Stanford’s Fast Start Fizzles as Hurricanes Blow the Game Wide Open

Stanford came out hot, but fizzled quickly

Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) carries the football against Stanford Cardinal safety Mitch Leigber (32) and safety Scotty Edwards (21) during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

After a quick 7-0 lead after their first offensive drive, Stanford went on to allow 42 unanswered points, including 35 in the second half, in a lopsided loss. The fact this this game was tied at the half shows that the Cardinal are on the right path as a program, while the second half showed there is plenty of work left to do.

In that first possession, Stanford relied heavily on running back Cole Tabb, who was filling in for injured starter Micah Ford. Tabb carried the ball six times for 44 yards, including a 28 yard rush that put Stanford in the red zone. Five plays later, quarterback Ben Gulbranson found Caden High in the end zone, giving Stanford a 7-0 lead that they'd hold until there was 1:18 left in the half.

The Cardinal offense just couldn't move the ball much past that opening drive, with Tabb collecting another 13 rushes in the game for a total of 20 yards. Champ Hampton came on late in the game and got two carries for 15 yards, but the game was well out of hand at that point.

Gulbranson started off hot as well, going 4-of-5 passing for 24 yards. He ended up completing just five more passes in the game, finishing up going 9-of-21 for 50 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. CJ Williams, who has been one of Stanford's best wide outs this season, caught just one pass (from Elijah Brown) for 11 yards, though he was targeted five times.

Miami came into the game with one of the best defenses in the ACC, and their skill was on full display in his game.

Brown would come into the game in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand and Gulbranson limping after a hard tackle out of bounds. The backup ended up completing three of his five passes for 39 yards.

He breathed some life into the stagnant offense, though interim head coach Frank Reich spoke postgame about getting Gulbranson more help, so it doesn't appear as though there's a QB controversy.

Stanford Couldn't Stop Malachi Toney

Oct 17, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) carries the football against Louisville Cardinals defensive back Tayon Holloway (25) during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

While Mark Fletcher Jr. ran the ball 23 times for 106 yards and three scores, it was arguably wide out Malachi Toney that was the player that the Cardinal didn't have an answer for.

Toney ended up with five catches on six targets for 52 yards, and ran the ball once for 13 yards. Nothing wild about those numbers. But it was in the return game that he just kept giving his offense a short field to work with, setting up two of those three scores from Fletcher. Part of the reason that the game was still tied after the first half was that Toney hadn't returned a punt yet.

After getting the ball back with just over a minute to go in the first half, Stanford ran the clock down and went into the locker room. While it may not have played a big role in the overall scheme of the game, at least taking a shot down field for a field goal could have been a nice confidence boost.

In their first drive of the second half, Stanford both earned a first down and ended up gaining just one yard on the drive thanks to an intentional grounding penalty. They were forced to punt from their own 26, and after a 45 yard punt, Toney returned it 31 yards to the Stanford 40, already setting them up for another score.

Six plays later, they had their first lead of the game on Fletcher's second TD run.

Stanford went three and out on their next drive, which resulted in a 50-yard punt, and was returned 41 yards by Toney to the Stanford 30. Those two returns helped Miami take control of the game, and were immediately followed by interceptions on back-to-back possessions for Stanford, which ran the score to 28-7.

Those two punt returns changed the feel of the entire game. The Hurricanes could have barely moved the ball at all, and they would have had field goal opportunities.

Issues for Stanford

Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Cole Tabb (33) carries the football against Miami Hurricanes linebacker Jr. Raul Aguirre (10) during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The main issue in this one was the offensive line, which is dealing with a number of injuries. Gulbranson didn't have a ton of time to throw, and after that first drive the running game also went away, making it so that Stanford's offense wasn't able to move the ball at all until late in the fourth.

The other issue was obviously the special teams play on those two returns from Toney. Stanford is a good enough team where they can surprise some people when it's an even playing field, but having Miami start in their territory while they're also playing on the road is tough to overcome.

There were also some execution issues at play in this one. Stanford's defense had a run play defended perfectly, and it should have ended up being a tackle for a loss, but two defenders missed bringing him down, and the play turned into a first down instead. Miami has loads of NFL level talent on the roster, but those little things add up.

Stanford will be back at home next weekend taking on Pittsburgh in what will be another tough game for the Cardinal, though they're also 3-0 on The Farm.