Stanford football is back after a bye week and ready to return to the win column this week against Virginia Tech. Playing on the road is never easy, and while Virginia Tech is a rebuilding program, it has shown promise this season and will give Stanford a tough time if the Cardinal are not ready.

Stanford coach Tavita Pritchard met with the media on Monday ahead of the Virginia Tech matchup. Here are key takeaways from Pritchard's press conference.

Bye weeks are important for multiple reasons. For one, they give teams a chance to rest, recover and regroup before getting back to the grind that is a long football season. They're also the chance to improve in areas that need work, especially for a team like Stanford that is still fighting to become bowl eligible. 

The Cardinal made sure to make this bye week a productive one, combining player rest and recovery with making sure to still put in the work ahead of what will be another challenging game.

"This bye week, obviously different than the first bye week where it comes in early September," Pritchard said. "Now, we're into November football, and at this point in the season, it's finding that balance between getting better at football, getting better at our systems, our techniques, and finding our spaces to rest and recover. Our guys have played nine games, and we have bumps and bruises. 

"So really trying to address both sides of that, and the focus on the field being, I guess coming out of that Louisville game, we have to figure out how to play four quarters or more of winning football. That's the step that we have to take, that's the gap that we have to close here, and that's the space that we're in right now."

The Cardinal enter a tough three-game stretch to end the season, facing Virginia Tech and Cal on the road in back-to-back weeks before returning home for the final game of the season against No. 25 SMU. Stanford needs to win at least two of these games to become an unquestioned bowl team, so it is vitally important that the program puts its best foot forward.

Injuries have been a problem for Stanford all season, with the program losing several key players and being forced to rely on less experienced members of the roster. But the program added both Nick Fattig and Charlie Hoitink back into a limited role with the o-line rotation against Louisville after each had missed a few games. Now, after a bye, they're in a better place to get more reps. 

Pritchard preaches consistency, wanting to keep the same five guys together as much as possible to keep the flow of the offense going but is adamant that players who shine in practice and earn opportunities will get the chance to show what they can do.

"We've talked a lot on here about those five guys playing together and finding the right combination, and offensive line is one of those units that I think, for the most part, you'd like to have the five guys in there throughout the game," Pritchard said. "And so you build some continuity and rapport between those guys. What's best for us right now is finding some spaces to get other guys in there who have earned playing time.

"You mentioned Nick [Fattig]. He's earned the right to get in there and help us on some snaps. So much for us is about practice. You guys have heard me talk about that ad nauseam and what's important is, as guys go out on the practice field and they earn the opportunity to go out and help us in games, that we give them that opportunity. Football is a meritocracy and you've got to keep it pure in that way.

"Nick and others have earned the right to go in there and help us win games. And absolutely, we'll keep giving those guys that opportunity when they keep putting it out on the practice field."

The offensive line has started to find some consistency the past three games, with Micah Ford and Davis Warren each having three strong games in a row. Now the Cardinal will have more options on the offensive line to utilize, and they can begin to show off some of their depth.

Stanford has been tested all season long by playing ranked opponents, forcing Stanford's defense to adjust to the talent level of a number of ranked opponents. 

While it has experienced a mixed bag of results this season, the tough matchups have it ready for anything. Virginia Tech is another strong team with dangerous playmakers, making this game another test of grit to see how far along Stanford has come as a program.

"What's interesting is as we do talk about complementary football, ultimately we're called to win the game," Pritchard said. "And it's our job as coaches and as a team to figure out how to do that. At the end of the day, it's our job to score one more point than the other team, and I think when you just zoom in on the defense specifically, of course we've gotten it done sometimes. But we haven't gotten it done in others, sitting here at 4-5. 

"I look at it less through that lens and more like 'okay defensively, how do we match up against Virginia Tech?' You look at this quarterback, number 17 [Ethan Grunkemeyer], a transfer from Penn State, talented guy, super efficient. Number two in the conference in passing yards, he knows how to find his weapons, and those weapons include but are not limited to number 3 [wide receiver Que'Sean Brown]. I think you kind of see the offense go through him to a certain degree. Really talented receiver who's got the ability to make people miss, and they find different ways to get him the ball. 

"And then number 16 [Jeffrey Overton Jr.] the running back. They present the element of balance. They have the ability to run the football, throw the football, and beat you in both of those ways. I think for our defense, it's a heck of a challenge to line up and figure out how we can play complementary football to go out there and score one more point than the other team."

Defense will be key in this game, and if the Cardinal can play stout, it is very possible that they pull off an upset and post their highest win total in a full season since 2018.