Stanford, a 12.5-point home ‘dog to Boston College in Week 3, trailed 17-6 inside of two minutes to go in the first half on Saturday night.
A quick-strike 69-yard TD pass and a picksix 18 seconds apart put the Cardinal in the lead, and the D pitched a second-half shutout on the way to the 30-20 upset.
BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan passed for 333 yards, but the Eagles were only able to generate 73 sack-adjusted rushing yards on the ground, and 68 total yards after halftime.
The win was the first of the season for Stanford, which fell in its opener, 23-20, at Hawaii, and then was beaten soundly in Week 2 at BYU, 27-3, gaining just 161 yards in that one.
The D ranks 40th nationally in rushing defense (103.0 yards/g); Virginia ranks eighth nationally in rushing offense (266.7 yards/g), and is tied for third nationally in rushing TDs (12).
That’s unstoppable force vs. pretty stout, if not entirely immovable, object right there.
Two guys on defense to watch: defensive tackle Clay Patterson (three sacks, nine QB pressures, 90.1 Pro Football Focus grade) and cornerback Collin Wright (five receptions allowed on 11 pass targets, one INT, 64.6 NFL passer rating against, 80.1 PFF grade).
The Stanford offense is in the Bottom 12 nationally, and 16th in the 17-team ACC, in total offense (282.0 yards/g).
Oregon State transfer Ben Gulbranson is the starting QB (145.7 yards/g, 53.6 percent completion rate, 1 TD/3 INT in three starts).
He looks somewhat like Andrew Luck, so, has that going for him, which is nice.
Tailback Micah Ford – a thicc kid (6’0”, 220) – is averaging 97.0 yards/g and 5.3 yards/att.
Stanford at Virginia
Day/time/TV: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ACCN
Line: Virginia -16.5
Over/under: 49.5
Projected final score: Virginia 33, Stanford 17
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Chris Graham
