Davis Warren didn’t just keep Stanford afloat Friday night - he put the Cardinal on his back and steered them to a 31-28 ACC win over N.C. State.
A week after Stanford piled up four rushing touchdowns, the offense flipped the script completely at Stanford Stadium. This time, the scoring came through the air, with Warren throwing four touchdown passes and finishing 22 of 37 for 303 yards with no turnovers. Stanford moved to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.
The win also continued a strange but very real Stanford pattern. The Cardinal are now 4-0 since joining the ACC in home games that kick off at 7:30 p.m. against conference teams from the Eastern Time Zone.
Friday’s game didn’t end until 2 a.m. Eastern, but Stanford still found a way.
Caden High made a quick return from a broken collarbone in fall camp look seamless. He led Stanford with 103 receiving yards on nine catches and was a central part of the opening drive, grabbing four passes on the march that ended with Warren hitting Nico Brown for an 8-yard touchdown on a slant. High finished Stanford’s first two drives with six catches for 76 yards.
From there, the Cardinal kept layering on pressure. Sedrick Irvin extended the lead to 14-0 when he turned, controlled a back-shoulder throw and got both feet working inbounds for a touchdown catch.
N.C. State answered with a 58-yard touchdown pass after safety Charlie Eckhardt took a poor angle, then pulled even at 14-14 midway through the second quarter.
Stanford’s response before halftime was the kind of drive that shifts a game. Warren put together a flawless two-minute drill, hitting every one of his six passes for 85 yards and finishing it with a 26-yard touchdown to High with 25 seconds left. That made it 21-14 at the break.
The Cardinal pushed the margin to 28-14 when Brown came down with another touchdown, this one on fourth-and-4 from the 5-yard line. N.C.
State fought back again and trimmed it to one score, but Stanford answered with a huge third-and-17 conversion. Warren found JonAnthony Hall to keep the drive alive, and the possession ended with a 31-yard field goal that stretched the lead back to two scores with 8:27 left.
Micah Ford also gave Stanford a steady ground presence, rushing for 150 yards on 22 carries. That came one week after he scored four touchdowns in Stanford’s 34-7 win over Elon.
N.C. State did not go quietly. The Wolfpack scored with 1:20 left to get within three, but Stanford recovered the onside kick and closed it out.
The Cardinal improved to 4-1 at home, with the only loss coming against current No. 1 Miami. Stanford now heads into three straight road games at Louisville, Virginia Tech and Cal before finishing with one more home date against SMU.
In Other News...
Stanford Finally Showed The Offense Fans Have Been Waiting For
Stanfords 31-28 win over N.C. State at Stanford Stadium gave the Cardinal something they have been chasing for a long time: a balanced offense that finally looked the part. Davis Warren ran the passing game efficiently, Micah Ford kept the ground attack moving and Caden High provided a reliable target, giving the home crowd a version of this team that felt much closer to complete.
Tavita Pritchard pointed to that balance as the key, along with the Cardinals emphasis on protecting their home field. The performance also marked a notable milestone for Stanford, which hadnt seen this kind of production from its passing, rushing and receiving leaders in the same game since 2015, and it raises the obvious question of whether this was a one-week burst or the start of something more sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
Stanford Just Helped Spark A Stunning ACC Coaching Shakeup
Dave Doerens long run at NC State came to an abrupt end this week after 14 seasons, with the Wolfpack parting ways with the coach after a 3-4 start to the 2026 campaign. Athletic director Boo Corrigan thanked Doeren for his service and leadership during his tenure, a span that included plenty of stability but also a program that had started to slip back in the crowded ACC race.
The timing adds another layer for Stanford, which had just been part of the picture in a tight result that clearly sharpened the pressure around Raleigh. Doeren leaves NC State with a 98-73 overall record and a 52-57 mark in ACC play, numbers that reflect both the success of his best years and the frustration of more recent seasons, even as the search now begins for the next voice to reset the Wolfpack. [Read more 🡒]
Stanford Just Sparked An ACC Coaching Drama Fans Will Watch
A loss at Stanford turned into a major reset for NC State, where the fallout reached all the way to the sideline. Dave Doeren is out after 14 seasons in Raleigh, closing a run that produced a 98-74 record and gave the Wolfpack a long stretch of stability before a 3-4 start and a 1-3 mark in ACC play pushed the program into a new chapter.
Now the attention shifts to who might be next, and one name already circulating will grab plenty of interest around the conference. Philip Rivers, the former NC State quarterback and NFL veteran, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, though his coaching background is limited to the high school level for now, leaving the search very much in the early stages. [Read more 🡒]