Running on a two-game winning streak built at home, the Stanford Cardinal (4-4, 2-3 ACC) heads back on the road this weekend to face the Louisville Cardinals (4-3, 3-2 ACC).
With Stanford clawing back to even their win-loss record, there has been talk of postseason prospects. If the team is to go to its first bowl game since 2018, winning at least one of its next two games — this weekend at Louisville, or Nov. 14 at Virginia Tech (6-2, 3-2 ACC) — will be necessary.
Despite the hope among fans, the team remains focused on taking things one week at a time. After the win against NC State (3-4, 1-3 ACC) last weekend, head coach Tavita Pritchard stressed that their short-term focus isn’t on the postseason. “There are times where myself and/or [general manager Andrew Luck] will zoom out, but it’s certainly not anything in the realm of bowl eligibility,” Pritchard said. “I’m excited to see the next step this team has an opportunity to take, and that’s an away game at Louisville.”
Alongside Stanford’s struggles away from home, Louisville’s offense presents a tough matchup, as they average 485 yards and 38.7 points per game. In the ACC, they are second only to the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0 ACC). Their star running back duo — junior Isaac Brown and senior Keyjuan Brown — lead a rushing attack that averages 215 yards per game. On the other hand, dual-threat quarterback Lincoln Kienholz averages 263 all-purpose yards per game. Altogether, the well-balanced Louisville Cardinals offense is truly a mismatch for Stanford’s defense.
To complicate the run defense further for Stanford, key fifth-year linebacker Matt Rose remains out for yet another week with an injury suffered back in September. Junior linebacker Sam Mattingly has taken more of a leadership role in Rose’s absence, leading the team in tackles for the third straight week. Stanford will certainly be looking for another strong performance from Mattingly in order to shore up the center of the defense.
How does Stanford plan to ultimately overcome the scoring from Louisville’s potent offense? Sixth-year quarterback Davis Warren’s preferred approach is simple: “punch first.” He said that was a message that resonated last week as the Cardinal would score 14 points in rapid succession to open the game against NC State. “That’s something we got to bring every week,” Warren stressed, confident that the offense will show up big this Saturday to open the game and “continue to [be aggressive] through the second quarter” and beyond.
He’s also unfazed by Stanford’s road struggles this season. Warren noted that “it’s definitely been a motivating factor for us this week,” but he first and foremost mentioned that Louisville will be both a new destination for him and a “cool environment” to play in. His mentality is to “take their energy, their music, and make it our music and our energy and feed off that.”
On paper, Warren’s confidence is well-founded. Stanford’s passing attack has been their primary offensive engine this season, with over two times as many passing yards as rushing yards. Warren himself threw for four touchdowns and 303 yards last week against NC State. He’ll be looking to exploit Louisville’s ACC-worst 268.9 passing yards allowed per game.
Louisville’s run defense is generally pedestrian, allowing 151 rushing yards a game. To fully capitalize on offensive opportunities, Stanford’s run game must also keep improving. Specifically, Stanford looks to bolster their offensive line against Louisville’s pass-rushing defense. Warren was adamant that “winning the line of scrimmage is big, big, big, big this week.”
Offensive line coach Keli’i Kekuewa spoke to how detail-oriented offensive line play is as he shared some of the specific ways they’ve been improving over the course of the season. “For the guys to play fast and confident, it’s got to be the same blocks, the same technique over and over and over again,” Kekuewa said.
Junior running back Micah Ford has certainly made good use of the opportunities generated by improved offensive line play. He has not only been excellent in the run game throughout this two-game winning streak, averaging 164 rushing yards per game over that span, but has also made an impact as a pass-catcher.
Fellow senior running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. has also made key catches over the past two games, including two touchdowns. Warren said that having such “versatile” backs opens up new pass concepts and “puts a lot of stress on the defense,” attributing their receiving ability to their dedication and preparation: “every time I text the offensive skill group chat of who wants to come out and get some catches in… those guys took a lot of pride in getting out there and getting that work in, and that’s rare sometimes with running backs.”
Stanford’s tough schedule and ACC travel demands have been challenging for Stanford football, but their first eight games have been the most promising in nearly a decade. Now, success on the Farm must carry over to the road.
Kick-off is set for 12:15 p.m. PDT on Saturday.