BCSNN — Stanford entered Friday night still searching for consistency, still looking to prove it belonged in the upper half of the ACC, and still carrying questions about an offense that had struggled against FBS competition for much of the season.
By the end of a thrilling 31–28 victory over NC State, the Cardinal had offered their strongest argument yet that they could become one of the conference’s most dangerous under-the-radar teams.
Behind Davis Warren’s 303-yard, four-touchdown performance and a breakout offensive showing, Stanford improved to 4–4 overall and 2–3 in ACC play, earning its fourth win in five home games and keeping its bowl hopes firmly intact.
The Cardinal wasted no time setting the tone. Warren threw touchdown passes on Stanford’s first two possessions, connecting with Nico Brown and Sedrick Irvin as the Cardinal raced to a 14–0 lead. For a team that had struggled to generate points for much of the season, the fast start felt significant.
NC State (3–4, 1–3 ACC) responded behind quarterback CJ Bailey, who threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns. The Wolfpack battled back to tie the game at 14–14 on a 58-yard touchdown strike to Deandre Desinor and a short touchdown run from Will Wilson, briefly erasing Stanford’s early momentum.
Instead of folding, Stanford answered with perhaps its most important drive of the night. Warren led a 90-yard march in the final minutes of the first half and capped it with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Caden High with just 25 seconds remaining, sending the Cardinal into halftime with a 21–14 advantage.
That drive proved pivotal because Stanford never trailed again.
The biggest sequence came early in the third quarter. NC State appeared poised to tie the game after driving deep into Stanford territory, but an offensive pass interference penalty wiped a touchdown off the board. The Wolfpack were forced to punt, and Stanford immediately capitalized.
Starting at its own 10-yard line, the Cardinal marched 90 yards. The drive was sparked by a 43-yard completion from Warren to Micah Ford, with an additional personal foul penalty tacked on. On fourth-and-four, Warren found Brown for a five-yard touchdown pass that extended Stanford’s lead to 28–14 and shifted control firmly back to the home side.
Ford delivered one of the best rushing performances of his career, finishing with 150 yards on the ground. Brown caught two touchdowns, while High posted a game-high nine receptions for 103 yards and a score. Together, they helped Stanford produce the offensive balance that had been missing for much of the year.
NC State refused to go away. Wilson scored his second short touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and Bailey later connected for another late score that cut the deficit to three points with 1:23 remaining. But Stanford recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Perhaps the most encouraging development for the Cardinal was not the win itself, but how they earned it. Stanford entered the game having scored seven points or fewer in four of its previous five contests against FBS opponents. Friday night was a completely different story. The Cardinal exploded for 234 yards in the first quarter alone, their most in an opening quarter since 2017, and consistently attacked an NC State defense with both the run and the pass.
The ACC race remains crowded, and Stanford still has work to do after an uneven first half of the season. But the combination of Warren’s emergence, Ford’s production, and a passing game that suddenly looks capable of stretching defenses gives the Cardinal something they lacked a few weeks ago: momentum.
No one is mistaking Stanford for a conference favorite. Yet if the offensive breakthrough Friday night proves sustainable, the Cardinal may be exactly the kind of late-season sleeper that no ACC contender wants to face.
Stanford will try to build on the momentum Oct. 31 when it travels to Louisville.
