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Aug 23, 2025; Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Hawaii Rainbow Warriors defensive lineman Tariq Jones (5) tries to chases down Stanford Cardinal running back Sedrick Irvin (26) during the second half at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Stanford Football Enters Week 2 as Huge Underdogs Against BYU

Originally posted on Stanford Cardinal on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 4:42 PM ET

There was a reason we felt that Stanford's game against Hawaii to open up the season was a must-win, and it's because their schedule this season is plenty tough. The harder part of the schedule kicks off in Week 2 as the Cardinal will travel to BYU to take on the Cougars after they dominated Portland State 69-0.

Heading into the Week 2 matchup, BYU is the favorite, which isn't terribly surprising. What's a little more daunting is that FanDuel has put the spread at 17.5 for the contest, and set the over/under at 47.5.

The Stanford football team showed plenty of promise in their Week 0 game, led by Micah Ford carrying the ball 26 times for 113 yards and the team's only offensive touchdown of the afternoon. Interim head coach Frank Reich has said that the team is going to run the ball in 2025, and Ford is expected to get around 20 of the carries per game, with other backs like Sedrick Irvin and Cole Tabb also in the mix.

While there were bright spots from their opening week performance, it was quarterback Ben Gulbranson's ineffectiveness that hurt the team overall, as he went just 15/30 passing for 109 yards through the air, with one big INT that led to a game-tying field goal from Hawaii and killed some of the positive momentum for the Cardinal.

Will Stanford make a change at QB?

Reich will be addressing the media on Monday morning, so we should have an idea of where he stands on the Stanford QB situation heading into the week. It could be as simple as the coaching staff giving Gulbranson another week of practice to get ready for the game, and potentially even a start against BYU, but if his first couple of series don't show improvement, a change could be necessary.

Stanford will be entering this game on Saturday night with uncertainty at a key position. Meanwhile, BYU ran all over the Vikings. They handed the ball off 48 times and accumulated an insane 468 yards.

One subtle key for the Cardinal could be that they also recruited Bear Bachmeier, now the BYU starting QB, and he was in camp with them back in the spring before deciding to transfer with his brother Tiger. That familiarity could serve the Stanford coaches well, given that Bear is a true freshman and only attempted 11 passes, completing seven, in their win over the weekend.

Given how freely the Cougars ran on Saturday, would it be wise to have them focus more on the run game, even if they have a plan of attack against Bear Bachmeier? This game will have some intriguing layers, and if the Cardinal decide to make a change at QB before the game, it will also be interesting to see what impact, if any, that has on the spread for this one.