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Stanford vs. Miami: Player to Watch, Upset Alert?
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- Stanford vs. Miami: Player to Watch, Upset Alert?
Stanford vs. Miami: Player to Watch, Upset Alert?
(Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)
After earning an impressive 37-27 win over Hawai'i in Week 0, the Stanford Cardinal will be facing one of its biggest tests of the entire season, welcoming the 2025 national runners-up Miami Hurricanes to The Farm on Friday night.
This will be just the second time the two programs have tangled, with Miami taking last year's matchup at Coral Gables 42-7. Despite the lopsided final score, the Cardinal led for much of the first half, and went into the break tied on the road. This year's Cardinal team will be looking to show the progress it's made since that game.
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Last year's Cardinal squad was without leading rusher Micah Ford for that game. Offensively, Stanford completed just 12-26 passes for 89 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and was in a transition season. Now, Stanford is expecting to make progress, and it'll be in a better position to compete, even in a tough matchup.
Player to Watch
The easy answer is that for Stanford to be competitive in this game, it's going to take an entire team effort in all three phases of the game.
The key to leading that charge will be quarterback Davis Warren, who has notched big wins in his career with Michigan against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 11 Alabama back in 2024.
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What the Cardinal will need from him is the ability to consistently move the ball and avoid three-and-out situations. For Stanford's defense to have success, it'll need time in between drives.
Warren completed 22-34 passes for 310 yards and a touchdown last week against Hawai'i, so the hope will be that his accuracy will allow the coaches to put his receivers in the right spots to keep the ball moving.
Upset Alert?
In his Week 1 preview for ESPN , David Hale put this game in the upset alert portion of the column, which is certainly interesting. Of course, the fact that it's deemed an upset means that it's not expected, so what would need to happen for a Stanford win?
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While the Cardinal are pretty banged up , they could be getting a couple of key pieces back for the second game of the season in wide receivers Caden High and Nico Brown, which will give them the ability to cycle in reliable pass catchers to go along with the group that shined last week.
With center Aidan Kilstrom out for this game, Fisher Anderson will retake his old position in Week 1 against an opponent that had his number last season. In Week 0, Anderson was one of the best blockers in the country. This week, Stanford's line will be put to the test. If they can provide Warren with time, that should keep the offense moving.
Defensively, the Cardinal allowed 199 yards rushing on 44 attempts last season. That will have to improve. Luckily for Stanford, it now has Kris Richard calling plays, which will present a different look for Miami to deal with. This will be a big test for Richard and his group.
We also have to keep in mind that even though Stanford is more banged up, it's also had a game to shake off some rust and fix some kinks, and this one comes at home. Miami will be flying across the country with a new QB in Darian Mensah.
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There is a chance that Miami won't be as finely tuned in game one as they would be later in the year. Add in the travel, a new QB, and all the makings of a trap game, and there is a nonzero chance Stanford could pull this off.
E-40 Halftime Show, honorary captain
Friday's game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. PST and will be the first of two Friday home games this season. The second will be on October 23 against NC State.
For this big game against a highly ranked opponent, Stanford has brought in Bay Area hip-hop legend E-40 to perform a special halftime show that celebrates the 20th anniversary of his landmark album My Ghetto Report Card .
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On Thursday, Stanford also announced that E-40 will be an honorary captain for the game, joining tight end Benji Blackburn, defensive lineman Zach Rowell, and safety Scotty Edwards, representing the special teams unit.
