An explosive first quarter with 234 yards of offense and two Davis Warren touchdown passes set the tone for a game that was always in control for the Stanford Cardinal (4-4, 2-3 ACC), lofting them 31-28 over the North Carolina State Wolfpack (3-4, 1-3 ACC) on Friday evening.
This marks the first time Stanford has won back-to-back games since 2024 and the first time they have earned a .500 winning percentage through eight games since 2019. Bowl eligibility is even in sight for the Cardinal, who have not played in the postseason since 2018.
Despite the stat sheet and final score giving the impression of a much closer game, the Wolfpack looked relatively anemic for long stretches in a game where they were favored to win by a touchdown and had a 75% chance of victory per the Football Power Index. NC State’s last win came in a narrow 31-28 decision over Louisville (4-3, 3-2 ACC) on Oct. 3, and Friday’s game marks its second consecutive ACC loss after a beatdown by No. 15 Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1 ACC). NC State head coach Dave Doeren, who was in his 14th season with the team, was fired upon returning to Raleigh.
Stanford’s offense got going early behind a surgical opening drive. Senior wide receiver Caden High alone had 63 receiving yards as the Cardinal marched down the field for a touchdown. A defensive stop would allow the Cardinal to again drive the ball downfield for a commanding 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Those first two Stanford drives saw five different players catch passes, showcasing the offensive schemes the Cardinal had drawn up to collectively create holes in the Wolfpack defense.
“[We] knew they were going to play a lot of man [coverage] [and] we knew they were going to play a lot of cover three,” senior wide receiver Nico Brown said postgame.
Actually hitting those receivers was enabled by a strong performance from the offensive line, with sixth-year quarterback Davis Warren crediting them for allowing receivers “time to go get open” and enabling the explosiveness in the pass game.
The Wolfpack would finally respond with a deep 58-yard touchdown from sophomore receiver Deandre Desinor. One failed Stanford fourth-down conversion later, a quarterback keeper from junior CJ Bailey set the Wolfpack up for a goal-line touchdown dive, completely neutralizing Stanford’s early lead.
Receiving the ball with only one minute and 49 seconds left in the half, Warren and company then put on an offensive clinic from deep within Stanford territory. Seven plays and 90 yards later, Warren would cap off the half with a 26-yard back-shoulder touchdown strike to High.
When asked about the Cardinal’s offensive control over the Wolfpack, head coach Tavita Pritchard stated that the team worked to “punch first” and “sustain through the ebbs and flows of [the] game.” A main point of improvement for the offense, he said, is “balanced football and a balanced offense.” Given that Stanford’s run game and offensive line have been much improved in recent games, it is continued consistency that will determine the future of the season for the Cardinal.
“I thought a lot of our success early on was complementary run and pass, staying in manageable third downs, and just a sustained execution,” said Pritchard. Through the first quarter, Stanford had neither a 3rd-and-long nor a punt on its two scoring drives. Defensively, the Cardinal clamped the Wolfpack to a mere eight first downs in the first half.
The Wolfpack would do a better job matching the Cardinal in the second half. Entering with only a seven-point lead, Pritchard said, “we knew we needed to keep scoring because [NC State] wasn’t a team that was going to go away.” The Cardinal would tack on more points in the third quarter with a 43-yard run by junior running back Micah Ford and a 4th-and-goal touchdown by Brown.
While NC State would retaliate with a nine-minute long touchdown drive of their own, a subsequent 31-yard field goal from sixth-year senior kicker Emmet Kenney once again extended Stanford’s lead to two possessions.
At that point, it proved to be too late for NC State. With just under five minutes left, a last-gasp 89-yard drive simply burned too much time as the Cardinal defense sat back and forced the Wolfpack to make 14 plays before finding the end zone. After recovering the ensuing onside kick attempt, Stanford bled out the remaining 82 seconds in victory formation.
Next Saturday at 12:15 p.m. PDT, Louisville will host Stanford in an all-Cardinal matchup against a top-five conference opponent. Victories away from Stanford Stadium have eluded the Cardinal for over two years, but will be necessary to sustain their postseason hopes.
Coach Pritchard is confident that the Cardinal can continue their success away from home. “I think it’s really about our continued growth as a program to be at our best and perform at our best no matter where we are, and we’re going to keep working towards that,” he said.