Stanford's Frank Reich and Ben Gulbranson Are in a Tough Spot

Stanford football fans went into Saturday's Week Zero game against Hawaii filled with expectations for the season, despite the program's 3-9 record the past four seasons. The thought being that even if they went 4-8 in 2025, that would still be progress moving forward as the program begins to build back to where it was a decade ago.

Then the game happened. While the Cardinal jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, they would end up falling 23-20 in a game that they had plenty of chances to win, and that is even mixing in some quarterback play that was underwhelming.

In order to reach that modest 4-8 goal, it appeared as though the game Hawaii was a must-win contest for Stanford. Given that they lost, the entire season is now in questio n.

When Oregon State transfer Ben Gulbranson was named the starting QB to begin the year, you could point to his experience being a huge positive on his ledger, especially with interim coach Frank Reich's new offense. Having someone with a number of reps under center to begin the season made sense.

The logic was all there, but the performance against Hawaii has left many fans questioning the decision. And that's why both Reich and Gulbranson are in a tough spot right now. While Reich is only the interim head coach for this season, he's been charged with leading the program for the 2025 season while GM Andrew Luck looks for a full-time head coach.

After firing Troy Taylor in the spring, there wasn't a lot of time to find the perfect fit, but Luck's ties to Reich made this a good hire--plus Reich brings NFL experience along with him.

Stanford football is in a tough spot

He's in a tough spot with the QB decision because he just made the call to go with Gulbranson, a somewhat surprising pick, given Elijah Brown's presence on the roster as a former four-star recruit and a redshirt freshman. If he were to immediately change his mind from Gulbranson, then that could undermine his decisions the rest of the season.

Gulbranson is in a tough spot because going 15/30 for 109 yards and an interception isn't a great stat line, but beyond that, he's the experienced QB in the room. He was meant to be a stabilizing force to begin the season.

If Brown had put up the same type of numbers against Hawaii, fans would be more willing to look at that game as more of a learning experience while he develops into a bonafide starting QB in college football.

The loss to Hawaii wasn't pretty, but the fan's frustration seems to be less about the loss itself, and more that it doesn't feel as though it built toward a brighter future. Instead, it was a representation of the program spinning its wheels yet again.

There were certainly positives, like Micah Ford breaking out for 100+ rushing yards and the improved play of the offensive line, but it's tough to celebrate those gains just yet, because the quarterback position is still unsettled.

The answer to this conundrum is likely to give a younger quarterback, presumably Brown, an opportunity to start in the near future. At least that way if there are struggles in the passing game, they're getting game reps that will be useful in the future when the hopes for the season are a little bit higher.

That said, it's going to be difficult to make that change while also saving face in the immediate term. While he's only going to be around for this season, you can't have every decision coach Reich makes being second-guessed by the players and the fans over the next few months, either.

With a bye this week, Stanford will have an opportunity to assess the best path forward, and what personnel gives them the best chance to win in Week Two against BYU, and beyond. Their schedule is also about to get a bit tougher, however.