Coming off of a big win over Florida State, another tough test from the state of Florida awaits the Stanford Cardinal this week. Hitting the road to face No. 9 Miami, the Cardinal will match up with arguably the best team that they have faced all season, and look to make some noise in a game where they are viewed as heavy underdogs.
Anything is possible, but on the surface, this game could be a very tough one for the Cardinal.
But that is why the game is played. The Cardinal, despite entering the season with a lot more questions than answers and expected to struggle all year long, have shown a lot of promise in 2025, and have already matched their win total from the previous four seasons.
Oct 17, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes safety Zechariah Poyser (7) recovers a fumble against the Louisville Cardinals during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Miami may be a game that many are already chalking up as a loss, but is actually a more winnable game for Stanford than some other games remaining on its schedule.
Offensively, despite Miami quarterback Carson Beck playing like a Heisman candidate for most of the season so far, Miami is actually ranked lower than teams like Pittsburgh, Florida State, Virginia and SMU, all teams that Stanford either will face or has faced this season.
Despite the Cardinal struggling against Virginia and SMU, the defense did very well against Florida State and was able to contain quarterback Tommy Castellanos.
While going up against a Miami team that is in a vastly different state than other programs Stanford has played this season—with Miami a bonafide national title contender with a ton of future NFL players— the Cardinal have shown under the Frank Reich/Andrew Luck regime that they can make any contest an interesting one.
Oct 17, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (11) looks on from the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Miami is ranked as the No. 8 offense in the ACC, averaging about 32.7 points per game while on defense, the Hurricanes are No. 1. The Cardinal defense started the season off hot before cooling off a bit in recent weeks.
But a resurgent game against Florida State should have the Cardinal feeling pretty good about themselves and give them the confidence they need to slow Miami’s high powered offense.
Stanford’s offense could be in for a rough day, especially in the trenches. Offensive line play has been inconsistent for the Cardinal all season long, with injuries being a big factor. Miami, known for its size, have a lot of players on the defensive line that could wreak havoc on Stanford’s offensive line and force the Cardinal to come up with a new game plan to combat that.
Stanford and Miami should be a very interesting matchup that will surely test the grit of the Cardinal and show exactly what type of team they are this season. While nobody expects much out of Stanford in this game, a good clean game from the Cardinal could cause problems for the Hurricanes and make this one much closer and competitive than anyone expected.
Stanford and Miami face off on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Hard Rock Stadium, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. (PDT). A massive game against a ranked opponent, the game will ne nationally televised on ESPN.