Stanford's Ben Gulbranson Receives Big Honor After Strong Game vs. SJSU

Gulbranson looks to have finally found a rhythm

Sep 27, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson (15) throws the ball during the first quarter against the San Jose State Spartans at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The record may suggest otherwise, but so far, the Stanford Cardinal have shown a lot of promise in 2025 and appear to be on track for a bright future. Losing their first two games to Hawaii and BYU, respectively, the Cardinal have rattled off wins against Boston College and San José State, with the offense dominating in both of the wins.

Quarterback Ben Gulbranson has been the center of Stanford's offensive resurgence over the last few weeks, combining for five touchdowns and no interceptions over the last three weeks after starting the season with three picks and no touchdowns in the first two games.

Now, Gulbranson is starting to receive the recognition he deserves, being the first Stanford quarterback since 2023 to be named to the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8.

The Davey O'Brien award is awarded to the nation's top quarterback and is named after former TCU and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Davey O'Brien. The Great 8 is a sector of the award that selects the top eight quarterbacks across college football from any given week.

Gulbranson earned a spot on the list after a performance against San José State that could very well be considered one of the best performances by a Stanford quarterback in school history. Completing 29 out of his 44 pass attempts for 444 yards, Gulbranson also threw a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions.

His 444 passing yards are the third-most in a single game by a Stanford quarterback in program history, trailing only Davis Mills (504) and Todd Husak (450). But Gulbranson has the most single game yards by an ACC quarterback so far this season—in a conference that has big names such as Carson Beck, Kevin Jennings, Tommy Castellanos and Cade Klubnik.

But what was most impressive about Gulbranson's game was the fact that over 200 of his passing yards came in the final quarter, which resulted in him driving the Cardinal down the field and setting up running back Sedrick Irvin to score the game winning touchdown run, helping Stanford win 30-29 after being down 26-14 at one point in the game.

On that final drive, Gulbranson's big highlight play came when he hit wide receiver Caden High for a massive 34-yard gain on 4th and 10 to keep the drive alive.

Over the last few weeks, Gulbranson has combined for 916 yards, a 66% completion, six touchdowns and no picks and leads the ACC in passing yards in that stretch. With Stanford on a bye week this week before hitting the road to face SMU in Week 7, Gulbranson will use this week to keep getting better and hope that when the Cardinal return to action, that he can keep up his string of strong performances.