STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Davis Warren threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns to lead Stanford to a 31-28 victory over North Carolina State on Friday night.
Warren threw touchdown passes on the first two drives of the game to help the Cardinal (4-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) get off to a fast start.
“They made it easy on me,” Warren said. “Those guys are open and I was able to hit them, but it wasn’t anything special on my part. Just doing what I was told and what I was coached.”
Micah Ford rushed for 150 yards, Nico Brown caught two TD passes and Caden High had nine catches for 103 yards and a score for the Cardinal, who earned their fourth win in five home games despite a small crowd of 13,949.
“People want to call it the library or talk about how many people show up or anything like that. It doesn’t matter,” Warren said. “What matters is defending our home turf. As a team, they have to pay the price of admission to come in here to Stanford Stadium and play us. We’ve done a pretty good job of defending our home turf and we take a lot of pride in that.”
Stanford is 0-3 and been outscored by 44.3 points per game on the road. The Cardinal play their next three games on the road and must win at least one to have a chance at going to a bowl game for the first time since 2018.
“If I could explain it, I think it would be a lot better than it is,” coach Tavita Pritchard said of the home-road discrepancy. “All I can say is we have to stay in the mindset of being at our best every single day, regardless of circumstance.”
CJ Bailey threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns and Will Wilson ran for two short scores for the Wolfpack (3-4, 1-3).
NC State had a touchdown negated by an offensive pass interference call against Victor Snow on the opening drive of the third quarter and gave up the ball on a punt.
Stanford responded with a 90-yard drive that was sparked by a 43-yard pass from Warren to Ford with a 15-yard personal foul on King Mack added to the play. Warren capped the drive with a 5-yard pass to Brown on fourth-and-4 to put the Cardinal up 28-14.
“It starts with me,” coach Dave Doeren said. “The guys didn’t play well enough which means I didn’t have them ready.”
Wilson scored his second touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to get NC State back within seven points, but Stanford answered with a field goal to make it a two-score game again.
Bailey's second touchdown pass came with 1:23 to play, but the Cardinal recovered the onside kick to seal the win.
Stanford started fast with Warren throwing touchdown passes on the first two drives to Brown and Sedrick Irvin for a 14-0 lead.
The Wolfpack battled back to tie it with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to Deandre Desinor and a 2-yard run by Wilson.
Warren then led a 90-yard drive in the final 2 minutes of the first half to put the Cardinal up 21-14 on his 26-yard touchdown pass to High with 25 seconds remaining.
NC State: The Wolfpack played their second game on the West Coast in the last 66 seasons having won at California in 2024. They practiced late at night at home before the trip to try to acclimate to the time change but it proved to be little help.
Stanford: After being held to seven points or fewer in four of the last five games against FBS opponents, the Cardinal broke out on offense. They had 234 yards in the first quarter for their most in an opening quarter since 2017.
NC State: Hosts California on Oct. 31.
Stanford: Visits Louisville on Oct. 31.
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