Stanford football snapped a couple of big streaks on Saturday night with a 40-22 win against Virginia Tech. They earned their first road win since they beat Syracuse on Friday, September 20, in their first road matchup after joining the ACC — a 15-game losing streak. The Cardinal also earned their fifth win in a season for the first time since 2018, when they went 9-4. 

Stanford led 24-7 at the half, and after Virginia Tech made it to the Stanford 42, the drive stalled out, but the Hokies decided to go for it on 4th and 8. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer had an open receiver in Ayden Greene, but Greene simply dropped the ball in space, ending the drive and handing the Cardinal the ball and momentum. 

Stanford responded with a 32-yard drive down to the Tech 26, but they also went for it on fourth down and were unable to convert, leaving points off the board. Stanford held them for the first three downs, but Tech went for it again on fourth down deep in their own territory, and Grunkemeyer found his man in Davion Brown for a 69-yard score, cutting the Cardinal lead to 24-14. 

The next Stanford drive was the one that really put the Cardinal on a path to victory, as Davis Warren and the offense drove the ball down the field 47 yards on 13 plays, eating 5:39 of valuable clock. Emmet Kenney finished the drive off with an impressive 46-yard field goal into the wind that capped off the drive and put Stanford ahead 27-14 with just 39 seconds left in the third quarter.

Virginia Tech would add a touchdown and a two-point conversion before the final whistle, but by that point Stanford had added a 49-yard Kenney field goal and Micah Ford's third touchdown of the game. Kenney would drill a fourth field goal in the game, this time from just 23 yards out, to put the finishing touches on a convincing 40-22 win.

Micah Ford rushed 27 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns, while Davis Warren completed 16 of 31 passes and racked up 30 rushing yards with a rushing TD. 

The Stanford defense was the story of this game, however, just shutting down Virginia Tech time and again to begin the game until their own offense could get things going. This was one of the best team wins for the Cardinal in years. 

Stanford didn't come out of the tunnel firing on all cylinders, netting just two total yards on three consecutive three-and-out drives. Luckily for them, Virginia Tech was in a giving mood. 

After a huge fourth-down stop on Tech's first drive, Stanford failed to take advantage. The next two drives from the Hokies ended with Charlie Eckhardt intercepting passes from Ethan Grunkemeyer. Stanford couldn't take advantage of the first turnover, but on the second, they drove 78 yards on six plays, ultimately getting a 16-yard touchdown run from Davis Warren.

That touchdown awakened the Cardinal offense, as Ford would find the end zone twice before the second quarter was even halfway finished, giving Stanford a 21-0 lead and sucking all of the air out of Lane Stadium. 

Jeffrey Overton Jr. would get the Hokies on the board with just under two minutes to go in the half, but Stanford used the remaining time before the break to get into field position for the first of Kenney's four field goals of the game. 

Stanford's next game is a big one: the Cardinal will face Cal on the road next Saturday. With a win over their biggest rivals, Stanford will become bowl eligible for the first time in nearly a decade.