Frank Reich on Stanford's QB Shuffle, Looking Ahead to UNC Matchup

Time to regroup once again. Returning home to face a red-hot Pittsburgh Panthers team, the Stanford Cardinal went into the game looking to bounce back after a blowout loss to the Miami Hurricanes the week before.

Stanford fought hard against the Panthers, but were unable to come away with the win, falling 35-20 to fall to 3-6, while also losing their first game at home.

But this week, the Cardinal have the chance to redeem themselves and get back into the win column when they hit the road for the final time to face the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by six-time Super Bowl winning head coach, Bill Belichick.

Starting the season off at 2-1, the Tar Heels then went on to lose four straight to fall to 3-5, putting their hopes for a resurgence in 2025 in major jeopardy. In dire need of a win, North Carolina will need to play its best brand of football in order to be victorious.

Stanford has not made a bowl game since 2018 and with a 3-6 record (2-4 ACC), the Cardinal cannot afford to lose any more games. The hope is that a win over North Carolina sparks a late season run that sees them finish .500 and sneak into a lower tier bowl game.

For the Tar Heels, a slow start to the season has led to their first season under legendary coach, Bill Belichick, to be considered a disappointment. With the hype surrounding his hire leading many to believe that they could have won the ACC. A win will help the Tar Heels alleviate some of the shortcomings that this season has brought.

As is the case each and every week, interim head coach Frank Reich spoke with the media on Monday morning to discuss the state of affairs heading into gameday.

Stanford is Making a Change at Quarterback

Nov 1, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson (15) looks to hand off the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

After the loss to Pittsburgh, Reich sounded non-committal about who the starting quarterback would be this week against North Carolina, which brought up questions about Ben Gulbranson's future on The Farm. And early in the press conference, Reich quickly ended any speculation, announcing that the Cardinal are making a change and rolling with redshirt freshman Elijah Brown.

"Elijah is very instinctive at the position," Reich said. "Very accurate passer, like the whole quarterback room. That room is very close, and I'm really proud of how that room is operated together.

"So the support that they've given each other, embracing the offense and all that we put on the quarterback, being able to manage the things that we have them manage in the run game, in the pass game, in protection schemes. And Elijah, like all the guys in that room, has just demonstrated an ability to do that."

Gulbranson won the job out of camp primarily for his experience, and while he was thought to be the answer, at least for this season, inconsistent play and the fact that Stanford is most likely out of the running for a bowl led to the decision.

Brown, a redshirt freshman, is eager to prove that he is the future of the program and now that he will start the last three games, he is finally getting his chance to shine.

QB Change Was Based on Multiple Factors

Sep 13, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Elijah Brown (2) warms up before the game against the Boston College Eagles at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

When the announcement of Gulbranson's benching came out, thoughts immediately went to the turnovers that he has committed this season, now up to 10 interceptions in nine games. And while the amount of interceptions that he threw was certainly a factor, Reich was quick to acknowledge that the decision to change quarterbacks was due to multiple factors.

"As far as the interceptions go, some of those are on Ben but honestly, they're not all on Ben," Reich said.

"Quarterback is a complicated position. This is based on several things and like I said, Ben's had some epic games and put us in position where we can still achieve some of the goals that we have in front of us, with some of the wins that he's helped lead us to. So I don't want to diminish the contributions that Ben has made to this team and can continue to make to the team in backup role."

Gulbranson has provided a vital veteran presence all season long and even though he is not starting anymore, the Cardinal will still rely on his voice and leadership to rally the team and get them to finish the season on a high note.

North Carolina's Defense Will Pose a Challenge

UNC Footbal — Oct 31, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman Xavier Lewis (90) tackles Syracuse Orange quarterback Joseph Filardi (13) in the first quarter at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Despite the 3-5 record, North Carolina has still shown a lot of good things this season, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, Reich is expecting Stanford's offense to be challenged greatly by the Tar Heels' defense and knows that the game plan has to be on point if the Cardinal want to find any success in Chapel Hill.

"Good defense [that is] playing good football right now. Looking at the tape for the whole year, a well schemed defense. You can see, up front defensively, pretty stout and good edge pass rushers.

"Linebackers are very active and can run and mix up their coverages. They're going to do everything and then when you go up against coach Belichick and anything that he's involved in defensively, there's a kind of game by game game planning thing.

"You look at what they're doing, you look at their personnel, you study their personnel, and we got a great deal of respect for how they're playing right now on defense. And honestly, this is just like every other game for us," Reich added.

Belichick is a defensive minded head coach and while his Patriots' teams are often overshadowed by the star powered offenses that they had over the course of his tenure, it was the elite defenses each team had that allowed Belichick to win six Super Bowl titles and cement his status as one of football's greatest coaches.

At North Carolina, Belichick's defense is very similar and could give Stanford a very hard time this weekend if it is not prepared.

More Younger Guys Could Get the Chance to Play

Nov 1, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Champ Hampton (34) celebrates with other players after he scored a touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | John Hefti-Imagn Images

All season long, the Cardinal had something to play for. Not making a bowl game since 2018, Reich had the Cardinal in prime position to potentially clinch a spot in a bowl game, sitting at 3-5 heading into the Pittsburgh game while being undefeated at home.

But after a loss to fall to 3-6 and with games against teams such as Notre Dame and Cal still left to go, Stanford's bowl hopes are all but over. Luckily, that could mean that some of the program's younger guys could get the chance to shine and prove themselves for next season and beyond. And with only three games left, those players can play without jeopardizing their redshirts.

"We have talked about that," Reich said. "Obviously, Andrew Luck and [assistant general manager] Sam Fisher are overseeing that whole process and keeping me/us informed on who that is. In fact, I just got a list from Sam yesterday, basically the status of every guy on the team and giving us perspective and freedom as coaches to know who we can do that with, and where we have to be careful and just think it through.

"So I don't have that list here in front of me and I don't have it committed to memory, but we will look at that list closely today and this week and use it as an opportunity to get guys on-the-field playing experience and think that can be our team's benefit."

The goal for the Cardinal now is to set themselves up for a successful future for whichever long-term head coach gets hired. And with the program having struggled for years now, Luck and Co. are ready to turn the tables on The Farm and get Stanford football back into the national spotlight.

For that to happen, the program will need to figure out exactly where they need to improve, or which areas they are set.

Reich and Co. Are Approaching UNC Week as Just Another Game

Two former top coaches in the NFL, Reich and North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick have met on numerous occasions over the course of their careers, with Reich's Colts taking on Belichick's Patriots a handful of times when they were both head coaches of those respective teams.

And while this week's matchup brings a lot anticipation since it pits two former NFL foes against each other for the first time at the college level, Reich is not approaching this game any differently and is treating it like any standard game week. The only focus for Reich is making sure that he puts the Cardinal in the best position to win.

"Zero added motivation for me," Reich said. "I got a ton of respect for coach Belichick and the coach he is and his track record. And so the last thing in the world this is about is any kind of matchups that we've had.

"I'm only interested in our team and our players, and my only motivation is for the good of this team, as far as I'm concerned. You've got to look at the uniqueness of each opponent, but the next opponent is just the next opponent."

"A lot of times people use the term 'faceless opponent,' just the next team we're playing," Reich added. "It doesn't matter who it is, but then yet, the healthy tension is but you've got to understand where their strengths are, what they're going to try to do. So it's a combination of both of those things."

Belichick and Reich have faced off in some big games over the course of their careers, with no game bigger than Super Bowl LII—where Reich, as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, beat Belichick's Patriots to win their first ever Super Bowl title.

But none of that matters now as Reich will look to get the upper hand over Belichick on Saturday, while also helping Stanford surpass its win total from the previous four seasons.