Stanford’s night against Georgia Tech turned on one simple thing: the Cardinal finally started playing like the team that showed up after halftime.
Down 20-10 at the break, Stanford ripped off 24 straight points and walked away with a 34-27 comeback win Saturday night. Sixth-year quarterback Davis Warren was the engine, putting together the best passing performance of his career with 396 yards and three touchdowns.
The opening quarter gave a little preview of how Stanford would keep itself in the game. Georgia Tech struck first with a sharp opening drive and took a 3-0 lead, but Stanford answered on its next possession when junior running back Micah Ford finished a drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.
That early sequence also hinted at Stanford’s fourth-down mindset. A roughing-the-passer penalty on 4th & 7 at the Georgia Tech 43-yard line kept the Cardinal’s first scoring drive alive, and Stanford later converted three of four fourth-down tries.
“We are data and analytics guided… so, we are certainly aware of what the numbers are telling us to help inform some of those decisions,” said head coach Tavita Pritchard in the postgame conference.
Even with that early response, Georgia Tech controlled much of the first half. The Yellow Jackets outscored Stanford the rest of the way before intermission, and the Cardinal missed a chance to take more with them when an intentional grounding penalty on Warren at the end of the half wiped out a possible field goal opportunity. Georgia Tech also edged Stanford in first-half total yards, 277-229.
Whatever was said in the locker room worked. Stanford came out of halftime and completely flipped the game, scoring on four straight drives and putting up 24 unanswered points. Warren found senior wide receiver Marcus Brown once and senior wide receiver Caden High twice for touchdowns during that stretch.
“The proof is in the pudding. He’s been doing what he’s been doing every week. He’s consistent,” High said about his quarterback.
Warren spread the ball around, too. Brown finished with five catches for 98 yards, while High added four receptions for 91 yards. Freshman wide receiver Zion Robinson also delivered a big downfield shot, hauling in a 61-yard reception for the longest completed pass of Warren’s career.
Georgia Tech tried to hang around with a fourth-quarter touchdown, but Stanford’s defense shut the door late. On the Yellow Jackets’ final two possessions, the Cardinal forced back-to-back turnovers, with junior cornerback Brandon Nicholson grabbing an interception and fifth-year linebacker Tevarua Tafiti recovering a fumble to finish things off in victory formation.
“I thought our guys just did a better job of executing the fundamentals of what we were doing,” said Pritchard.
Stanford now heads to Wake Forest for an away game this Saturday. The Demon Deacons enter at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC after a 30-27 upset win over No.
16 Louisville. Kickoff is set for 9 a.m.
PT at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.
In Other News...
Stanford Heads To Wake Forest With A Chance To Change Everything
Stanford heads to Wake Forest on Saturday morning with more than just another ACC road game on its hands. The Cardinal will kick off at 9 a.m. PT on ACC Network, carrying the weight of a 12-game road losing streak that stands as the longest in program history. There are at least some signs of progress in the mix, though, with quarterback Davis Warren opening the season without an interception over 143 pass attempts and wide receiver Caden High coming off a game in which he found the end zone twice.
For Stanford, the challenge is not only about travel and timing, but about turning those encouraging pieces into something more lasting away from home. The Cardinal enter with a +4 turnover margin and have already picked up weekly ACC honors for Warren and linebacker Matt Rose, which suggests the early work has been noticed around the league. Now comes the harder part: proving those gains can travel, and doing it in a setting that has been unkind for a long time. [Read more 🡒]