Jeff Brohm has had a few losses at Louisville that fit the “bad” label, and the one Stanford handed his team in 2024 belongs in that bucket. Stanford arrived that day at 2-7, with one win coming against an FCS opponent, and still looked more locked in than the Cards. This time, though, the Cardinal come to Louisville with a better program and two ACC upset wins already on the board.
The biggest shift for Stanford has come at quarterback. The Cardinal went to the portal to stabilize a spot that has been shaky for years, and Davis Warren came home to his home state after spending time starting at Michigan.
Warren can make throws and create plays in this offense, but his season has been defined by inconsistency. He has flashed in a big way against Georgia Tech and NC State, throwing for more than 300 yards and a combined 7 touchdowns in those two games.
Outside of that stretch, he has not played at a high level. Louisville’s best path is to make him uncomfortable, because that has been the trouble spot when he has struggled.
A lot of what Stanford has done lately runs through Micah Ford. The 6/225 junior has been the engine of the two-game winning streak, piling up more than 300 rushing yards over the last two weeks and adding more than 100 yards receiving.
His 9 yards per play over that span is right in the neighborhood of Keyjuan Brown’s season output. Ford is the piece that makes this offense pop, and he has nearly twice as much all-purpose yardage as anyone else on the roster.
If Stanford is going to keep moving the ball, he has to keep producing.
At receiver, Caden High stands out as the one true game-breaker. He has two 100-yard games this season, and both came against Georgia Tech and NC State.
High has shown he can hurt a defense at all three levels, which makes him the Cardinal pass catcher Louisville has to account for first. That has not been a challenge this defense has solved yet this year.
JonAnthony Hall and Nico Brown fill out the rest of the top wideout group. Hall has popped with a few explosive plays, while Brown has been a red-zone option.
Neither has been consistently dangerous, but both are capable of delivering a big game if they get the chance. The full receiver room has done a lot of damage against zone looks, so Louisville would benefit from getting them into man coverage situations.
The Cardinals also have to keep an eye on tight end Benji Blackburn, who has been productive with 24 catches.
Up front, Stanford’s offensive line looks solid. It usually avoids negative plays, though it could stand to do a better job keeping Warren clean.
Some of the sacks appear to be coverage sacks, with receivers not separating and Warren holding the ball. He can extend plays with his athleticism, but he does not seem eager to tuck it and run when no one is open.
That front will get a real test from Louisville. The Cards have generated strong pressure and sacks in three of their last four halves, and they will need that same aggressive approach they used against FSU to challenge Stanford’s protection and slow down Ford’s running room.
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For Louisville, the appeal is not just what Montgomery can do, but what his presence means for the shape of the guard group around him. He is expected to be a defensive specialist and a secondary scorer off the bench, yet performances like that opener can complicate the tidy plans coaches usually draw up in October. The Cardinals may still view him as depth, but he is giving them reason to think the conversation about who belongs in the backcourt is a little bigger than it looked on paper. [Read more 🡒]