To open things up on Saturday night, Stanford had a 12-play, 74-yard drive on its first possession of the game that culminated with the Cardinal taking a 7-0 lead. On its final nine possessions of the game, Stanford had 69 yards on 41 plays. Miami was at its most dominant defensively in the middle two quarters and the unit made a huge difference in the Canes bouncing back with a 42-7 win.
Stanford had 11 yards on 24 plays in the second and third quarters combined. Miami held Stanford to four three-and-outs throughout the game. Stanford quarterbacks Ben Gulbranson and Elijah Brown completed 12 passes in 26 attempts for 89 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Stanford ran 27 times for 55 yards. Cole Tabb ran 19 times for 64 yards and a touchdown with a long of 28 making up nearly half of his total. The 28-yard run by Tabb and a 21-yard completion from Brown to Caden High were the only explosives Stanford had on Saturday.
The Miami defense was a team effort led by defensive back Keionte Scott with five tackles and one quarterback hurry. Miami had six tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, 6.0 pass breakups, 5.0 QB hurries and interceptions by linebacker Wesley Bissainthe and DB Xavier Lucas.
Miami held Stanford to less than 10 yards on each drive from the Cardinal's third through ninth possessions. The Miami defense kept the Hurricanes in the game until they tied it on a Mark Fletcher one-yard TD run with 1:15 remaining in the first half.
Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman was able to adjust after the Hurricanes allowed a TD on the game-opening drive for the second consecutive week. Stanford did not advance past their own 34-yard line for eight consecutive drives after the TD on the opening possession.
Miami will need the defense to continue to be dominant with three out of its final five games on the road. The Hurricanes entered the weekend 15th nationally in total defense, allowing 291.5 yards per game and 12th permitting 15.3 points per game. Those numbers will decrease after dominating Stanford.