Stanford’s football season has been a slow-motion grind, and the reasons stretch well beyond one bad year. The NIL era has not helped, but the struggles were already baked in. Stanford has not reached a bowl game since 2018, and aside from a 4-2 run in 2020, it has not finished with a winning record since then.
The Cardinal’s uphill climb starts with the basics of roster building. Stanford’s admission standards make recruiting tougher, and that becomes even more painful in the portal era.
Money is another issue, and the school has not answered that challenge by opening the wallet the way plenty of power conference programs have. For a place with a wealthy alumni base, the investment simply has not matched the moment.
On the field, the results have been exactly what you’d expect. Stanford has three victories: 37-27 over Hawaii, 34-27 over Georgia Tech, and 34-7 over Elon.
All three came at home, and the Georgia Tech win also came in a 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff.
Stanford is 3-0 in such games against ACC teams from the Eastern time zone, so, uh, there is that.
The offense has been boxed in by its inability to run the ball. Five opponents with real pulse have held Stanford under 100 rushing yards, forcing the Cardinal into a one-dimensional attack. In ACC play, Stanford is averaging 71.5 rushing yards at 2.5 per carry, with just one rushing touchdown.
That has left Davis Warren carrying the load through the air. He leads ACC quarterbacks in pass attempts, with Stanford throwing 37 times per game in league play, but he also ranks 12th or worse among conference quarterbacks in touchdown passes, completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating. The offensive line has done enough to keep him upright-he has only two interceptions in 234 attempts-but this is still one of the country’s least explosive offenses, and third downs are a constant fight because of it.
The defense has not offered much relief. In four ACC games, Stanford has allowed 10 passing touchdowns and 12 rushing touchdowns. Opponents in the league have completed 72% of their passes at 9.5 yards per attempt, and they’ve averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry against the Cardinal.
The pass rush has been almost nonexistent. Stanford has just four sacks in 2026, and two of them came in Week 1 against Hawaii.
The Cardinal are averaging fewer than four tackles for loss per game, which ranks 114th nationally. That lack of disruption up front has been brutal, and NC State knows the pain of that kind of problem too.
For Dave Doeren and NC State, the assignment is straightforward. Stanford is the weakest team left on the schedule not named Richmond, the crowd should be tiny, and the Wolfpack comes in with an extra week to get ready.
Everything is lined up except the kickoff time. NC State needs to show up like the better team.
In Other News...
NC State Needs A Response And CJ Bailey Knows This Opponent
NC State heads to Stanford on Friday night looking for a bounce-back after its loss to Wake Forest, and the matchup carries a little extra familiarity for quarterback CJ Bailey. The Wolfpack already saw Stanford once and came away with a win, while the Cardinal have had an uneven season of their own with losses to Wake Forest and Notre Dame and a victory over Elon.
For NC State, the bigger issue is getting a clean response after a frustrating setback, especially with a road trip adding another layer to the challenge. Bailey has had his share of ups and downs, but he enters this one with a track record of handling Stanford well, and the Wolfpack will need that comfort level to show up again if they want to steady things in ACC play. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces A Tough Test It Hasnt Handled Well Enough
NC State is heading into a matchup with Stanford that feels like another early measuring stick for a Wolfpack team still trying to settle into the season. Dave Doeren has made a point of stressing the same message throughout the week, keeping the focus on one game at a time, while the challenge in front of his team is pretty clear: Stanford has leaned on its rushing attack, and NC State will need a cleaner answer on defense than it has shown at times so far.
The late kickoff on the West Coast has added another wrinkle to the preparation, which is why the Wolfpack have adjusted their routine this week to handle the unusual timing. For NC State, the timing matters almost as much as the opponent, since this is the kind of game where staying sharp late could determine whether the Wolfpack finally handle a test like this better than they have in similar spots. [Read more 🡒]
Quadir Copeland Just Gave NC State Fans A New NBA Reason To Watch
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For NC State fans, it adds another pro name to follow when Houston tips off, with Copeland landing a two-way deal that keeps him connected to both the NBA club and the development side of the organization. It is the kind of opportunity that can turn a strong summer into a longer look, and it gives Wolfpack supporters a new reason to keep an eye on what happens next. [Read more 🡒]