The Cardinal are going to be severely shorthanded against the Canes on Friday night.
The hill was going to be steep for the Stanford Cardinal to climb against one of the best teams in the country in the Miami Hurricanes. But on Friday, just hours before the teams square off in Palo Alto before a national audience, the task got even tougher for the home team.
Advertisement
According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, the banged up Cardinal
will be without four projected offensive starters - three on the offensive line - and an important defender against the Hurricanes. Starting tackle Niki Prongos, guard Simione Pale, and center Aidam Kilstrom will miss the game. Wide receiver Nico Brown and Edge rusher Gabe Kaminski are both out as well.
Stanford to face Miami without 5 key players, including 3 OL starters
The Cardinal got past Hawaii last week 37-27 at home without Prongos and Pale. However, Kilstrom left the game in the third quarter and never returned, just as Hawaii rallied from a 23-7 deficit to make the game very interesting down the stretch. The Hurricanes enter the season with what looks like one of the best defensive fronts in all of college football, so that's a rough combination for Stanford.
Advertisement
Kaminski, as Thamel noted, was a big contributor last week as well, notching 1.5 sacks. Brown came to Stanford after putting up a monster year at Yale in 2025, where he totaled 71 catches for 1085 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Well find out soon enough if the Cardinal can buck the already massive odds against them (Miami is favored by 24.5 points as of Friday afternoon) and make this a competitive game. But those slim chances seem even slimmer at this point.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: College football insider hits Stanford fans with a harsh update just hours before kickoff against Miami Hurricanes
© 2026 A to Z Sports.
