Stanford ended a program-record 15-game road losing streak with a 40-22 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday night, The Mercury News reported, reaching five wins in a season for the first time since 2018.
The Cardinal improved to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the ACC. Virginia Tech's recap said the Hokies fell to 6-4 and 3-4. A win at California next Saturday in the 129th Big Game would make Stanford bowl-eligible for the first time since 2018, the Mercury News reported. The paper said Stanford entered as a 17-point underdog after losing its previous four road games this season by a combined 202-41 and allowing more than 50 points in three straight road games. The last road win had been a 26-24 victory at Syracuse in September 2024, the Cardinal's first ACC game.
Micah Ford ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns, the Mercury News reported. Sixth-year senior quarterback Davis Warren scored the first touchdown on a 16-yard run, and Ford added two more rushing scores to make it 21-0 early in the second quarter. Virginia Tech said Stanford's opening score was that 16-yard run late in the first quarter, followed by two more rushing touchdowns in the second. Warren finished 16 of 31 for 203 yards, did not turn the ball over and was not sacked, according to the Mercury News.
Junior safety Charlie Eckhardt forced three first-half turnovers, the paper reported, with two first-quarter interceptions of Ethan Grunkemeyer, who had thrown only three picks all season, and a forced fumble in the second quarter. Stanford also sacked Grunkemeyer three times in the first quarter after entering the game with just six sacks on the season, and stuffed him on a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 on Virginia Tech's first possession.
The Hokies got on the board on a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by a two-yard run from Jeffrey Overton Jr. with 1:53 left in the half, Virginia Tech said. Stanford answered with a 31-yard field goal just before halftime for a 24-7 lead. In the third quarter, Grunkemeyer hit Davion Brown for a 69-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-14, but Stanford added a 46-yard field goal, another field goal to open the fourth, and a two-yard rushing touchdown to make it 37-14. Que'Sean Brown's nine-yard touchdown catch and a two-point conversion to Luke Reynolds made it 37-22 before a late 23-yard Stanford field goal set the 40-22 final.
Virginia Tech finished with 398 yards. Grunkemeyer threw for 270 yards and two scores, Overton ran for 107 yards and a touchdown, Davion Brown had a career-high 81 receiving yards, and Que'Sean Brown had 71 yards and a score on six catches. The Hokies play at Miami next Saturday. Stanford turns immediately to the Big Game at Memorial Stadium, now with a five-win season and a broken road skid in hand.