It was a tough day at the office for the Stanford Cardinal. Hitting the road to face the Miami Hurricanes, the Cardinal went into the game hungry to keep the momentum going after beating Florida State the week before. But unfortunately for the Cardinal, things did not go to plan en route to a 42-7 blowout.
Dropping to 3-5 on the season, the Cardinal’s bowl hopes are hanging on by a thread, with another loss essentially putting an end to any bowl aspirations that the team has for 2025. But things are not over for this team, and with four games left, the Cardinal will look to bounce back and finish strong.
Here are some of the key observations from Stanford’s loss to Miami.
Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Ben Gulbranson (15) throws the football against the Miami Hurricanes during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
After starting the season in a rough patch, Gulbranson found his footing in recent weeks, helping the Cardinal offense find a rhythm. But against Miami, Gulbranson struggled and once again cast some doubt on his job status, throwing two interceptions which led to points for Miami.
Stanford still has some tough games ahead, and if the Cardinal want to see success the rest of the year, they will need Gulbranson to be at his best.
Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) carries the football for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Cardinal may have lost 42-7, but all throughout the game, the team fought hard until the very end. Tied 7-7 at the half, even leading for most of the first half, Stanford showed how much progress it has made a team this season.
Defensively, the Cardinal were able to slow down Miami quarterback, Carson Beck, holding him to only one passing touchdown and under 200 yards. Despite Miami’s run game dominating, the Cardinal were able to force the Hurricanes to be more of a one dimensional team on offense.
The score may not have gone Stanford’s way, but the team can go home knowing that they showed a lot of promise against a tough Miami team.
Oct 25, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) carries the football for a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Going into the game, Miami was a 30 point favorite, with many seeing it as a surefire win for Miami. And even though the Cardinal played about as well as they could have, the score was exactly what many expected. It also validated that these programs are in very different stages, with Miami challenging for a national championship, and Stanford hoping to make a bowl game.
Miami, a team that fell short of national title expectations last season, entered this season with even higher expectation, investing a lot in the transfer portal to field a national championship worthy roster. And aside from a loss to Louisville, Miami has looked like a team ready to make a deep playoff run.
Stanford, on the other hand, has shown a lot of promise this season, but is very clearly still in a rebuilding stage.
Led by an interim head coach in Frank Reich, and with a lot of questions about what will happen next season and beyond, the Cardinal were not expected to do much this year, and were even predicted to finish in the bottom half of the ACC standings. But with encouraging moments against Miami, the Cardinal can build off of that and figure out how to go over the hump.