Stanford heads to Louisville on Saturday with a chance to do something it has not done in a long time: win on the road and keep building on a season that has split sharply between the good and the bad.
The Cardinal are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, and they’ll kick off at 12:15 p.m. at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville comes in at 4-3 and 3-2 in conference play, with a radio broadcast on KNBR 1050 AM.
This is only the second meeting between the programs, and the first in Louisville. Their lone previous matchup came in Stanford’s home finale in 2024, when the Cardinal wrecked the Cardinals’ College Football Playoff hopes with a 38-35 upset. Emmet Kenney won it with a 52-yard field goal as time expired.
Stanford’s biggest hurdle is obvious. The Cardinal are trying to end a program-record 14-game road losing streak, the longest active skid in FBS, and they are also chasing a fifth win for the first time since 2018.
The road results have been rough. Stanford has been outclassed in all three of its previous road games, falling 57-3 at Notre Dame, 58-7 at Wake Forest and 35-7 at Duke.
Louisville, meanwhile, has been living on the edge in a different way. The Cardinals have three Power Four wins, including a victory over then-No.
16 SMU, and every one of their three losses has come by three points - against ranked Ole Miss, ranked Wake Forest and at NC State. They also lead the FBS in offensive plays of 20-plus and 30-plus yards.
The matchup brings a few key individual numbers into focus. Stanford junior Micah Ford is one of four Power Four running backs with at least 650 rushing yards and 150 receiving yards this season, and his 329 rushing yards over the last two weeks lead the nation.
Louisville’s Kaleb Beasley is tied for the FBS lead with five interceptions, matching Cal’s Kingston Lopa. Stanford’s split personality shows up in the team numbers too: in its four wins, it is averaging 34 points and 485.5 yards per game, while in its four losses those figures drop to 5.8 points and 233.8 yards.
Louisville senior quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has accounted for multiple touchdowns in every game this season, with 10 passing scores and 10 rushing scores through seven games.