Stanford held a lead on the road for the first time this season on Halloween. The Cardinal went in front twice in the second quarter at Louisville and were tied at 24 in the third.

Louisville scored the last 28 points. The 52-24 loss pushed Stanford’s road losing streak to 15 games, the longest active run in FBS.

After a bye, Stanford (4-5, 2-4 ACC) visits Lane Stadium on Saturday to face Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-3), which lost 51-28 at SMU on Nov. 6.

If Stanford keeps this one close into the fourth quarter, these three players will be the reason.

Davis Warren, quarterback

Warren has thrown three interceptions on 308 attempts this season. In 2024, when he started nine games for Michigan, he threw nine interceptions on 209 attempts.

The sixth-year quarterback walked on at Michigan and earned a scholarship before taking over as the starter. A torn ACL cost him all of 2025, and he transferred to Stanford in January.

This season, he’s completed 186 of 308 passes for 2,203 yards and 14 touchdowns, and half of those touchdowns came in his last two games: four against NC State and three at Louisville, where he threw for 270 yards.

Virginia Tech’s secondary is coming off a night in Dallas where Kevin Jennings threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns. Warren doesn’t have to match that. He has to keep doing what he’s done all season and hand the Hokies nothing for free.

Micah Ford, running back

Ford needs 249 rushing yards over Stanford’s final three regular-season games to reach 1,000. Stanford hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Bryce Love topped 2,000 in 2017.

Most of those yards came in October. Through Stanford’s first five games, Ford had 302 yards at 3.7 per carry. He has 449 yards at 6.1 per carry in the four since, a stretch that includes 179 yards and four touchdowns against Elon and 150 more against NC State. The four scores against Elon tied Stanford’s single-game record for rushing touchdowns.

Louisville held him to 72 yards on 20 carries, but he caught six passes, including a catch-and-run touchdown that tied the game early in the third quarter. He has 26 catches for 224 yards this season.

Virginia Tech entered the SMU game ranked No. 12 in FBS in rushing defense, allowing just 93.4 yards per game. However, the Mustangs rushed for 219 yards, dropping the Hokies to No. 23 nationally while increasing their average to 107.3 yards allowed per game.

Jay Green, safety

Stanford has six sacks in nine games, tied with Arkansas State for the second-fewest per game in FBS. When a defense can’t get home, the tackles pile up behind it, and Green and linebacker Sam Mattingly have the two highest totals on the team at 57 and 56.

The fifth-year safety from Houston spent two seasons at Washington before transferring. Last year, he made the coaches’ All-ACC honorable mention list after leading Stanford with 631 defensive snaps and eight passes defended. He now plays for Kris Richard, the former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator who runs Stanford’s defense and coaches its defensive backs.

On the road, Stanford has allowed 35 points at Duke, 57 at Wake Forest, 58 at Notre Dame, and 52 at Louisville, an average of 50.5.

Virginia Tech has the backfield to keep him busy. Jeffrey Overton Jr. ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries at SMU, and Ethan Grunkemeyer completed 28 of 38 passes for 291 yards. If Overton breaks into the secondary the way he did in Dallas, Green is the tackle Stanford can’t afford to miss.

Stanford needs two wins in its last three games to become bowl-eligible. After Saturday, the Cardinal visit California on Nov. 21 and close the regular season at home against SMU on Nov. 28. Five wins would be Stanford’s most since 2018. Kickoff Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.