Stanford was tied with No. 9 Miami at halftime, but then the difference between the rebuilding program and the playoff hopeful became apparent.
Miami scored 35 unanswered points in en route to a 42-7 win Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Cardinal (3-5, 2-3) fell to 0-4 on the road and 0-3 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, while the Hurricanes (6-1, 2-1 ACC) bounced back from last week’s loss to Louisville.
After Miami missed a 44-yard field goal attempt on its opening possession, Stanford drove 69 yards for a touchdown. Cole Tabb, coming off an 118-yard game against Florida State, converted on fourth-and-1 from midfield, and Ben Gulbranson, who started after injuring his knee against the Seminoles, completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Caden High.
That 7-0 lead held until the final two minutes of the first half, when Miami scored to tie the game going into halftime.
The third quarter was played entirely on Stanford’s side of the field. The Cardinal had 13 total yards and Gulbranson threw two interceptions, while Miami had three short touchdown drives.
Stanford finished with eight first downs against a defense that is ranked in the top 15 nationally in both points and yards allowed.
Stanford previously lost 27-3 at No. 11 BYU and 48-20 at No. 16 Virginia. The Cardinal also lost its season opener at Hawaii. Stanford next hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium.