Stanford Football Appears to Have Made a Decision at QB for Week 2 at BYU

Ever since the transfer of Ashton Daniels following the 2024 season, Stanford football has been in an intense quarterback battle for the future. Early on, redshirt freshman Elijah Brown, who starred at Mater Dei high school and played limited snaps for the Cardinal in 2024, looked like the presumed favorite for the position, but he wasn't alone fighting for that job.

Four star freshman Bear Bachmeier stepped onto campus after committing to the Cardinal, hoping to take the job from Brown. Then came Dylan Rizk, a sophomore who saw limited snaps at UCF, after starter KJ Jefferson was benched. Finally, came in Ben Gulbranson, a sixth-year senior from Oregon State, who was 7-1 as a starter, but also played limited minutes during his time in Corvallis.

Going into spring camp, it looked like a four way race that could go either way. However, it turned into just a three way race following the departure of Bachmeier to BYU.

The week of the opening game against Hawaii, Gulbranson won the job to mixed reviews. In a rebuilding year, some saw a sixth-year quarterback may as potentially not the best option, but his football IQ and prior experience gave him the upper edge.

However, Week 0 wasn’t the showing he, or the entire Cardinal program anticipated. He went just 15/30 for 109 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception, which was a late momentum swing in an eventual loss. The question then arose, will Gulbranson start week two?

Many think Gulbranson deserves another chance to showcase what he can truly do, while others believe a younger quarterback should get their opportunity. Both he and interim head coach Frank Reich are in a tough position with that decision.

Reich hasn’t clearly stated which QB will be under center for their Week 2 matchup with BYU, but he did speak about the QB situation a bit at this week's press conference.

"We just need to play good football. As heartbreaking as any loss is, but certainly a Week [0] loss after a whole offseason of working hard and all of the anticipation, excitement around what we were doing, how we were feeling, and then for it to not go well, we've got to learn from that and we've got to move on.

"We've got to stay the course. So that's really the message, not only to Ben [Gulbranson], but that's the message to the whole team. Stay the course. We've worked hard. The players and coaches, we've worked very hard over the last six months to install the schemes that we have."

At the end of the day, Reich is only the head coach for one season, and wants to have the best QB start every single game. With that being said, two young quarterbacks are on deck, and both deserve opportunities, if one presents itself.

Stanford also released the team's depth chart for this week's game at BYU, and Gulbranson's name remains atop the list, with Brown as the only other listed QB.