wise in the back end and do some different stuff on third down.”
Countering that backfield disruption and maintaining a clean pocket will be key to getting the offense up and running again. Against Georgia Tech, Stanford’s robust pass protection allowed Warren to have a career-high 396 passing yards.
On Stanford’s offense, the chemistry between Warren and junior tight end Benji Blackburn has been a cornerstone for the Cardinal.
“I trust that guy 1000%,” Warren said. “I know he’s going to go get open, go make plays for me … He’s just a special player and someone I can rely on.”
Blackburn had Stanford’s only touchdown last weekend against Notre Dame and has been one of Warren’s primary targets. He leads the team in receiving with 23 receptions for one touchdown and 186 yards.
In front of this weekend’s homecoming crowd, with their losses away from the Farm behind them, the team’s only goal is to leverage the support from fans and re-establish a home winning streak. As Warren succinctly put it, “It means a lot for us to have the students out there supporting us, and we don’t take it lightly that we get to represent Stanford every single Saturday.”
Kick-off is set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.