Game Info and Players to Watch as Stanford Football Takes on Boston College

Coming off of another loss, the Stanford Cardinal (0-2, 0-0 ACC) are facing a must-win week as ACC play begins, with the program hungry to turn their season around and stay in contention for a bowl game.

Finally returning home after two weeks on the road, the Cardinal will play their home opener this week when Boston College (1-1, 0-0 ACC) comes to town. In what will be another tough test, interim head coach Frank Reich and general manager Andrew Luck are hoping that they can guide Stanford to a win in the ACC opener.

And while the Cardinal are 13.5 point underdogs this week, they are ready to pull off the upset and show that they have what it takes to compete against the top teams this season. Getting a sense of how they stack up against Power Four teams last week, the Cardinal will use Week 3 to grow even more as a program.

Here is a preview of Stanford's matchup against the Boston College Eagles.

Game Information

When: Saturday, Sept. 13, 7:30 p.m. (PT)

Where: Stanford Stadium

How to Watch: ESPN/ACC Network

Spread: Boston College (-13.5)

Moneyline: Boston College (-559), Stanford (+408)

Total: O/U 44.5

*Betting odds provided by FanDuel and are used here as a reference point, not betting advice.

Players to Watch - Stanford

RB Tuna Altahir

Running back is a very crowded room for the Cardinal, and it is very possible that Altahir's performance last week made things even more complicated. A tranfer from Eastern Washington, Altahir entered the season with a lot of competition for playing time—with guys like Chris Davis Jr., Micah Ford and Sedrick Irvin all in-line for a substantial workload.

But in his debut game for Stanford against BYU, Altahir carried the ball six times for 20 yards while averaging 3.3 yards per carry. Despite the relatively unimpressive numbers, Altahir proved that he can run well, and with Stanford needing a major spark on offense, it would not be surprising to see him heavily involved in the gameplan again this week.

WR Bryce Farrell

Farrell has been around longer than pretty much everyone on the Cardinal, on the team since 2020, but he has been used sparingly during his time on The Farm, primarily being deployed on special teams.

But with Stanford seeing a lot of its receivers depart after last season and entering the campaign with a lot of questions at that spot, Farrell has become much more of a factor this season and had arguably his best offensive performance against BYU.

Leading all Stanford receivers with six catches for 58 yards, Farrell proved that he has what it takes to be a star at receiver. With guys like JonAnthony Hall still out of action, Farrell will most likely get another chance this week to really shine.

LB Hunter Barth

Barth is a rarity, especially when you factor in how he spent the first four seasons of his college career at Cal before transferring to Stanford. But since switching to the other side of the Big Game rivalry, Barth has been dominant for Stanford's defense, having recorded nine total tackles so far. While he only had four in the loss to BYU, his ability to fly around the field was evident.

The Cardinal lost both starting linebackers from last year in Tristan Sinclair and Gaethan Bernadel and with linebacker being a strength of the program last season, figuring out that position was a top priority this offseason. With Barth now there, linebacker is still a strength for the team.

Players to Watch - Boston College

QB Dylan Lonergan

Before this season, Lonergan was not a big name, having played in only three career college games and attempting eight passes in two seasons at Alabama. But immediately upon transferring to Boston College this offseason, Lonergan took the college football world by storm.

Winning the starting job out of camp, Lonergan has been on a tear, completing 60/79 of his passes so far (75.9%) for 658 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions, turning Boston College into an offensive machine. Lonergan will be the best quarterback that Stanford has faced so far this season and stopping him will be the only real way that the Cardinal will have a chance to win this one.

WR Lewis Bond

Offensively, Boston College has been elite to begin the season, and while Lonergan is the talk of the town, Bond is a big reason for his success. In his fifth season with the program, Bond is one of Boston College's most seasoned veterans and with a very young team, and one that is still looking to find its footing under Bill O'Brien, he has been relied on heavily to start the season.

Coming off of a 2024 season where he caught 67 passes for 689 yards and three touchdowns, Bond has continued to shine in 2025, having caught 22 passes for 228 yards in two games so far. With the Eagles eager to put up a lot of points this season, look for Bond to get targeted a lot this weekend.

DB Omar Thornton

Thornton has been dominant this season, leading BC with 14 total tackles through two games, but with the Eagles down three defensive starters, including both starting cornerbacks, Thornton's role just got a whole lot bigger.

Lining up at free safety, Thornton flies to the ball when he needs to make a play on the ball carrier but he is also exceptional at defending the pass, with his speed and athleticism allowing him to cover a lot of ground.

Stanford will need to pass the ball well in this game and take advantage of BC's injury woes, but if Thornton is playing at his best, the Cardinal may have some trouble with the passing game again.

By the Numbers

2001 - last time Stanford hosted Boston College inside Stanford Stadium

Winning 38-22 to begin a 9-3 2001 season, BC quarterback Randy Fasani threw for four touchdowns, but Stanford held on for the win. Finishing the season ranked at No. 16, Stanford went on to play in the Seattle Bowl—its fourth bowl game under former head coach Tyrone Willingham.

Five - number of times Frank Reich and Bill O'Brien have faced each other in their coaching careers

During their NFL coaching careers, Reich and O'Brien coached against each other a handful of times, as both coached in the AFC South and met twice per season. Reich coached the Indianapolis Colts and O'Brien coached the Houston Texans.

Meeting a total of fives times in their careers, Reich has a 3-2 record against O'Brien, with his most notable win coming in the 2018 AFC Wild Card game, when Reich's Colts won 21-7, giving Andrew Luck his final NFL playoff win.

2-2 - Stanford's record against Boston College

Meeting for the fifth time ever on Saturday, the Cardinal are 2-2 against Boston College, winning both times at home in 1979 and 2001 but losing both times on the road in 1980 and 2002. Neither team has ever lost a home game against the other.

Score Prediction

Boston College 35, Stanford 23

Stanford will get its first taste of ACC play in its new era, and this game against Boston College could be a very challenging one. Stanford's defense has been dominant the last couple of weeks but BC brings a very high powered offense, with Lonergan off to a very hot start in his first season in Chestnut Hill.

Stopping the offense will be key for Stanford, but given the amount of injuries Stanford has and how it fared against an inexperienced BYU team last week, BC figures to wreak havoc. If Stanford struggles defensively, it won't stand a chance.

Boston College is missing a lot of starters due to injury and Stanford must take advantage of BC's beat up defense and make something happen. But through the first two weeks, inconsistent quarterback play has plagued the offense and kept Stanford from doing much.

If that happens again this week, this game will be over before it starts. Stanford could struggle in this game if it keeps playing how it has the first two weeks, and if the program falls to 0-3, the Cardinal will be in a massive hole.