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Nov 14, 2020; Stanford, California, USA; Against a background of empty seats and Pittosporum trees, the Stanford Cardinal team takes the field before an NCAA college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Stanford Stadium. D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

2025 UNC Schedule Breakdown: Stanford

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Grant Chachere | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 4:00 PM ET

North Carolina will play its first game in the month of November against Stanford on Nov. 8.

It is the fourth meeting between the two prestigious academic institutions, with its last coming in 2016, which was a 25-23 victory for Stanford in the 2016 Sun Bowl. North Carolina has a 1-2 disadvantage. The other two times the programs met was in 1997 and 1998. The Tar Heels beat Stanford 28-17 in Chapel Hill in 1997 and lost to Stanford 37-34 in overtime the following year in the Bay Area.

The Cardinal are led by interim head coach Frank Reich, the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers. He took the job after general manager Andrew Luck – yes, that one – fired former head coach Troy Taylor after allegations of misconduct on top of his back-to-back 3-9 records.

Stanford was a model of consistency in college football for much of the 2010s under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw. The Cardinal went 103-31 from 2010 to 2018, won 3 Pac-12 titles and appeared in a BCS/New Year’s Six bowl five times, including the Rose Bowl three times. Stanford’s peak during this period was from 2010 to 2013, when the Cardinal went 56-6, won two Pac-12 titles, and posted at least 11 wins along with a BCS bowl appearance in each season.

Since 2019, Stanford has faltered to a 20-46 overall record and a 14-36 conference record during its time in both the Pac-12 and ACC. The Cardinal lost more conference games in a six-year span than it had lost overall from 2010 to 2018.

Enough of the history lesson. Let’s break this game down.

Outlook

Stanford was dreadful on both sides of the ball as it was 120th in total offense (323.9 yards per game) and 107th in total yards allowed (414.1 yards allowed per game). The Cardinal could neither score points – 106th in scoring offense (22.8 points per game) – or stop anyone from scoring as they allowed 33.7 points per game – good for 115th nationally.

Redshirt freshman Elijah Brown is projected to be the starting quarterback. He completed 58.3% of his passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

Stanford, who was long known for its punishing rushing attack in the 2010s, has not had a running back rush for over 500 yards since 2020. Micah Ford, Cole Tabb and Chris Davis hope to change that this season.

Stanford’s returning leading receiver is senior tight end Sam Roush, who had 40 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns last season.

CJ Williams, who transferred to Stanford via Wisconsin, looks to be the No. 1 target after an impressive spring.

Defensively, Stanford has two of the better defensive backs in the ACC: cornerback Collin Wright and safety Mitch Leigber. They were the only players with multiple interceptions last season and stood out as two of the bright spots on an otherwise dreadful defense.

The Cardinal also return linebacker Tevaura Tafiti, who had 41 tackles and a team-high 3.5 sacks.

Top Dawg: CB Collin Wright

Wright had a great season last year, recording 45 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and led the team with three interceptions and five pass breakups. He might be the only difference maker on this team except for Leigber and Roush.

Synopsis

If there is any conference game that will be a walkover, it’s this one. Stanford is projected to finish last in the ACC according to the preseason media poll. Plus, the Cardinal have to travel from coast-to-coast to play this game.

If the Tar Heels don’t win this one, this would be Bill Belichick's worst loss as the head coach of UNC because of how putrid Stanford is.

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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